How to Set SMART Goals for Your E-commerce Business in 2024 [Updated]

Why do so many people fail to reach the goals they set for their businesses? One reason might be the structure of the objective itself. SMART goals focus on a set of standards that ensure you’re looking at realistic possibilities while stretching for better prospects. 

What Is a SMART Goal?

You may have already heard about SMART goals. If you haven’t, here is what the acronym stands for:

Specific: The goal needs to be narrow in scope. Instead of saying, “Make more money,” you would say, “Increase revenue by 10% in 2025.” 

Measurable: You must be able to measure the results in numbers or some measurable way.

Achievable: It’s OK to stretch yourself, but ensure it is a goal you can realistically achieve. You don’t want to set yourself or your team up for failure. 

Relevant: The goal must matter to the growth and longevity of your business. Why does this particular objective matter? 

Timed: Set a deadline for your goal. “Increase revenue by 10% in the fourth quarter of 2024.”

You can see how sticking to very specific, concrete goals helps you measure results and see higher success rates. If you use key performance indicators (KPIs) to track progress, you’ll better understand which ones to look at. Here are some tips to set the best e-commerce goals imaginable.

1. Audit Your Business

Before writing out goals, figure out where your business currently is. Are there any areas where customers complain a lot? Can you make fixing at least one of those a SMART goal? 

Pay attention to your weaknesses as a brand. Set SMART goals to overcome those challenges. You’ll see the most improvement when you focus on meeting expectations and satisfying your current clients. Pay attention to feedback during customer service calls to determine ways to improve your store and reduce complaints. 

2. Find Balance

Don’t be so tied into SMART goals that you overlook other goal-setting methods that might work better for a particular situation. Although they are one of the most popular methods for goal-setting, you might also use another one alongside, such as big small quick (BSQ). 

With BSQ, you break down a bigger goal to get through the tasks. First, look at the big, overarching objective. Next, break it down into smaller, more manageable tasks. Finally, set deadlines so you can make progress quickly. Using SMART goals with BSQ pushes you to move forward. 

3. Add Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools

Advances in AI mean you can tap into the power of machine learning (ML) to help achieve your e-commerce goals. One example is AILice, which looks at Shoppingfeed categories and selects ones that are most likely to perform well for digital retail stores. The program had a 93% success rate, choosing more precisely than utilizing customer feedback. 

One of the biggest benefits of AI to help you achieve smart goals is through ML and the system learning what works and doesn’t work over time to push you toward your objectives. 

4. Talk to Your Staff

Your employees do their jobs day in and out. They know where the weaknesses and strengths are. Spend time meeting with staff and talking to them about your thoughts on SMART goals. Brainstorm with them about how you can improve your objectives.

Encourage your employees to set personal smart goals to help them grow and thrive as a worker. What can you do to support them as individuals? When a company invests in training and encourages employees to develop new skills, they’re much more engaged. 

5. Stop Bad Habits

Setting SMART goals and reinforcing new, better habits strengthens any brand. However, you must stop bad habits before you can start new ones. For example, if your brand overspends in certain areas, how can you first cut spending before focusing on earning more revenue?

One way a lot of companies bleed money is by losing qualified employees frequently. Your brand’s churn rate can cost you a lot of cash. Experts estimate replacing a single worker costs as much as nine months of salary. Change your company culture so your staff wants to stay. 

5. Write the Goal Out

Don’t just say the goal and not keep track of it. Write it out so you remember exactly what the SMART goal says. Put it on a big poster board with a graph measuring progress. Cheer on successes along the way. Buy your team lunch when they hit a smaller objective.

An ongoing reminder of how far the team has come and what is left to accomplish can spur people to greatness. Something as simple as a poster or graph marking touch points gets everyone on the same page. 

Remember Accountability

Just having a goal may not do much for your business. Find out who will hold you accountable for taking the steps needed to reach each objective. Break things down into tasks and report to your accountability partner each time you miss or surpass a mark. 

Everyone needs reminding or cheering on at times, so serve that role for your team and ask them to do the same for you. With SMART goals, you can find more success and take your business to the next level.