How to Set (Crushable) Marketing Goals, According to HubSpot Pros

Hey, entrepreneurs. Increase your hand if you happen to’ve been personally victimized by huge, lofty advertising objectives with little to no assets to execute them.

✋🏽*raises each palms* ✋🏽

In a super world, we’d have limitless budgets and excellent circumstances to work with.

Like steady SERPs and easy social media algorithms. Or customers who chortle in any respect of our advertising jokes.

Whereas that’s not (all the time) the case, it’s nonetheless potential to set objectives which can be each formidable and attainable.

For inspiration, I’ve compiled a listing of the highest-priority objectives for entrepreneurs this yr. And as an added bonus, I requested a couple of advertising execs right here at HubSpot to share a few of their high ideas for objective setting.

Desk of Contents

Earlier this yr, we surveyed over 1,400 marketers to higher perceive the present state of selling. These 5 objectives bubbled to the floor for entrepreneurs who carried out profitable methods in 2023.

P.S. You’ll see some acquainted faces like elevated income and reaching new audiences, however the best way entrepreneurs are fascinated by these objectives is altering with the instances.

1. Enhance income and gross sales.

→ 24% of entrepreneurs listed growing income and gross sales as their high objective for 2024.

Every thing we do as entrepreneurs in the end rolls up into the underside line of the enterprise, so it’s no shock that this continues to be a high precedence.

As Amanda Sellers, supervisor of EN weblog technique at HubSpot, places it, “Every thing I do as a marketer ought to in the end assist the group I work for to develop income.”

Right here’s how one can make progress towards this objective: 75% of entrepreneurs imagine customized experiences drive gross sales and repeat enterprise. So, constructing connections and creating relationships throughout the customer’s journey is a should.

2. Enhance model consciousness and attain new audiences.

→ 19% of entrepreneurs listed growing model consciousness and reaching new audiences as their high objective for 2024.

Sounds fairly commonplace, however the best way we generate consciousness and attain right this moment is quite a bit totally different than in years previous.

It’s wild out right here, actually. Persons are discovering manufacturers from their favourite influencers as an alternative of extra conventional strategies like paid media. And types are capitalizing on common TikTok sounds and traits to attraction to youthful audiences.

For instance, why is Canva, a web-based design model, speaking about cucumber salad? As a result of TikTok consumer Logan (@logagm) not too long ago went viral for his “generally, that you must eat a whole cucumber” recipes.

Right here’s how one can make progress towards this objective: Hold a pulse on model sentiment and visibility in search and on social media. Advertising is turning into extra clever by the day, so it’s vital to know how folks understand you and find out about your merchandise.

3. Enhance engagement.

→ 19% of entrepreneurs listed growing engagement as their high objective for 2024.

What’s that? Oh, nothing.

Simply us entrepreneurs asking customers to love/remark/subscribe … once more.

For my part, the manufacturers that faucet into the most recent traits in significant methods win the engagement olympics each time.

And generally meaning not collaborating in each pattern — particularly if it’s not an excellent match to your model or your viewers.

Both means, I do know that is all simpler mentioned than finished. That’s why maintaining with traits is among the largest challenges that entrepreneurs are going through this yr.

Right here’s how one can make progress towards this objective: Nearly all of entrepreneurs agree that web site/weblog/search engine optimization, social media buying, and short-form video are the channels with highest ROI proper now. Contemplate focusing your efforts there.

4. Enhance sales-marketing alignment.

→ 16% of entrepreneurs listed enhancing sales-marketing alignment as their high objective for 2024.

Prospects need their shopping for experiences to be seamless. That’s subsequent to inconceivable in case your advertising and gross sales groups aren’t on the identical web page.

Our survey exhibits that 70% of entrepreneurs report having “prime quality leads,” however alignment with gross sales continues to be one of many largest challenges they face.

From wasted advertising budgets to misplaced gross sales, the results of misalignment are large. I can see why this can be a precedence for advertising groups this yr.

Right here’s how one can make progress towards this objective: The important thing to alignment is centralized information. Set up a single supply of reality (learn: CRM) that may permit your group to share information and collaborate extra successfully.

