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Annual Business Goals Template

It's Not a Myth: Setting Firm Goals Does Help You Achieve Them

According to one Staples Small Business Survey, 80% of small business owners admit they don't give due attention to achieving goals. What's more, about 77% of those surveyed had not reached the level of success they'd hoped for. An excellent lesson in the importance of setting and tracking annual business goals. That begs the question: are you going to follow the crowd or lead the pack? Use the information below for guidance as you set and track goals that will take your business to the level of prosperity you've always wanted.




Annual Business Goals Template

Annual Business Goals Template (MS Word)                 Annual Business Goals Template (Adobe PDF)
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Goal: Business Department/Area - Goal Name

Your annual business goals define the general direction you want to take your business over the next twelve months. Your yearly goals should be general and broad; furthermore, they should support your mission statement and guiding principles. It helps if you categorize your business goals and include that as a prefix to the goals name. For example, the first annual goal listed below is "Branding - Develop Awareness of the Brand". This not only helps you to define your goal by starting with a broad idea such as Branding and then further defining it but also to assign it to the appropriate resources within the company. Some examples are:

  • Marketing
  • Sales
  • Products
  • Manufacturing
  • Sourcing
  • Fulfillment
  • Operations
  • Finance
  • Growth
  • Profit
  • Service

In this template we define the goals as annual goals; however, you can choose any time period which suits your needs. You may choose to define yearly, quarterly or monthly goals. Or you may choose to define two different timeframes for your goals such as five year goals and annual goals, or annual goals and quarterly goals. The key to success is to make sure your goals are realistic and achievable within your defined timeframe.

For each goal give it a number starting with one and give it a name prefixed with the general category for that goal. Several examples of business goals are provided later in this template.

Objective:

The objective further defines the goal by giving it more detail and clarity. The objective should be written in a few sentences or a short paragraph. Your objective should be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time specific. It is assumed that all objectives are to be achieved within the timeframe of this document (annual - end of the specified year; quarterly - end of specified quarter; monthly - end of specified month; etc.) so it's not necessary to include the time frame in the objective. If the timeframe is beyond the amount of time defined in this document then you should redefine your objective so it fits into that timeframe. Examples of business objectives are provided later in this document.

Strategies:

Strategies are how you're actually going to achieve your objective. Strategies aren't measurable, time bound or specific. They actually define the approaches you're going to take in order to achieve your stated objective. For example, if your goal is to develop brand awareness then your strategies may include; press releases, print advertising, tradeshows, product displays or social media - to name a few.

Performance Measures:

Performance measures is perhaps the most important part of developing your annual business goals. This is where you provide a specific list of actions which need to be accomplished. It is important that these are realistic and measureable because you're going to be held to these. Good practice is to review your annual business goals either quarterly or monthly and check off which performance measures you've achieved. At the end of the year you should have completed all performance measures in this document. Some performance measures may be defined in a static quantity (i.e. 1, 2, 3, etc.), some as a percentage of something else which is measureable (i.e. profitability, overhead costs, etc.) and other may yet be defined in numbers per time period (i.e. xx per month). You should have one performance measure for each of your strategies.

Below are some examples of Annual Goals including Objectives, Strategies and Performance Measures. Use this template as a basis for developing the annual goals for your business. Remember, you can define your goals as annual, quarterly, monthly or any timeframe which best fits your business. You can also have one document for short term goals and another for long term goals.

Goal 1: Branding – Develop Awareness of the Brand

Objective:

Develop consumer awareness of the brand through advertising, presence in retail stores, Consumers should be asking contractors to install tiles, and asking their local stores if they carry tiles.

Strategies:

  1. Press Releases
  2. Online Advertising
  3. Organic Search Results
  4. Print Advertising
  5. Tradeshows

Performance Measures:

  1. Minimum of one press release monthly.
  2. Advertising through Google and Microsoft Pay Per Click Ads ($5,000 monthly budget).
  3. First page results for organic searches for the keywords “Keyword 1” and “Keyword 2” in Google; currently at 23 and 24 respectively.
  4. Print advertisement in at least one magazine or newspaper per month.
  5. Two public trade shows.

Goal 2: Marketing – Develop Displays/Presentation Packages for Resellers

Objective:

Develop the methodology and supporting product presentation materials to be used to develop our market through resellers.

Strategies:

  1. Typical Reseller Package (a set of correspondence and marketing materials for resellers)
  2. Sample Boards
  3. Architect’s Chip Box
  4. Architect’s Folder
  5. Printed Catalog or Brochures

Performance Measures:

  1. Develop a standard set of marketing materials and correspondence templates for first time resellers. This is to include introduction letter, price lists, web access account, credit policy/terms, samples, and marketing materials.
  2. Develop and Stock Sample boards for all product lines.
  3. Develop and Stock Architect’s Chip Boxes for all product lines.
  4. Develop and Stock Architect's Folder for all product lines.
  5. Develop and Stock a Printed Catalog or Brochures for all product lines.

Goal 3: Marketing – Establish a Market Presence through Resellers and Contractors

Objective:

Expand market share through resellers and contractors.

Strategies:

  1. Tradeshows
  2. Direct Mailings
  3. Cold Calling (local businesses)

Performance Measures:

  1. Present at two industry only tradeshows.
  2. Monthly direct mailings to a minimum of 50 businesses.
  3. Face to Face sales calls to a minimum of 16 businesses monthly.

Goal 4: Product Lines – Stabilize Product Lines and Develop New Products

Objective:

For established product lines, finalize which products will be in that line and then make no more changes to that line. Additionally, add one to two new product lines.

Strategies:

  1. Determine which product lines are mature, make any necessary changes, then ‘Lock Down” the product line (no new products can be added to that line).
  2. Add a minimum of one, but a maximum of two new product lines. Input from resellers should be used.

Performance Measures:

  1. A minimum of seven product lines ‘Locked Down’.
  2. Addition of one or two new product lines and in a ‘Locked Down’ status.

Goal 5: Knowledge – Be the Tile Expert

Objective:

Develop a larger market share by demonstrating a knowledge of our products and the proper installation of these products along with design ideas and advice.

Strategies:

  1. Staff Education
  2. Author White Papers
  3. Know Our Products

Performance Measures:

  1. Provide monthly in-house classes for staff - each covering a different topic on tiling (i.e. how to tile, color design basics, grouts, cutting tile, substrate materials, etc.).
  2. Author and publish two white papers monthly.
  3. Develop Materials Specifications Sheet for each tile line.
 

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