Inbound Marketing is a strategic approach that focuses on generating new leads and customers for your business by improving your online visibility.
Through the creation of content and a well mapped out website, your organization is able to use Inbound Marketing to build brand awareness, organically drive potential customers to your website, generate leads and nurture relationships.
The thing is… without clear objectives, even the most sophisticated Inbound Marketing strategy can fall flat. That’s why goal setting is so important to Inbound Marketing.
Goals are the sail that drives your Inbound Marketing efforts to where your business needs to go. But what exactly are Inbound Marketing goals and how do you set them? We’ll take a deeper dive right here in this blog.
By establishing clear, measurable objectives, you provide your marketing team with a roadmap, ensuring that every action contributes to the overarching goals of your business. Here at SummitBound Marketing, we call these your North Star goals - and they drive everything we do within your marketing program to help your business achieve its objectives.
In essence, goals are the compass that guides your Inbound efforts. To be effective, however, your Inbound Marketing goals should be SMART:
Your goals should be clearly defined and focused on a particular outcome, avoiding vague or broad objectives. For instance, instead of "Increase website traffic," a specific goal would be: "Increase organic website traffic by 20% in the next quarter."
Your goals should be quantifiable with specific metrics to track progress. Examples include website traffic, lead generation, conversion rates, and social media engagement.
Your goals should be realistic and achievable based on your resources, team capabilities, and industry benchmarks. Overly ambitious goals can lead to frustration and demotivation.
Your goals should be aligned with your overall business objectives and target audience. Ensure your marketing goals contribute directly to your company's success.
With a clear start and end date to create a sense of urgency and accountability, your goals should be time-bound. This helps in tracking progress and making timely adjustments.
Goals are the lifeblood of a successful Inbound Marketing strategy. They offer numerous advantages:
Your marketing efforts are critical to the overall health and growth of your business. This is where the alignment of marketing goals with your broader business objectives becomes crucial.
Aligning marketing goals with your company's North Star objectives (your overall business goals) ensures that every marketing effort contributes directly to the company's success.
For instance, if your company's overarching goal is to increase customers by 10% in the next fiscal year, your marketing goals should directly support this objective. An example of a SMART goal that helps move the needle towards this could be increasing lead generation by 20% over the year.
By tying marketing goals to your company's North Star, you create a clear connection between marketing activities and business outcomes. This not only enhances the impact of your marketing efforts, but also demonstrates that marketing is a strategic function that drives tangible business results.
Increasing website traffic is the foundation of any successful Inbound Marketing strategy. It's a crucial indicator of your online visibility and reach. To drive targeted traffic, consider the following:
Converting website visitors into qualified leads is a critical step in the sales funnel. Effective lead generation requires a strategic approach:
While traffic and lead generation is great, the ultimate goal of Inbound Marketing is to drive revenue by converting leads into customers. The following strategies can help:
To achieve optimal results, be mindful of these common pitfalls:
Unrealistic expectations can lead to frustration and demotivation. It's always best to start with achievable goals and gradually increase the bar as you gain momentum. The more historical data you have from your website, the more you'll understand what achievable goals will look like.
As we mentioned before, your marketing goals should directly contribute to your company's overall success. Avoid setting isolated goals that don't align with your broader business strategy.
Your marketing shouldn't just be a workshop where tasks get done. It's important to clearly define the desired outcomes and use tactics as a means to achieve those goals. In other words, don't just create a blog for the sake of it. What is the purpose of this specific piece of content you are creating, what persona is it targeting, what keyword is it aiming to rank for, and what is the next piece of content or asset you want to guide the visitor to?
While you probably have lofty goals, what you can achieve (and in what time span) will largely come down to your resources. What budget, personnel, and tools do you have to help support your goals, or how much are you investing in a marketing agency to help?
We've said it before but we'll say it again, past performance and historical data is a gift when it comes to setting realistic and informed goals. Leverage this data to identify trends and opportunities for your future marketing efforts.
Don't just set goals and forget about them. It's important that you develop a detailed plan that outlines the steps (and tasks) required to achieve your goals. By assigning responsibilities and setting deadlines you'll ensure that your team is accountable for each action item.
Not sure where to start? SummitBound’s experienced Inbound Marketing, Content Strategy, and HubSpot experts can help you develop and implement a data-driven marketing strategy that helps you achieve your business goals.