• Home
  • What Is SEO?
    • Website
  • What is PPC?
  • Social Media
    • Social Audit
  • Tools
    • Referrals
    • Kick Your Biz in Gear eBook
  • Blog
  • Contact
    • About AVB
    • Schedule w/ Me
    • Testimonials
      • Leave a Testimonial

A Visual Business

You are here: Home / blog / Why You Should Evaluate Your Business Goals for Growth

Why You Should Evaluate Your Business Goals for Growth

07/15/2020 By Kristen Day Leave a Comment

Always evaluate your business goals so you can succeedThis was originally started to be a new year type thing and got delayed, then thought it would be great for during a pandemic when things are totally different than we planned, but thought, who cares, it doesn’t matter!  Is there ever a wrong time?  Is there ever a wrong time to create goals and plan for a better business?  Stuff happens, things shift, we gain and lose customers (for whatever reason), our lives change… so we should always keep our business goals in the forefront.

Undoubtedly, there are high points/pains and low points/struggles in your marketing plan. It’s always good to know your strengths, weaknesses, pains, struggles, objectives, goals and put it all out on the table to better assist you with a successful business.  Remember to be sure to be your authentic self, set realistic goals, keep the customer at the front of your sights but keep your competition in mind so you are sure to be setting yourself apart from them – the right way.  Take a look at some of these marketing plan ideas and goals to help propel your business into growth.

Review the prior plan and results

The first thing to focus on with your business marketing plan is to understand where you did things right, what worked and what you might have missed the mark on. From there, you can “trim the fat”. Some things may be poorly constructed marketing, networking groups that didn’t meet your expectations (or aren’t meeting any more) or even products or services that you thought there was a market for, but there wasn’t.

This will help you start off on the right foot for your next set of goals. Cut what didn’t work and move forward with what did. Don’t get stuck by holding onto something you do for the sake of money or doing it. Ensure that you love what you are doing and doing more of it versus the crap you just don’t want to do.  Your business and its success will thank you for it.

Design SMART goalsBe sure you are goal setting SMART for your business

In business, SMART goals are very specific.  As you might recall, SMART goals stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely.  This allows you to create and keep your goals more effectively and efficiently.  By making sure that your marketing plan adheres to SMART goals, you’ll be more accountable by having the means to measure those specific goals thus being able to have a more successful year than it would be without SMART goals leading the way.  If one of your ideas doesn’t hit SMART, than adapt it so that it does.  You will thank me later. 🙂

Don’t be afraid to throw a plan out the window and start over

In reviewing your last plan, whether it was last year or last quarter, it’s possible that you may find that there is nothing worth keeping from your marketing plan.  This could be equal parts liberating and terrifying.  The thing to remember, however, is that you may simply need to throw the plan out and start over.  This could be the best thing possible for your next marketing plan, and if this is the case then rip up the old plan, throw it out the window (metaphorically speaking), and start over with a blank piece of paper (or screen) and, thus, start over on your plan.

Planning for your next marketing plan and/or goals

Figure out your big goals

Your business could benefit from a big goal that you would like to achieve. It could be 1 or several.  I like to have goals in various areas of my life – business, family, spouse, my shooting, health, spiritual, etc.  Start with each big goal and don’t be afraid to spread your mind to the great unknown of hopes of dreams.  Write it all down, brainstorm, and then use these ideas to help you formulate your big goals for each area of your life that you are wanting to create a plan form.

Set your mini goals to help you get thereBrainstorm by yourself or with others for your business goals

With your big goals and ideas written down, now is the time to figure out how you’re going to get there.  This means picking and designing mini goals that act as steps to get you to that big goal by whatever that deadline or timeline is (remember the T in Smart goals – timely).  After all, your progress is going to be marked by success with these mini goals, whatever they may be.  It will help you to see your progress instead of simply “winging it” and hoping you hit your goal along the way,  This, of course, goes back to the SMART acronym above.

I’m sure you’ve heard this analogy before but let’s say one of your big goals was to travel the world.  Would you just get in the car and go? Not likely, how would you know where you are stopping, what you need to pack, etc?  Typically you would plan out when you are leaving, where you are stopping (in general), what activities you want to explore (part of the point of the traveling), how you will get there and etc.  Create a plan for those mini goals. These are your Measurement pieces of your SMART goals and put them into action.

Because let’s be honest, looking at that one big goal all at once can be quite overwhelming, right?  How do you eat an elephant… one piece at a time!

