Inbound Marketing Goals | Setting & Prioritization

In this edition of 'What's the protocol?' we tackle the art of goal setting and how to prioritize those goals in the realm of inbound marketing.

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In inbound marketing, you'll encounter both smaller and larger goals. 

Regardless of their magnitude, all goals should adhere to the SMART marketing goals framework. They must be:

• Specific
• Measurable 
• Attainable 
• Relevant
• Timely

Tying Initiatives to Goals

Whether you're optimizing a landing page, launching a paid advertising campaign, or outlining a quarterly content plan, each initiative must tie back to a larger goal. 

Let's say your aim is to grow leads year-over-year by 50%. It's important to set granular monthly goals that will lead you to your ultimate target.

To achieve effective goal setting, the first thing to ask is: “Who should be involved in this conversation?” 

The key stakeholders should all be on board, including your:

• Marketing department 
• Sales 
• Service teams 

These departments are tied to the organization's goal generation and revenue. You can't assume a marketing goal but then leave sales out of it because that team is really driving the product.

Everyone needs to work together, have an open conversation, and then everyone can be on point moving forward.

Prioritizing Goals

Now, let's tackle the question: “How do you prioritize those goals?” 

Begin by having a clear understanding of the process. 

Let's say you're launching an inbound marketing campaign. While you might be tempted to dive into the weeds, it's essential to focus first on: 

• Who you're targeting 
• What the competition looks like
• What the current analytics suggest 

After you've determined how to approach your goals, you'll need to prioritize that list and decide how to track and report on them.

Most likely, you're going to need to grow some traffic!

So it's important to keep a close eye on your digital marketing analytics, whether it's through Google Analytics, HubSpot, Tag Manager, or SEM Rush. These tools show you how your target persona interacts with your website and suggest areas of optimization. 

Tracking Progress

You'll want to establish at least a monthly marketing report cadence to monitor your progress towards those goals. 

If something is working well, capitalize on it and possibly tweak the strategy. If something isn't working month over month, go back to the drawing board and try different tactics that could help you reach your yearly goals.

Always be tracking progress. You can't know if things are better unless you're looking at the quantity and quality of what you're getting. For more resources in this series, head to: