Home Business: Set Goals

Primary Goals. Your primary objectives relate to sales revenue and/or volume, market share, return on investment (ROI) and any other quantitative measurement you want to use as a measuring gauge. Notice the numbers in the following example:

1. Increase gross income by 25%
2. Capture a 3% share of your market

To measure, consider that the typical poor performing website has a 1-3% conversion rate. Whereas, a successful website converts 20-30% of their traffic from browsers to buyers. Quite a difference when you measure that percentage in terms of dollars. Include numbers that you can use to measure your progress as you conduct business from month to month throughout the year. At the end of the year, make a new plan with new goals.

Secondary Goals. Your secondary goals are functional objectives that relate to non-quantitative (utilitarian) matters, such as an objective to enter or expand a particular market, develop a new product or upgrade customer service.
 
Your vision statement is a written snapshot of your business the day after you reach your goals. It's a description of the 'destination' of your plan's journey. Envision what it looks like and how it feels to be at the place you planned you'd be.

It's long been a theory that when you close your eyes and envision your business success, you start your brain thinking about what you need to do to make your vision happen. Your brain is powerful. Let it work for you. Write down what you envision. Commit to it. