Goals vs. Objectives: The Simple Breakdown

Whether you are working on a team project or defining a goal for the overall business, it is important that your team is on the same page when it comes to terminology. The words Goals and Objectives often seem like two interchangeable phrases but they are actually two working parts within a marketing plan that both serve a different purpose for the overall plan.

In this blog article we will explain the difference between goals and objectives to make sure there is no uncertainty when it comes to your long-term and short-term marketing plans.

A goal is an overall result that you want to achieve and is usually broad and long term. Often times people use company goals to come up with yearly strategies and guide the direction of all your marketing efforts.

An objective defines the specific actions each team member must take to help achieve the overall goal. For instance, if your overall goal is to increase brand awareness, one objective might be to increase website traffic by 10%.

Goals without a doubt are critical to a company's success. Ultimately goals need to align with your vision and overall purpose. Once that has been figured out, this is where objectives will come into play. Objectives are pretty much the measurable actions you can take to achieve your overall goals.

When creating a marketing plan it is crucial to make sure you have defined your overall goals and figured out what you would like the outcome to be for that plan. Not until you have figured out your goals will you know what your objectives should be.