Writing goals is one of the most important things you do when you run a brand. We usually achieve about what we believe we can, so your goals need to balance stretch with reality. Use your brand vision to push a little past your comfort level and reach beyond what you expect. Good marketing goals keep everyone on the team focused and aligned, and they motivate the people who have to deliver the strategy, both for the year ahead and for the next three to five years.
Most marketers find it hard to write goals. They either set something vague that nobody can measure, or they set something they could simply buy. Learning how to write marketing goals that actually mean something is what separates a plan that drives the business from one that sits in a drawer.
There are six ways to set brand goals. Pick the ones that match the strategy you are trying to deliver, then make each one SMART.
Six ways to set brand goals
1. Set goals for the ideal strategic outcome
Start with the outcome you want your brand strategy to produce in the market. These goals measure whether the strategy moved things in your favor: consideration, penetration, frequency, share of wallet, higher prices, a tighter bond with consumers, more advocates, or more recommendations. Tie each one back to the strategic program you are running, so the goal proves the strategy worked.
2. Set goals for the ideal business result
Next, write goals for the financial result you wanted from that same strategy: sales, market share, costs, pricing, margins, cost ratios, and profit. This is the R in our P+A+R strategy statement, the market impact and performance result. When you write goals, focus on the R.
3. Set goals for the market impact that moves consumers
Then set goals around how you will move consumers along their purchase journey. Walk through each step: see and desire the brand, learn more, think differently, try the brand, repeat the purchase, build it into a routine, feel a tighter bond, become an outspoken advocate, and recommend it to friends. Use scores tied to awareness, consideration, search, purchase, repeat, loyalty, and advocacy.
4. Set goals for the tactical execution
With execution, write goals for how your tactics attract, inform, close, service, and delight consumers as they move through that journey.
For advertising, measure attention, brand link, communication of the main message, and stickiness. Online, track website visits, page views, unique visitors, bounce rate, click-through rate, and e-commerce sales. For innovation, use a freshness index, the percent of your portfolio launched in the past two years. In store, track display, pricing, share of shelf, and distribution coverage.
One rule holds across all of it. Never set a goal you can simply pay for. 2000 GRPs is not a goal, because you buy that.
5. Set goals for the brand reputation
Write goals for the reputation your brand earns: net promoter score, online review scores, how well consumers reflect the brand positioning you intended, and your influencer reputation. These tell you whether the brand is building the kind of standing that holds up over time.
6. Set goals around your major milestones
Use milestones for your big projects. Set completion dates for new product launches and major investments in technology, operations, customer experience, or culture. Set a milestone for hitting a key performance level, whether that is a market share position, a sales level, or a profit level. Milestones keep long projects on track all year.
Make sure every goal links to a plan
Set a goal without a plan to reach it, and you are only guessing. For every goal, map the steps you will take to get there, and lock those steps in at the same time you lock in the goal. It is easy to set the goal and then forget what it actually takes to deliver it.
Write SMART marketing goals
The phrase you keep hearing is SMART goals. It is an acronym for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Once you know the six ways to set goals, SMART is how you sharpen each one so it holds up.
Specific:
State exactly what you want to accomplish, including who, what, where, when, and why. For market impact, use specific numbers for share, program tracking, brand funnel data, retail metrics, the voice of the consumer, and product rating scores. For the business result, use specifics for sales, margin, spending, and profit. Treat each one as a milestone that moves the brand toward your vision.
Measurable:
Decide how you will show how far you have come. Write goals relative to last year, category norms, competitors, or milestones on the way to the end goal.
Achievable:
Keep the goal reachable, then push it with a bit of a stretch.
Relevant:
Link every goal to a brand strategy or an execution area where you are investing, and align it to your vision. Think of each year’s goal as a step on the way there.
Time-bound:
Give every goal a “by when” date tied to a real deadline. Break it out quarterly, annually, or across a five-year horizon, and put a stake in the ground for major spending and launch dates.
Goals belong in the brand plan
Write your goals during the brand planning stage. Align them to the start of the year, tie them into the company performance system, and cascade them to every person on the team so everyone knows what they own.
Our one-page Brand Plan template carries a P&L forecast in the analytics, with the goals showing up in the issues and strategies section. Your plan should include a brand dashboard linking goals to financial performance (sales, margins, profit), brand health (market share, awareness, trial, repeat, loyalty), and execution tracking (advertising, innovation).
Explore how business goals show up in the plan.
Moreover, your business plan should include a brand dashboard with goals linked to financial performance (sales, margins, profit), brand health measures (market share, awareness, trial, repeat, loyalty), and execution performance tracking (advertising, innovation).
Brand Plan template for the vision, purpose, goals.
To illustrate, click on the brand plan above and you can zoom in to see the vision, purpose, and goals.
Brand Plan template for the sales forcast.
To illustrate, click on the brand plan above and you can zoom in to see the sales forecast.
Brand Plan template for the profit statement.
To illustrate, click on the brand plan above and you can zoom in to see the profit statement.
Review your progress every month
If you are going to write goals, you have to track them. Build a dashboard so the whole team can see how the brand is doing, then use a monthly report to stay on top of it. The three to four hours it takes to dig in each month is a discipline that keeps you connected to the real results.
What’s driving growth:
Track the top three drivers, looking at consumption trends by SKU, region, channel, account, or flavor, plus brand funnel scores, program results, retail challenges, and competitive moves. Lay out how you will keep those drivers going.
What’s inhibiting growth:
Track the top three inhibitors, the weaknesses or friction in your programs, distribution gaps, competitive moves, or shifts in consumer behavior. Outline how you will counter each one so senior management knows you have the business in hand.
Frequently asked questions about writing marketing goals
What are SMART marketing goals?
SMART stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. A SMART marketing goal states exactly what you want to achieve, puts a number and a date on it, ties back to your brand strategy, and pushes the team with a reasonable stretch. Once you know what you are measuring, SMART is how you sharpen the goal.
What is the difference between a marketing goal and a KPI?
A goal is the result you want to reach, like growing market share to 18 percent by year end. A KPI is the metric you watch along the way to know whether you are on track. You set the goal first, then choose the KPIs that tell you if the strategy behind it is working.
How many marketing goals should you set?
Keep it tight. Most brands run best with a handful of goals tied to the few strategies that matter most that year. Too many goals split the team’s focus and nothing gets the attention it needs. Pick the goals that prove your biggest strategies worked.
What makes a bad marketing goal?
The most common mistake is setting a goal you can simply buy. 2000 GRPs is not a goal, because you pay for that. A real goal measures an outcome you have to earn through good strategy and strong execution, like consumers moving further along the purchase journey or a tighter bond that lifts your repeat rate.
How often should you review your marketing goals?
Set your goals once a year as part of the brand plan, then track them every month. A monthly report that digs into what is driving growth and what is holding it back keeps the team connected to the results and gives you time to adjust before small problems turn into big ones.
What is the difference between a marketing goal and a strategy?
Your strategy is the choice of where you will play and how you will win. Your goal is the result that strategy should produce. In our P+A+R approach, the program and accelerator are the strategy, and the goal is the R, the market impact and performance result you are aiming for.
