7 Examples of Marketing Objectives and How To Set Yours Right
Creating powerful marketing objectives extends beyond merely imitating given examples of marketing objectives. As a strategic marketer, your aim should be to craft precise objectives that authentically reflect your business’s unique ethos, while adroitly adapting to the ever-changing marketing landscape.
Interestingly, a business with clear and measurable goals is ten times more likely to thrive. This highlights the crucial role of distinct marketing objectives in shaping a successful strategy.
In this guide, we’ll journey through some of the most compelling examples of marketing objectives, accompanied by practical insights on how to how assess their impact. Furthermore, we’ll offer valuable strategies to adapt these examples to meet your specific needs. Let’s begin.
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What Are Marketing Objectives?
Marketing objectives are the driving force behind your company’s marketing efforts, encompassing specific and attainable outcomes that you aim to accomplish within a designated time frame. These objectives serve as your guiding star, directing your focus and shaping your marketing activities, typically over the course of a year.
The significance of well-defined marketing objectives cannot be overstated. They not only provide clarity and purpose to your marketing strategy but also serve as measurable benchmarks for evaluating your performance. By aligning your progress with these objectives, you gain valuable insights that inform adjustments and enhancements to your marketing plans.
Let’s dive into examples.
Insightful Examples of SMART Objectives in 2023
1. Augmenting Share of Voice (SOV) as a Marketing Strategy
An example of the objective is:
Propel SOV from 11% to 16% by the culmination of 2023
SOV, a significant objective in social media and digital marketing, measures the proportion of advertising presence relative to competitors. This marketing strategy example has considerable value due to its strong correlation with market share. Achieving an excess SOV often prompts an increase in market share over time.
How to Achieve It
Measuring SOV depends on the specific channels you opt for. For organic search, you can use Ahrefs’ Rank Tracker to monitor your main keywords, add your competitors’ domains, and analyze SOV to gauge your performance.
2. Boosting Brand Awareness
- A prime example of marketing goals and objectives aimed at boosting brand awareness is:
- Elevate unaided awareness of our brand among marketers from 31% to 38% by the end of 2023
Brand awareness is crucial in familiarizing your brand among your target audience, separating you from competitors.
Consider these key metrics to measure and boost your brand awareness:
Aided Brand Awareness: Measures the percentage of respondents who recognize your brand when prompted.
Unaided Brand Awareness (Brand Recall): Reflects the percentage of respondents who mention your brand spontaneously.
Top-of-Mind Awareness: Captures the percentage of respondents who recall your brand as the first choice in your industry.
Brand Recognition: Assesses the percentage of respondents who identify your brand through visual cues.
By targeting an increase in unaided awareness from 31% to 38% by the end of 2023, you can boost your brand’s visibility and advance your marketing efforts.
How to Achieve It
Market research agencies can offer comprehensive insights for measuring brand awareness. Share of Voice (SOV) can also serve as a proxy for brand visibility.
3. Refining Brand Perception
Among the examples of communication objectives in marketing, here is one for refining brand perception:
Elevate the perception of being the best SEO toolset from 44% to 51% by the end of 2023
Ensuring your brand resonates with the desired image you wish to project is critical. This goal illuminates the current perception of your brand, serving as an ideal springboard for refining your communication strategies. Engaging the professional services of a content writing agency like Teknonwriters can be an effective step in achieving this.
How to Measure It
Similar to brand awareness, measuring brand perception requires surveys and often the assistance of specialized agencies. However, you can gather a significant amount of data yourself by surveying your current and lost customers.
Monitoring your brand’s online mentions is another useful approach. Tools like Brand24 can help track sentiment and provide insights to improve your reputation if that is your primary focus.
4. Customer Acquisition
Here is an example of marketing objectives aimed at improving customer acquisition is:
Increase monthly active clients for Teknonwriters from 100 to 150 by the end of 2023.
Driving growth in your customer or user base extends beyond financial metrics; it holds profound implications for your brand. By focusing on customer acquisition, you can expand your reach, amplify brand awareness, and drive long-term growth
How to Measure It:
Use data from your CRM to track user acquisition and monthly active users. It is worth noting that this objective may not be applicable for physical product manufacturers selling in supermarkets, as the nature of their marketing goals differs.
