It is the foundation of all goal setting philosophies: the SMART principle. It states that a good goal is one that it specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time sensitive. While this principle is so widely known, it can be difficult to put into practice.
This is especially true for those in the pharmacy or DME business, who are constantly dealing with an incredibly competitive market, increasing focus on technology, and an ever-changing customer landscape.
Today, we’re going to share a few tips to make sure that your business is well-positioned to set SMART marketing objectives that will help improve outcomes for your healthcare business.
Have A “Big Picture” Plan
The thing about SMART marketing objectives is that they represent smaller, specific pieces of a larger strategic plan. In order to effectively utilize SMART marketing objectives, your marketing team has to develop a larger marketing plan and be working towards a common goal. If your pharmacy or DME product is currently running a “piece meal” marketing program – some social media, the occasional advertisement or promotion, and little to no strategy – there are a few important things you need to do before reaching the “SMART” stage.
First, consider conducting an internal marketing audit within your company. List all of your current marketing initiatives (social media, paid promotion, lead generation, etc.) and all of the things you want to be doing in the future. Identify the gaps in your current program and being to build a 3 to 5 year strategy with large, general goals you would like to obtain at certain benchmarks. These goals will form the foundation for your SMART objectives.
We’re almost ready to start setting our SMART objectives, but there is one more important step…
Double Down on Data
If your like most smaller pharmacies or DME companies, chances are that your marketing programs have not traditionally yielded a ton of data. Before setting your SMART objectives, it is important to work with your marketing team to collect as much data as possible from past marketing initiatives and your current program. This data will then provide an important baseline from which you can begin to set your SMART objectives.
SMART objectives rely heavily on being able to measure your success in a quantifiable way, so it is incredibly helpful to know how your marketing elements have performed in the past before setting tangible metrics to achieve through your new initiatives.
Doing what you can now to gather as much data about your pharmacy or DME’s marketing effectiveness now will absolutely make it easier to set attainable goals down the road.
Set Your Goals!
Once you have reviewed your program and gathered your data, it’s time to set your SMART objectives. Through steps one and two you’ve ensured that your objectives are able to be specific (as smaller parts of your “big picture” plan) and measurable (based on the previous marketing data you’ve collected”). Now you need to focus on setting objectives that are attainable, realistic, and time-bound.
While it seems simple – the best way to achieve this is through collaboration. Engage as many people involved in the process as possible including your team members, but also your key stakeholders, past clients, prospective future clients, suppliers, and whoever else may have important feedback about your product or service. You need as many varied perspectives as possible to identify if the objectives you are setting really stand up as attainable and realistic, and with a timeline that works for your entire business pipeline.
Once you feel confident that the objectives you and your team have set meet all of the above criteria – congratulations! You have set a SMART objective for your pharmacy or DME business. While it definitely is more work than it seems, following the proper process when developing these objectives will make all the difference in how equipped you are to meet (and exceed!) the goals you have set.
If you would like a little extra help with this process, and want to work with a team that is no stranger to setting and crushing SMART objectives, why not call the Prizm Media team today? They are trained and able to help your DME or pharmacy develop a plan that is both SMART and effective, and can help improve your marketing processes in no time. Contact the Prizm Media team today at [email protected] or by phone at (604) 326-0096
