It’s sometimes hard to know the difference between goals and objectives – we often use these terms interchangeably. Marketing goals and objectives differ in the time frame needed to achieve each. Goals typically have a long-term focus. Objectives support the goal and typically have a shorter focus with specific milestones, perhaps monthly assessments to check performance. For example: Your goal is to increase awareness for new products. This could be supported by an objective of contacting 10 new customers each week.

Set goals based on your company’s current strengths and weaknesses. If your strength is a great new product line with employees who are well trained, but your weakness is poor foot traffic – you will fail to meet your desired sales numbers. Getting more potential customers in the door should be your primary goal. What marketing objective can you try this week to increase foot traffic? You may find it helpful to create a calendar based on realistic dates by which you can measure results.

Breaking down big marketing goals into specific objectives gives you a road map to divide and conquer each one until you’ve reached every important marketing destination.