Business Planning - SMART Method

I am thinking about business planning for 2008.  We probably should have done this a month ago, but, as always, things get in the way.

I have come across the SMART method and now I need to think about how it relates to us.

S:    Specific

Although we will start with an overall vision and lead it to mission statement, with respect to goals we need to be specific.  Get more business is not enough.  Continue to grow is not enough.  Maintain a top three position in our industry.  Be known for great customer service.  Equal our top competitor in customer service quality and response time.

M:    Measurable

We exist in an industry with only private companies.  Therefore, a top three position is not measurable for certain.  Neither is great customer service or being equal to our top competitor in this area.   However, just because your vision and "specific" goal doesn't equal measurable doesn't mean you need to find a new goal - it simply means finding a new way to make it measurable.

We are in Internet marketing.

• CS Email response time.
• Search engine rankings
• Forum posts - by us and by others about us
• Overall customer count broken out amongst various product segments
• New initiative roll out time

A:    Attainable

One should not pursue goals that are easily achieved. One must develop an instinct for what one can barely achieve through one's greatest efforts. - Albert Einstein

They key is to not set the bar too low.  We should rather set it very high and miss by a little than set it too low and lose motivation somewhere along the line.  However, incremental goals, which must also be part of the plan, must be relatively sure attains.

The next R is relevant, but it could also be realistic.  We aren't going to master everything tomorrow.  Constant progress not just in hitting goals, but in improving our process and outlook is a must.

R:    Relevant

Relevant actually is realistic to some degree.  We must focus on what we do well.  Our goals must be aligned with what we are doing now.  There is no need to veer off unnecessarily. 

This isn't to say new ventures, new products, or new business lines aren't important or shouldn't be part of an overall plan.  It is simply to state that goals for those things should be relevant just to them.  Goals for specific areas of the business should stay within their area.  Once each is defined, it can be put together with a SWOT analysis to determine which has priority and where resources should be allocated.  Then, the list of goals can be redefined in order to help out the relevant and attainable pieces. 

T:    Time Based

Without a due date for both overall, and for incremental pieces, a goal might as well be a dream.