Create Business Goals that Are S.M.A.R.T.

Create Business Goals that Are S.M.A.R.T.

You can use your web pages, social media campaigns, and other online marketing strategies to help your business achieve both short term and long term goals. But you will be more likely to achieve these objectives if they are S.M.A.R.T. goals.

 

S.M.A.R.T. is an acronym that stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. These criteria originally were created by business consultant Peter Drucker in his “Management by Objective” concept.

 

Specific Goals

 

The more detailed you can make your goals, the more likely you are to achieve them. Try to stay away from vague objectives that can be interpreted any number of ways.

 

Specific goals could include things like, “We will achieve an average of 100 new Facebook followers per week for the next three months.”

 

Measurable Goals

 

Being able to quantify your progress will help you see where you are in relation to your goals. Make sure there are measurement tools available, such as profit and loss statements, market share, customer service scores, and things of that nature.

 

Achievable Goals

 

While setting ambitious goals can help you strive for excellence, raising the bar too high won’t give you the results you want.

 

A better plan is to set your goals on the far end of the possible.

 

Create Business Goals that Are S.M.A.R.T. – Relevant Goals 

 

Goals that are relevant are reasonable, realistic and resourced, and results-based. Everybody on your team can strive to achieve the same goals if they are relevant to your business and its overall objectives.

 

Create Business Goals that Are S.M.A.R.T. – Time-Bound Goals

 

Goal setting should have a beginning, a middle, and an end. They should start at a particular time and end at a particular time.

 

When the clock is ticking, people are more likely to be motivated to achieve your objectives within the time limits you set.

 

Creating S.M.A.R.T. goals with your online marketing can help your business achieve more.

Set ‘SMART’ Goals for Your Business Website

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What do you hope to accomplish with your business website? Specifically?

 

Building and maintaining effective web pages isn’t cheap. While there are lots of ways to attract “free” traffic, in reality, the business owner typically pays hundreds, even thousands, of dollars to draw customers to their online business sites.

 

How can you tell if the investment is worth it? By having “SMART” goals for your business website.

 

Making Web Pages Worthwhile

 

“SMART” is an acronym that describes successful goal-setting. It stands for:

 

  • S – Specific
  • M – Measurable
  • A – Agreed Upon
  • R – Realistic
  • T – Time-Based

 

These five criteria are an effective way to measure if the investment you make in your business’s online web pages is worth it.

 

Launching a website and then sitting back to wait to see what it will do isn’t a successful business plan. Instead, you need to have SMART goals for your website that tell you — in practical, black and white terms — if it is doing what you need it to do for your business.

 

 The Measure of Success

 

Your goals need to be specific: How much traffic should your website be getting per day, per hour, or even per minute. It needs to bring in “$X” amount of additional revenue. And so on.

 

The objectives also need to be measurable. “I want people to enjoy my website” isn’t specific enough. “I want to receive 100 “Likes” per week on my Facebook page” is.

 

Creating unrealistic goals for your business’s online presence will only lead to disappointment. Instead, keep your goals attainable then consistently grow on your success week after week.

 

Finally, the goals you set for your online website, social media campaign, or other online enterprise need to be time-based. Open-ended goals aren’t measurable or specific enough.

 

Instead, using deadlines to motivate your and your team to success is a time-tested approach to achieving your objectives.

Collaboration Is the Key to New Innovations

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The traditional “top-down” business model in which executives or ownership make all the decisions and those on the organization’s lower rungs implement them is dead.

 

Today, for businesses to succeed they need innovative, fresh, new ideas. No matter how creative your upper-level management is, you’re going to need to depend on other people. You’re going to need to collaborate.

 

An “Open Ideas” Policy

 

The people who know best about how to improve the products or services your business offers typically are the ones on the front lines. It’s critical that ideas be harvested from line-level employees.

 

They are the ones dealing directly with customers, clients, vendors, and other people important to your business. So they are the ones most likely to know the best ways to improve your business, its operations, its products, or its services.