5. Increasing Sales Growth
Here is an example of marketing goals and objectives aimed at increasing sales growth:
Elevate annual recurring revenue (ARR) from $104 million to $120 million by the end of 2023
Boosting sales growth serves as a primary short-term marketing objective that directly impacts your revenue and profitability. To effectively measure sales growth, it is essential to identify the most relevant financial metrics based on your business model and strategic planning.
Sales growth objectives can be targeted towards specific products or services, offering limitless possibilities for expansion.
How to Measure It:
Obtain data from your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform, checkout systems, or other financial dashboards to track sales performance accurately.
However, it is important to note that relying solely on Google Analytics numbers may be misleading. These figures are inherently skewed and may not provide comprehensive tracking of your sales metrics.
6. Generating Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs)
Here is an example of a marketing objective aimed at generating MQLs
Boost the number of MQLs from 5,676 in 2022 to 6,500 in 2023
A Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL) represents a lead that demonstrates interest in your brand and products, which can be indicated through various actions such as downloading an ebook or submitting a contact form.
This objective aligns well with subscription-based businesses that have sales representatives responsible for converting these leads into customers.
How to Measure It:
Tracking MQLs has become more streamlined with modern tools. Implement a lead scoring system that automatically evaluates incoming leads based on relevant data points, including:
The estimated purchasing power of the company.
User behavior and actions taken on your app or website.
Trial tier and setup.
Information shared by the lead to your customer representatives or sales team, such as their search for a new solution.
Data collected through forms or lead magnets.
CRM platforms like HubSpot offer built-in lead scoring functionality, but consulting with a CRM analytics expert can ensure an optimal setup from the beginning.
7. Enhancing Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)
Here is an example of a marketing objective aimed at increasing CLV:
Amplify CLV among enterprise customers from $44,500 to $55,000 by the end of 2023
Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) is a crucial metric that estimates the total monetary value a customer is expected to generate over their entire relationship with your business. By increasing the average value of each customer, you not only improve financial performance but also gain the ability to allocate more resources toward customer acquisition.
How to Measure It:
Calculating CLV involves the following basic formula:
Average Order Value x Average Annual Purchase Frequency x Average Customer Lifespan
For instance, if your average order value is $100, customers make purchases four times a year, and they remain loyal to your company for an average of three years, the CLV would be $100 * 4 * 3 = $1,200.
When setting CLV objectives, you can focus on improving any of the three metrics involved. Enhancing average order value, increasing purchase frequency, or extending the customer lifespan will result in an elevated CLV. For further insights on increasing customer lifespan, refer to the comprehensive guide I have authored on reducing churn rate.
Best Practices for Setting Effective Marketing Objectives
To ensure your marketing objectives align well with your strategy and plans, follow these three best practices:
Start with your key marketing needs
While increasing conversion rates is desirable, it’s important to prioritize based on your target audience’s awareness of your brand. Conduct thorough market research to gain insights that inform your marketing strategy. Look at the bigger picture by analyzing brand diagnosis, CRM data, and analytics systems to identify the most significant marketing opportunities.
Align with SMART criteria
Your objectives should follow the SMART framework, a widely recognized concept in management. Here is a description of the SMART goals:
Specific: Clearly state the desired outcome, including who, what, when, and how much.
Measurable: Track progress using key performance indicators (KPIs).
Achievable: Set ambitious yet realistic goals based on your current growth.
Relevant: Ensure objectives align with your overall marketing and business strategy.
Timely: Set a timeframe for achieving the goal.
Ensure your objectives meet all these criteria to effectively measure progress and success.
Focus on strategic objectives
While you can create numerous marketing objectives, it’s best to prioritize and focus on one or two strategic objectives. Less is more, and campaigns with fewer objectives tend to be more effective. Balance your objectives between short-term and long-term outcomes, aiming for a mix of profit-driven objectives and brand-building objectives. The ideal balance between sales uplift and brand building is generally around 40:60.
Remember to branch out your strategic objectives into smaller tactical goals for each marketing channel to guide your marketing planning effectively.
Over To You
If you’ve been asking, “What are the examples of marketing objectives?” look no further. By utilizing these prime examples of smart marketing objectives and adhering to these best practices, you can curate potent objectives that thrust your marketing strategy into the forefront. These objectives not only serve as the bedrock of your successful marketing pursuits in 2023 and beyond but also help you delve deeper into understanding and addressing the unique needs of your business in the dynamic realm of digital and social media marketing. This tailored approach will position you favorably in the fast-paced business environment, ensuring your marketing efforts resonate effectively with your audience.