Make Successful Business Goals in 2022 with These 4 Steps

Management
January 2022
If you want your business to be more successful than last year, it’s necessary to start the year right by setting business goals. However, there’s a difference between standard goal-setting and setting SMART goals.
 
It can’t just be about getting more clients and making more money. Those goals are too broad. You have to get down to specifics to truly understand the goals of your business. This is what leads to success.
 
Here are four tips for setting successful business goals in 2022.

1) Your business priorities should be clear

 
Setting business goals, you can actually achieve involves making a list of priorities, from most important to least important. Not all goals are created equal. Decide what you need to do first, whether it’s finding new clients, getting current clients to upgrade, or keeping the staff motivated. After all, trying to do everything can easily lead to your business barely moving forward at all.
 
Once you have your business priorities on a list, they become more manageable. You can move down the list, achieving one goal at a time in a clear and organized fashion. Furthermore, try not to include too many goals on the list. Focus on what is truly important at this stage of your business. That way, you won’t get too overwhelmed before you even start.

2) Consider the strengths and weaknesses of your business

 
When setting goals that lead to real changes, you have to define the strengths and weaknesses of your business. Knowing what you’re already doing well at means you won’t waste time setting goals around what’s already working.
 
On the flip side, knowing your weaknesses is crucial for business goal-setting. You’ll set the right goals that focus on where your business needs the most improvement. For example, if a major weakness of your business is limited growth, you should make specific goals focused on better marketing and getting employees more invested in selling the product. If your weakness is high employee turnover, a priority goal might be to create better morale for staff through increased benefits and workplace satisfaction.

3) Make sure your business goals are SMART


SMART business goals are as follows:
  • Specific. The more specific your goal is, the higher chance it’ll have the outcome you want.
  • Measurable. You should have a way to measure if you are succeeding or not.
  • Achievable. Ensure you can achieve the goal through actionable steps.
  • Relevant. The goal has to be in line with your overall business objectives.
  • Timely. Set a timeline for the goal.
Each goal should become a SMART goal. Here’s an example. Imagine one of your business goals is to decrease employee turnover. To turn it into a SMART goal, you simply have to make sure it checks all of the SMART boxes:
  • Specific: Maintain 80 percent of employees, including both existing staff and new hires.
  • Measurable: Measure progress by tracking employee longevity.
  • Achievable: Offer employees raises, a higher starting wage, and a better benefits package.
  • Relevant: By paying employees more and giving them better benefits, they will be more likely to want to stay with the company.
  • Timely: Check progress at the end of the first quarter of 2022 to see how you’re doing.

4) Keep Track of your KPIs

 
Key performance indicators (KPIs) are a way to measure if your business is on track to achieve its goals. Furthermore, they’re a good way to keep you motivated. KPIs are included inside the framework of SMART goals but being aware of them can make success even more likely. For example, customers tend to be more satisfied when employees are happy at their jobs.
 
If you’re achieving your goal of improving employee retention, an associated KPI would be happier customers and higher profits thanks to customer growth.

Schedule a free consultation with us today to discuss setting goals to keep your business on the path to success!