 

Innovative organizations need a constant flow of new ideas. Implementing an “open ideas” policy in which any employee is empowered to offer suggestions on ways the business could improve without fear of reprisal or embarrassment is key.

 

Collaboration Is the Key to New Innovations –  Rewarding Creativity

 

Your workers will be less likely to keep their great ideas to themselves if you offer to reward or recognize them for their contribution to your business’s success.

 

Some companies have implemented a “Big Ideas” program in which any employee can make recommendations on ways to improve products, services, or anything having to do with the way the organization is run.

 

Under this type of program, if the employee’s “Big Idea” is implemented and results in an increase in profits, a reduction in expenses, or more efficiencies, they can share in the benefits in the form of a bonus. Or they might simply be recognized publicly for their contribution to the company’s success.

 

In either case, soliciting ideas from every member of the team then rewarding and/or recognizing their contribution is one of the most effective forms of collaboration.

Adding Revenue Opportunities

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Your website is finished. It looks great. It works properly. And, most importantly, customers are finding it and spending money at your business.

 

Finished? No! Now it’s time to add additional revenue opportunities to your website.

 

‘The Buying Mood’

 

When people go online, find your website, and decide to buy something, they often are in a “buying mood”. This is that unique moment when they have let their guard down — if only slightly — and are ready to spend some money.

 

To maximize your website’s profit potential, it’s your job to find new ways for people to keep buying once they achieve this magic moment.

 

Adding Revenue Opportunities – Upgrades Keep the Additional Offers Coming

 

One way to keep getting online customers to spend more money with your business is to continue to add additional offers.

 

Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer, has this down to a science. Whenever you buy anything on their website, Amazon will instantly and automatically offer you an array of similar or related products that you can add to your shopping basket.

 

Or they recommend other products purchased by other people who also bought the product you just clicked on.

 

In both instances, Amazon is seeking to take advantage of customers who are in the “buying mood”, and so should you.

 

 Upgrades

 

Another way to get more revenue out of people who already have spent money on your website is to offer upgrades. These are expanded versions of the products they have just purchased.

 

For example, if you are promoting a subscription service that costs $5 per month for one year for a total of $60, as soon as the customer takes that offer you can offer an additional year at a discounted price. Or try to sell a lifetime subscription for an even higher price.

 

Additional offers and upgrades are low-risk propositions: If the customer declines, you still have the original sale. But if they accept your second offer, keep going with more offers. It only adds up to more revenue for your business.

Monetizing Your Website

Keep Content Short Snappy and to the Point

The goal of most websites is to attract visitors. After all, you wouldn’t go to the time and expense of creating and maintaining your site if you didn’t want anybody to see it.

For many websites, another primary goal is to make money. If your website is to promote your business or allow your customers to buy your products or services directly online, it’s already monetized.

But what about other websites that not necessarily commercially focused, such as blogs or fan pages? Is it still possible to use these sites to make money?

Monetizing Your Website – Making Money with Your Blog

If you have a blog and have attracted a lot of regular readers, it’s possible to monetize your website by promoting products or services related to your main topic.

For example, if you write a blog about cooking fundamentals or share recipes online, you can sign up to be an Amazon Affiliate and promote products such as cookware, utensils and even ingredient on your blog.

When you are in the online retailer’s web affiliate program, you can include links in your content to products sold on Amazon’s website. Every time somebody clicks through and buys one of these products through your affiliate link, you receive a small commission on the sale.

Monetizing Your Website – Making Money with Your Fan Page

If you maintain a website that celebrates a particular subject, such as a sports team or a celebrity, you can monetize your fan page by promoting products and services related to what you are promoting.

People who visit fan pages are often enthusiastic about your subject matter. That means they likely already are open to buying anything related to your subject.

Look for creative ways to promote or offer items related to your subject matter and you can easily use your website to make money.

“Lytron Lead Generation” Is Good for Your Business!

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When it comes to attracting new customers, retaining existing customers, and expanding both the scope and profitability of your business, practically everything today depends on your organization’s online presence.