Business goal ideas

Thinking of business goals can sometimes be difficult other than the typical – make more money, or get more clients. Those are kind of obvious, right? But how will you do that?  For example, what strategies are you looking to use?  Does your business use social media?  Which platforms do you prefer?  Have you put focus into search engine optimization (SEO) for your website? How are you expecting to be seen?  Do you have valuable content on your website? Do you blog to keep that content up-to-date and relevant for your consumers and your business?  Have you explored the option of email marketing?  These are all important facets in your monthly (and yearly) marketing plan to consider.  Knowing how you are going to tackle it, and which strategies to get there, may help with this.

Business is about relationships

You have no business if you have no customers. And you can build a better business if you have a team. Whether you have a team who gets paid to work for you or you have a networking group who keeps an ear out for your business – that is your team – you need to build that.Build relationships with customer and business partners for growth

While forming your business plan, don’t forget to focus on making worthwhile business connections that are relevant to your business.  For example, what various marketing channels are available to you?  Do you have connections to help you out with digital and print advertising?  Do you know someone that can help boost your PR?  Do you have business partners that you can refer to and who would refer to you – a complimentary business? Do you have the proper connections in place to help propel your business?  What about tools to make your business easier to do? These might be the things you consider important in your business plan.

Listen to your customers

While often neglected in marketing plans, focus on the customers and understanding your target market is important to factor in.  What are their needs?  What products/services matter to them?  Does your target market respond to your advertising?  Are you even accessing the right market?  Understand how your customer factors in and make them a key part of your marketing. Hopefully you have a business relationship with your clients and you can reach out to them to see what their needs are. If not and you know your target market, see what those people need and want. And lastly, you can see what your competitor is doing for their customers and make it work for your business.

Give it time

The last big thing in your marketing plan is to be patient. (said no Kristen ever)  This will take months – yes, really – to put into action in all of its aspects and details.  As such, seeing whether or not its succeeding won’t be instant.  Stick to your plan, remember your goals and reevaluate each day/week/month or however often it is necessary. Rome wasn’t built in a day and your business won’t either. If you want to succeed, you have to work for it, you have to sweat, you have to put in more than everyone else. Remember, if it were easy, everyone would do it. And they try, but do they last?  You will if you work for it.

Bottom line

Regardless where you are in your business journey, don’t lose sight of your goals and your end game. As you know, it takes work. Don’t forget to consider that some things work, some don’t, but just as long as you learn from them. Be sure you are networking with a community that supports you, as much as you support them. Find a few businesses that compliment you so you can share referrals between each other. Your customer is your end user so never lose sight of that and keep them in mind when creating new products, services and etc.

Should I be able to help you with your online visibility – to get you in front of your target market, to get your website up to date or in front of your peeps with Google Ads or SEO, please contact me. I would be happy to help however I can, even if it is a brainstorming consulting type session!

~Kristen

Kristen Day on FacebookKristen Day on GoogleKristen Day on LinkedinKristen Day on Twitter
Kristen Day
Kristen Day
CEO/Founder of A Visual Business
Kristen is a small business owner and thus dedicated to other small business owners by helping them improve their online presence with search engine optimization, social media marketing, email marketing and pay per click advertising all of which are necessary 'evils' in the digital marketing sphere but enables small business owners the opportunity to compete with larger companies. When not in the digital arena, you can find her riding her Honda VTX1300 or drinking a margarita.

Filed Under: blog, small business owners Tagged With: business plan, goals, marketing, networking

« Is Your Website Secure – The SSL Certificate
Shift from Surviving to Thriving – Starting Yesterday! »

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Buy SEO Title & Meta Description eBook

Learn how to optimize your SEO Title & Meta Description

4 FREE SEO TIPS YOU CAN DO

Get 4 Easy Peasy SEO Tips you can do right now!

Search My Site

Follow AVB!

A Visual Business on FacebookFollow Kristen on TwitterFollow AVB on Pinterest
Connect with Kristen on Linked In Follow AVB on Instagram

AVB Blog Categories

  • blog (156)
  • blogging (26)
  • content marketing (9)
  • email marketing (10)
  • human nature (1)
  • keywords (4)
  • pay per click advertising (10)
  • search engine optimization (73)
  • small business owners (78)
  • social media marketing (38)
  • time management (18)
  • video marketing (1)
  • website (4)
  • website readability (11)

Join My Mailing List!

Get updates on SEO, PPC, website readability and small business in our monthly email! (double opt in so look for the email)

Don't forget to look for the confirmation email to double opt in for my email list.