5. Drive site visitors to their model’s web site.

→ 15% of entrepreneurs listed driving site visitors to their model’s web site as their high objective for 2024.

This one’s an enormous sure from me as a blogger. How can we get extra views on our content material whereas battling algorithm replace (after algorithm replace, after … ) within the SERP?

Nicely, on the HubSpot Weblog Group, we knew we had no choice but to evolve.

• Google needs to prioritize experience-based content? Cool, we’ll offer you first-person views and emphasize our opinions as entrepreneurs in our writing.
• AI-powered search is taking up the Web? Nice, let’s optimize our content material and proceed constructing authority for that, too.

It’s a must to shift your technique with a purpose to proceed gaining site visitors in 2024 (and past). That’s a reality.

Right here’s how one can make progress towards this objective: Do a daily evaluation of how your model is performing on-line. For instance, you should use instruments like AI Search Grader to know how search AI fashions view your model and to determine new traffic-driving performs to lock in on.

In response to Karla Hesterberg, director of content material advertising at HubSpot, you by no means have to totally begin from scratch when setting your advertising objectives. That’s as a result of your objectives ought to all the time replicate the overarching enterprise technique.

“Your group has broader objectives, and it‘s your job to determine find out how to meaningfully join your work to them,” Hesterberg says. “Use your group’s broader objectives as a beginning place.”

She continues, “I begin by trying on the largest issues the general enterprise is attempting to resolve for. Then, I see the place my workforce‘s work suits into that image and might have essentially the most affect.

That makes it simpler to take a look at the scope of what we’re engaged on and decide which issues join again to the enterprise and which issues are within the ‘good to have’ class.”

2. Use your largest alternatives (or headwinds) as a place to begin.

“For setting workforce goals, I like to make use of our largest alternatives or headwinds as a place to begin and go from there,” says Hesterberg.

“Ideally, every thing we‘re engaged on — from huge initiatives to smaller initiatives — must be linked again to these central issues we’re fixing for.”

We take these huge alternatives and challenges and contextualize them into what we need to accomplish. At HubSpot, that materializes as our OGPs (objectives, goals, and plays).

Right here’s an instance from Sellers on how she makes use of OGPs to assist information the EN weblog technique at HubSpot:

• An goal describes what we’re getting down to obtain. For instance, I work on the EN weblog, and one among my goals may be to enhance our content material high quality in response to Google’s new Useful Content material tips.
• The objective itself defines what success seems like utilizing concrete metrics. For instance, we would forecast the end result to yield an estimated X natural visits and/or Y monetizable leads from these visits.
• A play is what we’ll do to attain our goal. For instance, one play that ladders as much as the target may be to implement a peer suggestions program for high quality assurance.”

“The perfect end result is that each motion or activity clearly ladders up. This helps with prioritization, alignment, and a lot extra.”

Having a framework like this ensures that our priorities are aligned at each degree of the group.

3. Use information to tell the “why” behind your method.

“If you happen to don’t know the ‘why’ behind a venture you’re engaged on, you need to pump the brakes and discover out,” says Sellers.

Actually, yeah. The largest waste of selling assets is doing issues for no motive or with little worth add. Stepping again to find out the ‘why’ helps you prioritize the actions and initiatives that may truly transfer the needle.

Sellers additionally notes the significance of knowledge throughout the goal-setting course of.

“Historic information is so vital when estimating affect to set objectives. If you happen to don’t have historic information, search out a case examine. Both of those choices are higher than an uninformed guess.”

*mic drop*

4. Attempt to not restrict your self to what feels potential right this moment.

That is one among my favourite ideas as a result of it tells me it’s okay to suppose huge even when assets appear restricted.

Basha Coleman, principal advertising supervisor at HubSpot, says, “Don‘t assume that one thing can’t be finished. Problem your self to work via the obstacles to attain as near the perfect resolution as potential.”

She continues, “Take into consideration the issue and the perfect resolution. Don‘t restrict the answer to what’s potential right this moment — suppose huge, idealistic, and as if nothing is inconceivable. Then, as soon as the answer is recognized, work out what you’d want to begin, cease, or proceed doing to get to that resolution.

These begin, cease, and proceed objects are the detailed techniques that you must full to attain your objectives.”