The SMART framework helps our teams stay focused, align objectives, and achieve measurable results.
It’s easier to hit your targets when you have clearly defined objectives rooted in reality. When tackling projects – whether they’re custom software solutions or marketing campaigns – setting SMART goals can streamline both the technical and creative processes, helping teams achieve their objectives more effectively.
Meet Elisa, a marketing coordinator at Conn3cted, a software and marketing solutions company. Elisa has just been assigned a new project: driving traffic and conversions for a client’s marketing campaign while integrating new software features to enhance the customer journey.
She’s faced a similar challenge before. Without clear goals, projects often became chaotic: deadlines were missed, tasks fell through the cracks, and the team wasn’t sure how to measure success. This time, Elisa plans to use SMART goals to create a clear action plan for her team to follow, ensuring nothing slips through the gaps.
What are SMART goals?
SMART is an acronym that stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. By following these five criteria, you can create goals that are clear, actionable, and aligned with your team’s overall objectives.
For Conn3cted, applying SMART goals ensures that both software projects and marketing campaigns are executed with precision and efficiency. Whether it’s setting KPIs for a social media campaign or delivering key software features, SMART goals help track progress, hit targets, and make informed adjustments when necessary.
How to write SMART goals
Let’s take Elisa’s project and work through the steps of setting SMART goals to ensure the project stays on track.
S: Specific
For goals to be effective, they need to be clear and specific.
Ask questions like:
- What are we aiming to accomplish?
- Who is responsible?
- What actions need to be taken to achieve this?
In Elisa’s case, her team needs to drive traffic and increase conversions through a marketing campaign while enhancing a software feature. Here’s her specific goal:
SPECIFIC
“Increase website traffic by 20% and boost conversion rates by 10% for ClientCo’s upcoming campaign. This will be done by improving the software’s user experience and running targeted marketing campaigns across LinkedIn.”
M: Measurable
Specificity is a good start, but quantifying goals – making them measurable – helps track progress. For example, how much traffic is enough to call the campaign a success? If Elisa’s team improves the user experience, how will they measure user satisfaction or retention?
Here’s how Elisa could make her goal measurable:
MEASURABLE
“Increase website traffic by 20% (from 10,000 to 12,000 visits) and boost conversion rates from 2% to 2.2% by optimising the software interface and running targeted ads on three platforms: LinkedIn.”
A: Achievable
A reality check is crucial at this stage. Can Elisa’s small team handle the campaign across platforms while simultaneously managing software updates? It’s important to set goals that are ambitious but achievable. Elisa might decide to focus her resources on one social platform where their audience is most active, to make the goal more realistic.
ACHIEVABLE
“Increase website traffic by 20% and conversion rates by 10% by focusing on LinkedIn ad campaigns, and enhancing the software’s checkout flow to reduce cart abandonment.”
R: Relevant
Why is this goal important? Goals need to tie into broader business objectives. For Elisa’s client, driving more traffic and improving conversions are crucial for their upcoming product launch. In software terms, a seamless user experience means higher satisfaction and loyalty.
Here’s how Elisa can frame her goal to be more relevant:
RELEVANT
“Increasing website traffic and conversions will drive more engagement for ClientCo’s product launch, supporting long-term revenue growth. Optimising the user experience of the software will improve customer retention and satisfaction.”
T: Time-bound
To track success, there needs to be a clear deadline. When will the team start and complete each task? Without deadlines, it’s easy for goals to drag out indefinitely.
Elisa sets a clear timeline:
TIME-BOUND
“Increase website traffic by 20% and boost conversion rates by 10% by the end of Q4 2024. Software updates will be completed by mid-November, and the marketing campaign will launch on November 20th, with ads running until the end of the quarter.”
Putting it all together
Now that Elisa has worked through the SMART criteria, here’s the final version of her goal:
“Increase website traffic by 20% (from 10,000 to 12,000 visits) and boost conversion rates from 2% to 2.2% by the end of Q4 2024. This will be achieved through an optimised user experience in the software (checkout flow improvements to reduce cart abandonment) and targeted social media campaigns on LinkedIn, beginning November 20th.“
Why SMART goals matter for Conn3cted
For a company like Conn3cted, working on both software development and marketing projects, using the SMART framework ensures that every project is aligned, measurable, and achievable. Whether the goal is launching a new product, driving website traffic, or rolling out software enhancements, SMART goals provide the roadmap for success.
SMART goals aren’t just for big companies or high-level objectives – they can be applied to any project or task, whether you’re enhancing software functionality or boosting your marketing impact. At Conn3cted, we know that clear, actionable goals lead to smarter strategies and better outcomes for our clients.
Ready to apply SMART goals to your next software or marketing project? Let’s connect and start building your success today.