The following list of SMART objective examples are designed to support business advisors, consultants and accountants to build strategic business plans for their clients.
Our SMART objectives follow the SMART model. Therefore, the examples are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound targets.
As you know your client’s goals better than us, we recommend reviewing our Setting SMART Objectives blog to decide which objectives best meet their business needs.
When writing objectives, it’s important to focus on a range of topics, not just financial-based results. Therefore, we have listed a range of SMART objective examples for:
Where to use SMART Objectives
SMART Objectives are not just for strategic business plans. They can be used for marketing campaigns, operational improvement plans, customer engagement, corporate social responsibilities and employee well-being initiatives.
How our SMART objective examples work?
All examples are written for you to input your figures. We have suggested the metric with the following system:
- $$$ – Input financial Target
- %% – Input percentage
- ## – Input number
- MM/YYYY – Month/year target (01/2022)
Note: all the below SMART objective examples assume a start date for measurement has been established. Need a quick way to establish a start point? See our Business Benchmark Report.
50 SMART Objective examples
Financial/Performance Objectives
1. Increase company revenue by %% before MM/YYYY.
2. Reach a company revenue of $$$ by MM/YYYY.
3. Increase company net profits by %% before MM/YYYY.
4. Increase average annual gross profit margins to %% by MM/YYYY.
5. Increase average annual net profit margins to %% by MM/YYYY.
6. Increase business value by %% before MM/YYYY.
7. Reduce potential profit gap by %% before YYYY.
8. Increase owners profit by %% in YYYY.
9. Increase returns to shareholders by %% in YYYY.
10. Improve profits (gross and/or net) per employee by %% in YYYY.
11. Improve stock turn rates by %% in YYYY.
Customer Growth Objectives
12. Increase the number of customers by %% before MM/YYYY.
13. Increase the average financial value of each customer by %% before MM/YYYY.
14. Reduce annual customer/client/subscriber churn rate by %% before MM/YYYY.
15. Increase market share by %% by MM/YYYY.
16. Increase customer retention by %% across YYYY.
Customer Satisfaction Objectives
17. Achieve an average customer review rating of ## during YYYY.
18. Increase average customer review rating by %% from the previous year.
19. Achieve ## customer reviews and feedback by MM/YYYY.
20. Increase the number of customer referrals by %% across YYYY.
Productivity Objectives
21. Improve operational productivity by %% before MM/YYYY.
22. Improve output per employee by %% during YYYY.
23. Reduce annual average job/project delivery timeframes by %% during YYYY.
24. Improve asset turnover rate by %% across YYYY.
Capacity and Occupancy Objectives
25. Improve occupancy rates by %% across YYYY.
26. Increase capacity used rate by %% across YYYY.
27. Improve premises utilisation/ROI by %% in YYYY.
Marketing & Communication Objectives
28. Increase the number of genuine leads from Target Market Segments by %% in YYYY.
29. Increase the opt-in prospects database by ## potential clients by MM/YYYY.
30. Improve click-through rates of prospect marketing by %% before MM/YYYY.
31. Increase ROI for online marketing campaigns to $$:$$ by MM/YYYY.
32. Increase new website visitors by %% over YYYY.
33. Improve SEO ranking of the company website to ## by MM/YYYY.
34. Generate $$$ in sales from new/specific product range by MM/YYYY.
35. Increase social media followers to ## by MM/YYYY.
36. Increase positive online engagement by %% across YYYY.
Sales Objectives
37. Increase prospects conversion rates by %% prior to MM/YYYY.
38. Reduce sale conversion time-frame by %% before MM/YYYY.
39. Reduce acquisition cost per new sale by %% before MM/YYYY.
40. Increase cross-sell rate by %% during YYYY.
41. Increase up-sell % to %% during YYYY.
Well-being and Social Responsibility Objectives
42. Reduce owner hours by %% whilst maintaining the same net profit by MM/YYYY.
43. Reduce employee hours by %% whilst maintaining the same net profit by MM/YYYY.
44. Achieve a score of XX in employee workplace wellbeing survey during YYYY.
45. Improve employee mental health scores by %% in YYYY.
46. Increase employee volunteer hours by %% in YYYY.
47. Reduce carbon footprint by %% in YYYY.
Employee/HR Objectives
48. Reduce time frames for finding new employees for the business by ## in YYYY.
49. Improve employee retention rates by %% in YYYY.
50. Increase employee workplace satisfaction by %% in YYYY.
For more information about setting objectives, read our guide on Setting SMART Objectives.