Managed Hosting for your WordPress Website

Siteground Managed WordPress Hosting

Create Images Quickly & Easily w/ Get Stencil

Get Stencil

Stock Photo Subscription Service

Depositphotos

Get Stock Photos & Protect Your Biz

Stock Photos

Get Deals for Your Biz w/ AppSumo

Get deals on biz tech with AppSumo

Testimonials

Highly Recommended!  

Kristen was amazing in helping us build 2 websites for our childcare center. She was very helpful, took the time to walk me through everything and made sure all of our questions were answered. Thanks for everything 🙂

director.mdcc@gmail.com   
Kristen Rocks!  

Kristen listens to your current online marketing strategies (or absence of), asks pertinent questions to better understand your vision and goals for your business or organization, and then proposes options as she digs into her tool box of experience and resources. She has been a gem to work with! She will teach you what you want to know to DIY, or she can do the work for you if you prefer. She's the perfect team player to buddy up with. I highly recommend Kristen, A Visual Business.

Sandy Goe   
Exceeded Expectations!  

Kristen did amazing job across the board, for our website build. She kept the process simple, and I could not be happier with the end result. Simply fantastic!

Dennis Stetzel   
Great Professionalism and Results!  

After living through an absolute nightmare of outsourcing the managmement of our Google Ads account that cut our revenue in half, we were introduced to Kristen. She took a professional approach, working with us to understand our business, set-up some straightfoward campaigns, regulary review and tweak and always working with a sense of urgency, attention to detail and great communication, turned things around. Just a few months later, we are now moving past our previous peak and into new territory in the number of leads, conversions and revenue.

Tom Howard   
Great ad partner!  

Kristen has been fantastic to work with. She knows Google Ads, will work with me on strategy and provides very thorough reporting. I'd recommend her to anyone!

Liz Adamson   
Great job and very nice service!  

We have been extremely pleased with your work for us and would happily use you again in the future! We will certainly recommend you as an outsourced service and would naturally ask you to work with us in the future should we need more help.

Uniquecapture   
First class service and super friendly too..  

Despite being based in the UK we managed to find Kristen via referral. She has always delivered on brief, on time and on budget. The UK/USA distance was no problem either. The service has always been exceptional and all done with a happy positive attitude. Would definitely recommend if you are looking to outsource you PPC

Chris King   
Great job  

Great job on rewriting and posting my blogs for me. While my ideas were spot on, I did not write it correctly. You said it all in a professional manner for me. Really good job!!

John Rybarczyk   
Easy to work with  

Kristin was great, she helped with my website stuff that I didn’t understand and saved me a lot time and hassle, and she’s affordable, I would highly recommend!

Alicia Gonzales   
Paid Ads - She's Been Amazing  

We were referred to Kristen from another business owner for Paid Ads on Google (PPC). I had been running PPC myself but wasn’t getting the results we needed and we were headed into our busiest time of year (Black Friday and Christmas) and we had hefty goals that we needed to meet. I had been frustrated with the lack of return and super busy with all of the other marketing responsibilities I needed to fulfil at the company.

So, we got started with Kristen and a $2,000 budget with the hope to get a 2.0 return on ad spend. Within the first week we were seeing good results and increased to $2,500 and ended the month spending $3,000. The following month we started with $3,000 and ended up spending $4,000. We were seeing a 3-4.3 return on spend and Kristen explained things really well and showed the results for her ads as well as our overall traffic which helped me understand our overall position going into the holidays.

The following month was our biggest month with the most aggressive goals and we spent $10,000 in Nov and $8,000 in Dec and still maintained at least a 3.3 return and up to 4.5 and never lost steam. Kristen kept me appraised of our spend and results and kept working on the ads throughout the month, working with me on our holiday promos and discussing the results of the ads and all traffic. I was relieved to know that I could focus on the other marketing efforts and responsibilities while Kristen took care of the ads and did so much better.

I would recommend Kristen to any business owner looking to improve their visibility online and to grow their business with paid ads. She’s been AMAZING.

Heather Harrington   
Solid | Professional | Trustworthy  

A Visual Business has been a valuable part of the solution for our association. Responsive to needs and prompt in providing results.

Major Scott A. Huesing USMC | President | 2nd Battalion 4th Marines Association   
Website  

The most professional and knowledgeable woman I have ever had the opportunity to work with.
Very helpful and responds immediately to my every request and concern.
Definitely a cut above the rest!
You won't be disappointed and will surely benefit from using this company.

Rebecca Valdez   
Boosted My Business  

Kristen has really helped boost our business, but mostly she has really helped boost my confidence as a business woman. I could go to her with any questions I had regarding marketing and knew I would get an honest answer. She always made me feel like I was a priority!

