Amazon — SMART Goals and a New Campaign
It is unlikely that you will come across someone in 2021, during a global pandemic, that has not bought something off Amazon. In fact, the global pandemic caused such a boom in sales that the company started discouraging individuals from buying so much from the site to allow the company to keep up with orders (Slate.com).
Regardless, just like any business, Amazon must have objectives to ensure they are aligned with the company they want to be. Here are some possible objectives of this e-commerce company:
- Provide individuals all around the world with high-quality products.
- Allow consumers to view many kinds of content — movies, shows, music, and books.
- Improve the customer experience by promoting corporate social responsibility.
To align with these objectives, Amazon must create specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based goals, otherwise known as SMART goals. Below is an example of a SMART goal set by Amazon:
- Improve social interaction by 5% by running an “Amazon Cares” campaign by the end of 2021.
Important in measuring your smart goal is setting KPIs or key performance indicators. For this specific goal, performance indicators such as shares and comments. These indicators will be key in tracking the success of this goal because the overall goal is to increase social interaction. The objective for this goal was to improve the customer experience by promoting corporate social responsibility.
Running an “Amazon Cares” campaign will allow Amazon to increase its corporate social responsibility while increasing social interaction at the same time. Amazon should run this campaign over social media in order to truly measure the impact it may have. Ensuring that the consumers know that Amazon cares may, in turn, increase sales for the company. Individuals tend to buy more from companies they trust. Since Amazon has recently faced some backlash due to the treatment of employees, this will be a great way to showcase that Amazon cares about its consumers and its employees.
So, why set SMART goals? Why not just set a “regular” goal? SMART goals allow everyone involved in the execution of a goal is on the same page. “Setting SMART Goals means you can clarify your ideas and focus your efforts, which allows you to allocate your time in a way that promises the most return and the highest chance of achieving your goals,” said Madison Merrihew at HydrateMarketing.com, and it’s so true. That extra level of clarification ensures a clear understanding of where the company wants to be.
It’s similar to running a marathon. To complete a marathon, you must follow a clear training schedule to ensure you are at peak performance during your race. If you do not have a timeline or specific goals, likely, you will not be able to perform the way you want to be on race day. Just like in a SMART goal, you give yourself a timeline and KPIs to measure your success. If you meet your KPIs along the way, the company will likely have reached its goal at the end of your set timeline.
No matter the size of the company, it is clear that SMART goals can only be of benefit. Without them, you may not clearly understand whether what you are doing works or not. Everyone deserves a little bit of clarity.