 

According to a recent study conducted by UPS, for the first time ever more customers today are turning to the Internet to find the products and services they want than real-world, brick and mortar businesses.

 

Lytron Lead Generation – Making Your Business Count

 

That means that if you want to capture the largest share of online customers as possible, you need to have an effective, professional digital marketing strategy. After all, that’s where the majority of your customers are looking for businesses just like yours right now!

 

“Lytron Lead Generation” has the experience, knowledge, and ideas that can raise the online profile of your company so that you can connect with those customers.

 

 Crafting an Online Strategy

 

At “Lytron Lead Generation”, we can help you create appealing, effective websites that attract the attention of online customers, then compel them to interact with your business.

 

Whether your goal is to build customer loyalty, provide your clients with an interactive experience they will never forget, or simply to sell your business’s product and services, “Lytron Lead Generation” can help you craft the effective strategy you need to meet and exceed your organization’s objectives.

 

We have the web design Fort Lauderdale businesses want and have helped hundreds of small businesses just like yours achieve success in the digital marketplace … and we can help you, too!

 

In the 21st Century, online customers are too important to ignore. Don’t leave money on the table by not pursuing this rapidly growing base of prospective customers.

 

Let “Lytron Lead Generation” help your business develop the effective, interactive, and profitable online marketing strategies that will propel your business to the top.

Encouraging Teamwork

Teamwork

When you run your own business, business results and profitability usually are your top priorities. But unless you are your business’s only employee, you aren’t going to achieve these and other goals without the help of your team.

 

Whether you are doing web design in Boca Raton, managing a warehouse, or running a professional football team, promoting teamwork to get the best results for your business is essential.

 

Mission Focus

 

The first thing any organization needs to do to encourage teamwork is to make sure everybody is working towards the same goal. Understanding the business’s mission and its goals are essential to success.

 

Missions are general. Goals are specific. For a web design business, for example, the mission could be to provide the best quality web design services to ensure the highest online saturation for its clients possible.

 

Measurable Goals

 

Only after the mission has been clarified and communicated to every team member can specific goals be set for the organization.

 

Continuing with the web design example, goals could include general organizational objectives such as signing up 10 new clients per month for a period of one year.

 

Individual objectives such as having the social media manager increase the number of Facebook “Likes” on social media postings by 10% per month for six months.

 

Teamwork – Team Building

 

Besides clarifying the organization’s mission and identifying measurable goals, another effective way to ensure a business’s success is to recognize and reward team members frequently and vociferously.

 

People naturally like to be recognized for a job well done. While it’s nice to get pay raises, promotions, and other tangible rewards, sometimes all that’s required to promote teamwork is to publicly thank individual team members for contributing to the success of the organization.

 

A pat on the back, an “atta boy” or “atta girl”, or even a vocal “Thank You” in front of everybody can go a long way toward promoting teamwork among every team member.

How Do You Measure Success?

Tips for Optimizing Your Website

When it comes to effective web design, when it comes down to it search engine optimization (SEO) is really all about getting as many eyeballs as possible on your web pages.

 

SEO involves tweaking and modifying your website so that it can be found by as many people as possible. While there are a lot of technical things you can do to make sure Google and other search engines rank your pages as high as possible — especially higher than the pages of your closest local competitors! — the best way to attract the maximum number of page visitors is actually very basic: Provide great content that people love.

 

Content Is King

 

There are people online right now looking for products and services just like yours. But if they can’t find your web page, they aren’t ever going to know about your business.

 

And even if they can find your page, if they don’t like what they find when they get there, they aren’t going to stick around very long.

 

Today, online marketing is the single most important type of marketing in practically any business. That’s because more people are searching online for the products and services they want than any other platform.

 

How Do You Measure Success – Give the People What They Want

 

So when you can connect with page visitors by providing them with a visually appealing, content-rich experience that they enjoy, not only will they be more open to buying whatever it is you are selling … but they also will be more likely to share your page with their friends, family, and, most importantly, their social media contacts.