Nikki   
All  

I've known and worked with Kristen for years now, but she continually challenges and helps me to improve my SEO, keywords, and business focus so that I can achieve the results I seek.

Recently, she taught me some quick yet powerful ways to enhance my blogs and website content. She knows her stuff and communicates it to you until you get it. I greatly appreciate her tenacity, knowledge, and assistance to make my business grow!

Lorraine Bosse-Smith   
Hands Down the Best PPC Expert  

I brought on Kristen and A Visual Business to handle a PPC project for one of Atomic Revenue revenue's corporate real estate clients. The client had previously been working with a digital agency that was mishandling their account. I brought in Kristen as the new PPC Manager and Strategist on the account and the results have been outstanding. The quality of inbound PPC leads has raised exponentially and the conversion rate on those leads is close to 40% - keep in mind this commercial real estate is in the millions of dollars for sales. We've gotten a very positive ROI working with Kristen and will continue working with her as long as possible! I can't wait to plug her into more projects.

Steph Nissen   
I Recommend A Visual Business  

Kristen is extremely helpful. I lost 90% of my sales as I migrated to a new domain. She helped me in gaining visibility through PPC for instant results and also started working on SEO for long term results. I recommend A Visual Business to the people who are looking for PPC and SEO services.

Jena   
Most everything I know about SEO, I learned from Kristen  

Whenever I need to know how to do something with SEO, I know I can turn to Kristen for just the right assistance. She's at the top of the game when it comes to SEO and PPC marketing, and her knowledge has really helped me grow my online magazine. She's a great resource and her regular blog posts offer so much value. I treat it like a learning library. And you'll learn even more in person! With Kristen's help, my online magazine has grown rapidly. We're approaching our one year anniversary, and the growth we've achieved wouldn't have been possible without Kristen's instruction. If you need growth, call Kristen!

Jennifer Quisenberry @ The Awesome Muse   
Hire Kristen if you want to expand your online presence  

Kristen is a powerhouse. She is one of the most knowledgeable people I know about SEO and social media. She consistently provides value of epic proportions. Kristen is generous and is a consummate professional. I highly recommend working with Kristen if you want to expand your visibility.

Tandy R Elisala   
If you want great SEO help, talk to Kristen!  

Kristen is amazing! She is incredibly thorough, easy to understand, and went above and beyond in the time we spent together. I feel equipped to make the changes she suggested and am ready to take my SEO to the next level.

Brenda Niemeyer   
All  

Kristen is professional, efficient, and a magic worker. She fixed a problem on my site I have been trying to sort for a few years, and she did it patiently and with no fuss. I cannot recommend her expertise enough. My only regret is that I didn't know her when I was setting up my site as I know she would have saved me much time and many headaches. If you want friendly, professional and expert help, you don't have to look further than Kristen. She is definitely my go to person from now on.

Tami Fazel   
Appreciate the resources!  

Really appreciative of your resources. Thanks for sharing important info for the industry!

Tim Brown   
All  

I cannot say enough about working with Kristen. If you want fast, efficient and professional this is the place and Kristen is the lady!!! I tried the DIY and got so frustrated and resentful... one conversation with Kristen and she told me exactly what was needed to get my site up and running. I was so tired of DIY I asked her to GO FOR IT... and she did. I couldn't believe how quick Kristen took care of things that I had been working on for not only hrs but in a couple cases... days. I am over-the-moon happy with how things turned out and I know that Kristen will be my GO TO GIRL for all website and online needs from here on out. Don't waste your time on DIY... Kristen has you covered!!!

Misty   
All  

What a great experience I had working with Kristen. I've worked with other SEO companies in the past who talked a great game, but didn't really do a whole lot. Kristen goes above & beyond to make sure you understand exactly what it is she's doing and why she's doing it. I've learned quite a bit and enjoyed the processed.

Lisa swanson   
All  

There are no words to express my gratitude for all that Kristen Wilson has done to enable me to grow as a business owner, with a global presence. She is "brilliant"! Extremely proficient at her craft; she is efficient and genuinely cares about her clients.

She has diligently handled every concern and need large or small (SEO, blogging, website building, pluggin questions, coaching and so much more) for our organization with an extreme level of importance.

Thank goodness for "A Visual Business"!

Chris Roebuck   
All  

Thanks you sooo much for all of your patience and professional assistance with my website!

Natalie Poole   
All  

Just Brilliant! I live in the UK and have had several Skype calls with Kristen to help me with some SEO work on my corset business. I ranked silly like on pages 40 nine months ago, now on several keywords i am on page 3! In my niche, that's pretty impressive.
I would highly recommend working with Kristen if you need help with any SEO work, she's great.

