In the early days of a startup it can be easy to get caught up in the day-to-day and lose sight of the bigger picture. With so much to do and so little time (and money) to do it, startups must focus on creating and executing a digital marketing strategy that will achieve specific, measurable goals. Here’s why establishing digital marketing goals is essential for startup success.
Startups Face Unique Challenges When Marketing Online
While all businesses need to be strategic in their approach to digital marketing, startups face unique challenges. They often have limited resources in terms of money and workforce, making it challenging to create and execute a comprehensive digital marketing plan. Additionally, startups tend to be inexperienced in marketing, which can compound their challenges.
Some challenges that are extremely common for startups are:
Limited Funds
Startups typically have limited budgets, making investing in paid advertising or other marketing initiatives challenging.
Limited Manpower: Startups often have small teams, making it challenging to execute a large-scale digital marketing strategy.
Lack of Experience
Startups are often inexperienced in marketing, leading to mistakes and wasted effort.
Despite these challenges, startups must take the time to establish specific digital marketing goals. Without Goals, You’re Just Spinning Your Wheels
You’re simply spinning your wheels if you don’t have a specific goal in mind for your digital marketing efforts. Set goals so you can measure your progress and determine whether or not your activities are driving results. Otherwise, you’ll never know what’s working and what isn’t—and you’ll waste valuable time and resources.
Goals Should Be SMART
When setting digital marketing goals, it’s essential to make sure they are SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely. Your goals should be clear and concise; you should be able to measure them; they should be achievable; they should align with your overall business objectives and have a timeframe associated with them.
One good goal is to “double website traffic from organic search within six months.” This is a specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound goal that can be used to guide your digital marketing efforts.
Another example might be to “increase conversion rates by 50% within three months.” Again, this is a specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound goal.
There are endless possibilities when setting digital marketing goals, but ensuring they are SMART is important.
Types of Digital Marketing Goals
Now that we’ve covered the importance of setting digital marketing goals, let’s look at some specific plans you might want to select.
The first type of goal is what we’ll call a “top-of-the-funnel” (TOFU) goal. These goals focus on generating awareness and interest in your product or service. Typically, TOFU goals concentrate on SEO, content marketing, and social media.
The second type of goal is what we’ll call a “middle-of-the-funnel” (MOFU) goal. These are goals that focus on generating leads or converting prospects into customers. MOFU goals typically focus on activities like lead generation and email marketing.
The third type of goal is what we’ll call a “bottom-of-the-funnel” (BOFU) goal. These are goals that focus on generating sales or revenue. BOFU goals typically focus on activities like paid advertising and conversion optimization.
It’s important to note that these are not hard-and-fast rules—you can certainly have goals that span multiple stages of the funnel. However, it’s helpful to think of goals in these three categories to ensure you focus your efforts on suitable activities.
How To Create A Goal
Setting and achieving goals is a vital part of any successful business. However, not all plans are created equal. To increase the chances of success, it is essential to set obtainable goals. There are a few key factors to consider when making an attainable goal.
First, the goal should be specific. Vague goals are more challenging to achieve because it is often unclear what needs to be done to reach them. For example, rather than setting a goal to “increase sales,” it would be more specific (and therefore more achievable) to set a goal to “increase online sales by 10%.”
Second, the goal should be realistic. While pushing yourself and your team is essential, setting an unrealistic goal is more likely to lead to frustration and discouragement. For example, if your business has never sold products online before, it would not be realistic to set a goal to “increase online sales by 100%.”
Finally, the goal should be relevant to your business. The plan should align with your company’s mission and values. For example, if your company’s mission is to “provide the best customer service possible,” a relevant goal would be to “decrease customer wait times by 30%.”
By taking the time to set an obtainable goal, you will increase the chances of success for your business.
Final Thoughts
Digital marketing goals are essential for any business that wants to succeed online. Without specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound goals, tracking progress and determining what is working and what needs improvement will be challenging. You can set many digital marketing goals, but the most important thing is to ensure they are SMART.
