Setting Objectives

If you have a business, you better have some business objectives. A business ithout goals or objectives will eventually flounder. Every action you take as a business should be done with specific objectives in mind, and in order to move you toward your goals. Thus, learning how to properly set objectives is key. The following is a guide to setting business objectives so that your business has a direction to go in, and an overall plan that gets you where you really want to be.

Have a vision or overall plan for your business. You can set objectives and goals if you don't know where you want to go. So, the first thing you have to do is sit down, think about your business, think about the resources and time you have available, and determine where you want your business to be in the next five years. This might mean expansion, it might mean new product development, etc. Get a vision on paper so that you have a place you are heading, or an overall goal your objectives are going to help you reach. Otherwise your objectives are pointless.

Setting goals that help you reach the ultimate goal. Next, look at that overall goal, and determine some steps or smaller goals that will help you to reach it. For example, if you want to expand, and open five new retail locations, your goals may be to open one a year in the next five years. The breaking down of the ultimate goal, will help you to figure out exactly what your objectives need to be in order to prove successful.

Align objectives with strengths- The next step is to look at your company and determine what you are good at or what you have the potential to be the best at. This is your competitive advantage, and your objectives should capitalize on it. For example, if your competitive advantage is pricing, then your objectives might be something like creating a pricing structure that reduces the risks to consumers so that they feel comfortable purchasing.

Creation of action steps is the last step. Once you know where you want to go, and define your strengths, and align your objectives with those strengths so that you can capitalize on them, it is time to create the actions or action steps that lead you to your objectives and goals.

An objective can be broad, like "Providing the best possible customer service" and the action steps are going to be the things you are going to change, improve on, or continue doing in order to make that objective a reality, such as "respond quicker to social media posts from consumers", "provide more information and support to consumers by creating a 24 hour phone line, and a blog". You need to get specific with the action steps that are going to make your objectives a reality.