Happy New Year to you and yours!
New Year’s resolutions, yearly goals, objectives, wants, desires – whatever you call them, the first week of January is a popular time to think about them.
Brendon Burchard says, “If your goals don’t scare you a little bit, you’re not aiming high enough.”
Let 2018 be your best year yet, even if it scares you a little!
2018 Goals
What goals and objectives are you setting for your retail operations for the 2018 calendar year? And, are they s-t-r-e-t-c-h goals? Will they really challenge you and your team to do more or better? Are you dreaming big? Are a few of them just a little bit scary?
You must have some goals for the coming year, even if you haven’t written them down, you surely have some ideas about what you want to accomplish in your retail store this year.
For example, is this the year you’re going to expand? This could be the year where another location or an expansion to an existing one is on the cards.
Are you going to maximise your margins? Is 2018 the year I get rid of unprofitable product lines? Are your gross profit levels being maintained? Or, have they been eroded by price increases? Maybe 2018 is time to take action and claim them all back!
Is it finally time for you to embrace e-commerce? Are you ready to open an online version of your store? 2018 can be a record year for growing sales on your website.
Is this the year that you establish a frequent shopper program? And, if you already have one, is it, or your discounting policy encouraging spending or eroding profitability? Make 2018 the year you use information and reporting to make these tough calls based on facts and data rather than reckoning.
Maybe 2018 will be the year where you offer store gift certificates, launch some fun new promotions, increase sales, grow margins, add staff or form an alliance.
Make Goal-setting a Regular Practice
It’s great practice to get into a yearly, or biannual habit of setting goals for your business. January is the most popular time for doing so.
We thought that we’d start the year with reminding you about the value and benefits of goal-setting – it:
- Provides direction
- Establishes a clearer focus on what is important
- Gives clarity to your decision making
- Provides you control of your future
- Motivates you to accomplish them
- Gives you a sense of personal satisfaction
And don’t forget, when you set goals for your retail store – be they goals around retail automation, retail management, Point of sale, e-commerce, or retail operations for a multi-store chain, goals need to be stated in a SMART format.
Setting SMART Goals
SMART goals are:
SPECIFIC, MEASURABLE, ACTIONABLE, RELEVANT, and TIMED
BE SPECIFIC:
Define your goal in precise terms not general ones. “I want to open two more store locations in Victoria.” is far more SPECIFIC than, “I want to expand.”
STATE MEASURABLE GOALS:
Provide metrics within your goals so that you can go back and measure your success. “
GIVE YOUR GOALS AN A OR TWO:
‘A’ can represent “ACTIONABLE”, “ACHIEVABLE”, or “ALIGNED” or all three! So make sure your goals are aligned with your strategy, require you to do something and that even if they’re a stretch, they are potentially achievable.
BE RELEVANT IN YOUR THINKING:
Make sure your goals support your strategy, your other efforts, and are appropriate given your industry, size, staffing levels, and phase of growth.
USE TIME TO YOUR ADVANTAGE:
Ensure that your goals are all assigned dates for their completion. But, don’t set the same date for each goal. In other words, don’t make them all due on December 31st 2018. Setting different dates does a couple of things. It forces you to prioritise and do some planning to see what’s achievable. And, it also, provides time to review progress throughout the year to see how you’re tracking.
OTHER GOAL SETTING TIPS
- Write down your goals. Research shows that just writing down our goals dramatically increases the probability that they’ll be accomplished.
- State your goals effectively. When setting goals, use this SMART formula.
- Share your goals selectively. Studies show that you are less likely to achieve your goals if you share them indiscriminately. Conversely, you are more likely to achieve your goals if you share them with someone who is supportive. The lesson is to choose wisely.
- Review your goals regularly.
- Set regular appointments with yourself to review your goals. I recommend you do this weekly. This will ensure your goals remain top of mind. It will also help to consistently align your priorities and actions with what you already have determined to be most important.
When you set goals, you benefit from the clarification and motivation and when you set smart ones, you can track your progress.
We know what you’re thinking:
- How can I best track these goals I’ve set?
- Where will I find the data I need to make these meaningful?
- How will I know if I’ve accomplished them or not?
Did we mention that Univex Retail Software contains some pretty powerful reporting tools?
We wish you a fabulous 2018. And, whether you’ve set one goal or 20 of them, we hope you accomplish your business objectives for this year.
If we can help you meet your goals, or even remove some of the fear around them, give us a call, we’d be pleased to help!
