The Ultimate Guide to Setting and Achieving E-commerce Goals

There is no denying the importance of setting goals. Whether you are starting a business from scratch or trying to scale up, goals are a big deal in e-commerce.

However, setting goals can feel daunting, especially if you have a lot of big ideas and many things you want to achieve as a business. In this blog, and with the help of our E-commerce Bible, you can learn how to set effective and achievable goals for your online business.

What Do You Need to Consider When Setting Goals

There are many things to think about when setting e-commerce goals, especially if you want to set goals that you have a good chance of achieving, but goals that will also push your business in the right direction. Here are some questions to consider when setting your next set of business goals. 

 

  • What are your main goals for this year? – When setting e-commerce goals, choose between one and three main focuses, and dedicate yourself to achieving them. If you set too many goals, you risk stretching yourself too thin, which reduces the chances of achieving everything you want. Start with a handful of key goals, and then decide on more as you tick some of them off. Business objectives are often created using the SMART acronym. SMART objectives are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. They are a helpful way to set marketing goals that are more likely to be achieved. For example, a SMART marketing objective could be to increase website traffic by 10% in the next quarter. This goal is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.

 

  • What new product ranges will you be adding or creating? – It’s much easier to achieve e-commerce goals with a clear project idea. If you will be adding or creating new product ranges, factor these into your goal setting. You could set a goal of adding a certain number of new products, or perhaps you want to make a certain number of sales of a new product range.

 

  • What are your secondary goals to these? – As well as having one to three main goals, come up with a few secondary goals. These are smaller, less important goals, but those that would be nice to achieve along the way. Setting secondary goals can help you to stay on course, focused and with your eyes on the prize.

 

  • What video or photo shoots need to happen? – If achieving your e-commerce goals requires new videos or photographs, you must organise the shoots. This needs to be done ahead of time, so you need to plan accordingly. Leaving this until the last minute could delay your goals.

 

  • What apps or app edits will be worked on? – Many e-commerce businesses have a mobile app, and many goals – such as selling new products, offering bundles or deals – will require you to make some app edits. Consider whether these are things you can do yourself or if you will need to enlist the help of a professional e-commerce team

 

There could be other questions that you must ask yourself, but the key is to plan ahead. To achieve an e-commerce goal by a specific time, you must have everything else in place. Otherwise, you could find that your efforts are held back.

The Benefits of Setting Goals

 

  • Goals provide direction and focus – There is a lot to think about in the world of e-commerce, but having clear goals can help to give you direction on what you want to achieve and what you must do to get there.

 

  • Goals are motivating – Knowing what you want to achieve can be a huge source of motivation, and goals create a sense of purpose. It’s much easier to stay motivated and committed to your e-commerce venture, knowing what your reward may be.

 

  • Track success – Goals allow you to measure how beneficial your e-commerce efforts are, and you can evaluate your performance along the way. You can track the progress of projects, tasks and goals and identify any areas that need improvement.

 

  • Goals make it easier to plan – It’s a lot easier to plan your upcoming e-commerce projects when you have specific goals to aim for. Goals determine which tasks to prioritise and how to use your resources, all with your desired outcome in mind.

 

  • It’s easier to make decisions with goals – It’s a lot easier to make e-commerce decisions when you are working towards a specific goal. Not only does this improve your decision-making, it also allows you to make a decision that aligns with what you hope to achieve on a broader scale.
How to Track and Measure Goals

There are many ways to track and measure goals, but using a KPI Stats Tracker table is one of the most effective. It’s a simple way of tracking how various KPIs are changing – and hopefully improving – month after month. For example, you can measure your average order value in January and then easily see how that has changed over six months or a year. If your e-commerce efforts are paying off, you should see a gradual improvement as the months go on. 

 

Everything from website traffic and cart abandonment to bounce rate and cost per acquisition can be measured with a KPI Stats Tracker table. Unless you track and measure your various KPIs, you won’t be able to track and measure your goals or understand how successful you have been at achieving them.

 

It’s also important to have a roadmap to help you achieve your goals, a plan that sets out what you want to achieve and the steps you will take to get there. If there are any key milestones, these should be detailed in your roadmap. A roadmap is also an important communication tool, as it keeps everyone on the same page, and everyone involved in the business knows the plan.

 

Learn more tips in our e-commerce Book; request a free copy.

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