SMART Goals for IT Company

Goals are a crucial part of success for both an individual and a company. They help guide us in life and in the business world. But why don’t we always reach our goals? One of the key tools that can help effectively set goals is the SMART method. Next, we’ll explore SMART goals for software companies and discuss how they can be useful for your business.

What Are SMART Goals?

The goal of “Finding more clients” sounds vague. Such a goal formulation leaves you perplexed when it comes to planning actions in your marketing strategy. “More” means how many? How quickly should you search? What kind of clients are you looking for? And do you even need new clients, or should you offer additional services to existing ones? Ambiguous goals lead to feelings of confusion and anxiety from not understanding what to prioritize first.

There’s nothing more futile than doing something very efficiently that shouldn’t be done at all.

SMART goals are a framework used for setting specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound objectives. This approach promotes clarity, focus, realistic expectations, and alignment with overarching goals. It helps pave a clear path for growth.

When you set a goal, it’s important to recognize that it will require company resources: money, time, and personnel.

Formulating goals using the SMART criteria may take more time than the standard goal-setting process, like “increase sales volume”. However, the benefits of using SMART goals outweigh the complexities.

Now, let’s examine each criterion and provide an example of goal formulation.

Specific — What Specifically Do You Want to Achieve?

Our company needs to increase the number of leads per month using internet marketing tools.

Measurable — How Will You Measure or Quantify Your Progress?

Our company needs to increase the number of leads per month from 1 to 5 using internet marketing tools: SEO, Google Ads, Clutch, Content Marketing, and Influencer Marketing.

Achievable — Is the Goal Realistic and Attainable Given the Available Resources?

Due to our resources, our company needs to increase the number of leads per month from 1 to 5 using a limited number of internet marketing tools: SEO, Google Ads, Clutch.

Relevant — How Does This Goal Align with Your Overall Objectives and Priorities?

Due to our resources, our company needs to increase the number of leads per month from 1 to 5 using a limited number of internet marketing tools due to our resources: SEO, Google Ads, Clutch. By increasing the number of leads, we will also increase the number of clients and the company’s revenue.

Time-Bound — By When Do You Aim to Accomplish This Goal?

Due to our resources, our company needs to increase the number of leads per month from 1 to 5 by January 2025 using a limited number of internet marketing tools due to our resources: SEO, Google Ads, Clutch. We are starting our marketing efforts in June 2024. By increasing the number of leads, we will also increase the number of clients and the company’s revenue.

Benefits of SMART Goals

• Focus the team on accomplishing specific tasks. The SMART method breaks down specific goals into tasks that are executed in sequence. Large goals become attainable.
• Allow for progress evaluation towards the goal. It’s convenient to track results due to clear tasks, understandable criteria, and set deadlines. All this makes the result measurable and aids in team management.
• Simplify communication within the team. All team members know the company’s intended outcome, saving time on clarifications. Such transparency boosts employee motivation and helps avoid misunderstandings regarding tasks.
• Assist in resource management. It enables companies to identify obstacles or problems. Notice when priorities and resources are not aligned.
• Increase productivity. SMART goals help develop new behavior patterns and actions, improving productivity.
• The SMART technology is easy to master. Learn it once, and you can always apply it.

Setting goals is the first step to achieving them.

Tips for Setting SMART Goals

• Visualize: use the SMART acronym as a diagram. You can use a list format, a flowchart or a plan – anything that will help organize your thoughts and help you achieve that goal. Visualization helps you perceive the goal setting process easier – you only need to fill in five columns or rows. Write down the goal and then determine how specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timely it is. Include detailed information about your goal for each letter of the acronym. The more detailed you make the description, the more likely it is that as you write, solutions will occur to you that you hadn’t noticed before.

• Ask yourself questions: use the past/present/future question model. Ask yourself questions such as: What have I done so far? What is the current result? Where do I want to be at the end of this month/quarter/year? While the SMART model encourages looking ahead, look back and analyze what you’ve already accomplished and where you need to be careful.
• Look at the metrics: use marketing software data. Marketing software can be the foundation for SMART goal setting. After conducting a SWOT analysis of the company, gathering reports and analytics on the state of the business, you can start writing your SMART goals based on the data collected.
• Be careful: sometimes companies set goals that are simply unattainable. While these may initially give the team some motivation and engagement, they usually lead to frustration and disappointment if they are not met. Be mindful and watch the dynamics on the way to the goal. It may turn out that all that energy and attention should have been directed to another task with more important things to do.
• Check yourself: more often than not, when talking about goals, they warn against setting inflated goals that are unattainable. But what if you are underestimating your capabilities? Try testing, setting a few goals slightly higher than you estimate your capabilities. It may turn out that you’ve been underestimating yourself. A simple 1 minute assignment to assess your capabilities will help test this:
  1. Answer the question, “How many hops can you do on one leg in one minute?”
  2. Don’t read the next part of the task until you’ve come up with a number.
  3. Set a timer for 1 minute and start hopping, counting each hop.
     You’ll likely hop much more than you initially thought.
• Treat yourself: sometimes the satisfaction of a job well done isn’t enough, you need something more. Reward yourself as you achieve goals, giving yourself something to eagerly anticipate.

Set a SMART Goal Right Now

Sometimes the best way to understand how the SMART method works is to try it out. Set one SMART goal for yourself, whether it’s your personal or professional ambitions, and start following these 5 steps. You’ll see how this method will help you give clarity, measurability and structure to your ambitions.

For example:

• To get leads from organic Google rendition to reach Top 5 for the query “python development company” in 4 months, by optimizing the page for the queries and building link mass. 
• Create 4 1500-word articles on “Solutions for FinTech Companies” in 30 days to attract organic visitors.
• Improve company profile ranking on Clutch in Software Development Companies listing in 2 months by engaging 4 clients to write reviews, adding 4 case studies to attract new clients from the directory.

Conclusion

SMART goals are more than just a way to set objectives. They help you organize your work, focus on what’s important, and clearly see where you’re headed.

This approach allows companies to track progress, avoid wasting time and money, and work more productively. And most importantly, SMART goals can inspire and help you achieve great results. Try this method in your life and work.

Every year/week/day we come up with vague promises. Try a different way today.

Contact us and collaborate with a team of marketing specialists to grow your software development company.