Sonya Maachou   
All  

Attended League City Business Development Seminar August 28th. Kristen gave a very informative & energetic class on LinkedIn - I learned a lot! Thanks

Natalie Poole   
All  

Kristen knows her stuff. She gave a great seminar today at the League City Chamber and reinforced why I need to use Social Media more.

Jim Koontz   
All  

I am so glad I just happened to see this class announced on Facebook! I'm new to Texas and starting a new business . . . in case you didn't know, it's very difficult to start a business when you know no one! I learned so much in Kristen's class! I've already made some changes to what I was already doing and begun using ideas and applications she suggested!

Angie King   
All  

Kristen took a subject (SEO) about which I was completely ignorant and frankly, afraid of, and made it understandable. After just an hour with her, I'm confident that I can implement the changes she suggested. Her professionalism and knowledge are exemplary. I will heartily recommend you to others! Thank you!

Carol rundle   
All  

I took a class with Kristen on Social Media and while I knew a bit about how Facebook works but after the class and some additional question and answers, I began to understand better how it works. I just wish other people and business owners understood the filters in Facebook and the value of the comment and share versus the like. I would highly recommend Kristen’s classes, using her services or having her help you with a consultation as it would be valuable to you and your business.

SUKI BLOOM   
All  

Kristen Wilson of A Visual Business knows about search engine optimization and social media marketing. Just a few tweaks here and there to my website and I have seen a difference in the stats. I really like how she also takes the time to not only explain what she will do, but breaks it down into laymen terms so I understand just how it will benefit my business. She's been a real treasure to work with!

Tracy Hughes   
All  

I have been impressed with Kristen's knowledge since the first time I met her. She knows her stuff when it comes to SEO, and she will help you maximize your efforts. Having a website isn't enough. We must know how to best attract the RIGHT people. Since applying her suggestions, my website has been in the top three with search engines. Get seen by using her services.

Lorraine Bosse-Smith   
All  

Kristen is a marketing machine, period. Results driven and client centric creating a perfect match for my clients and my way of doing business. Her attention to detail and organizational skills are unmatched along with the fact that Kristen is consummate professional.

Cindy phillips   
All  

I had the pleasure of attending Social Media/Network Marketing training today with Kristen Wilson, the owner of A Visual Business. She has a refreshing approach to a tedious process we all deal with, Internet Marketing. I was immediately able to take her ideas and implement them on my company's Facebook page with instant results. No sooner had I made the updates she taught in class, than responses started pouring in. If an Internet presence is key for your company, if curb side appeal is and element used in your Social Media, if you want to be the one that stands out in your industry, then Kristen has the components you've been looking for. The great thing is that the information is in a digestible format and will give you the edge you need to get your company noticed.

Debra dunn-kurzadkowski   
All  

I had a great call with Kristen this week, her one hour consultation was brilliant! Very informative, gave me everything i needed and more. Highly recommend using this service.
Sonya
www.theburgandyboudoir.com

Sonya Maachou   
All  

I have known Kristen Wilson for several months and have worked with her not only on my site but as a partner with one of my own website development clients. She is knowledgeable, responsive, thorough and very easy to work with. I would highly recommend her for anyone who is looking with help on SEO or PPC for their website.

Jackie harder   
All  

I started working with Kristen about a year ago. I just started researching around on creating a new website for my company and I ran in to her at a local networking group. She helped me create my current web page and boosted it to the top 3 home inspection web sites with in 7 months. She is always by the phone and is happy to help . Thank you Kristen for all your hard work and your honest opinion it really shows in my business everyday.

CHRIS mURPHY   
All  

I can't recommend A Visual Business strongly enough. I have spent thousands of dollars on traditional magazine ads that yielded little to nothing in return. Kristen goes out of her way to ensure that her customers are happy and well taken care of. She always exceeds our expectations.

When I reached out to AVB, Kristin reviewed my website in advance, and at our first meeting, she suggested a lot of improvement before we initiated the contract. Within days of moving forward, our new patient volume increased dramatically. We have been consistently busy ever since.

Dr hamid kantara   
All  

Kristen is working with me on my Website with Terrific results. She has helped me understand the importance of local content and persuaded me to blog more often. She's also made very constructive insight on layout, design and general website flow. I highly recommend her services.

Paula smith   

Managed Hosting for your WordPress Website

Create Images Quickly & Easily w/ Get Stencil

Get Stencil

Stock Photo Subscription Service

Depositphotos

Get Stock Photos &
Protect Your Biz

Stock Photos

Check out A Visual Business' Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.
Copyright © 2021 · A Visual Business · Log in