 

The reason why online marketing is so effective is that it’s so easy to expand the scope of your message exponentially using the built-in framework the Internet provides … mostly for free.

 

Lytron Marketing specializes in providing its client with the SEO-based web-creation services that get results.

Web Design for Your Small Business

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Why is web design so essential for your small business? In the modern age, every business needs to have an online presence. When a potential customer or client first hears about your business, they are likely to search for additional information about your products or services. Without a website, you could be losing sales leads and missing out on a large segment of the population.

 

Find out why you need more than just a Facebook page to promote your small business.

 

Social Media is Not Enough

 

When you first start a small business, you may think that creating a Facebook page or a Twitter account will be enough to promote and market your business. While you should still utilize social media as a method of reaching more customers, a website provides the best method of representing your business online.

 

At the most basic level, a website is an online business card for your business. It provides visitors with contact information and other details. It helps to differentiate you from your competition. Having a website has become standard practice for businesses in the modern world.

 

Choosing to rely solely on social media will make your business appear less professional or legit – anyone can set up a Facebook page in a matter of minutes. It is difficult for customers to verify that the information provided is correct.

 

Promote Your Products or Services

 

Using web design to create a website for your small business also helps you promote your products or services. As mentioned, a website could be as basic as a one-page online business card. Though, you can also create individual pages for your various products or services. These pages can provide detailed information, offering potential customers and clients with informative content about the benefits of your products or services.

 

Even though you could create a Facebook post containing some of this information, it will not have the same impact as providing a full explanation on your website and then posting a summary through social media – with a link back to your website.

 

In the end, social media is a useful tool for reaching more customers, but it is most effective when combined with the use of a professionally designed website. If you have not yet created a website for your small business, consider contacting a reputable web design company today.

New High Tech Tools Help Target Terrorists

New High Tech Tools Help Target Terrorists

Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, an entire discipline has been developed by the defense and intelligence communities around situational awareness and visualization.

These include the construction of Geospatial Intelligence, or GEOINT, which exploits and analyzes geospatial data to enhance real-time situational awareness and decision-making. This data includes such things as enhanced satellite imagery, terrain data collected by unmanned drones, and real-time data sources such as surveillance cameras and microphones.

New High Tech Tools Help Target Terrorists – New Government Oversight

There’s even a new government agency charged with managing all this data called the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). Never heard of it? You’re not alone. It’s not an agency that seeks out a lot of headlines. Its slogan is “Know the Earth … Show the Way … Understand the World.”

The mission of the NGA is wide-ranging and includes such things as collecting intelligence about warfighting from within the battle, humanitarian and disaster relief in crisis points around the globe, counterterrorism, counter-narcotics trafficking and border security, and transportation of domestic security efforts.

Spy RVs

Part of the NGA’s mission is achieved through the use of two Domestic Mobile Integrated Intelligence System vehicles – or DMIGS – which essentially are self-contained, highly-specialized vehicles that look like RVs but are used for domestic crises, natural disasters, and special events requiring intense security.

The NGA’s role also is to “defend the nation against cyber threats by supporting other intelligence agencies with in-depth analysis of cyber networks.” The NGA provides support for the DoD, CIA, NSA and other agencies within the defense and intelligence communities.

New High-Tech Tools

This little-known government agency provides real-time, on-the-fly data gathering and analysis using big data tools and techniques such as using GEOINT to track and analyze the actions of persons of interest, our own forces, and our allies and neutrals, as well as up-to-the-moment information on weather and other environmental factors.

This data can be accessed by analysts and decision makers who need it to respond to situations as they develop, many of which are new or have never been encountered before. Not all data gathering is visual. Some data collection involved analyzing vast quantities of text-based information or even audio clues.  This new type of data collection system makes traditional intelligence gathering techniques obsolete.

Through the use of big data strategies, national defense, and intelligence agencies, as well as military forces, are better prepared to respond to imminent threats, as well as to use predictive analysis to anticipate how those threats are likely to occur. The value of instantaneous, high-quality intelligence gathering cannot be overstated in terms of protecting citizens and maintaining our national security.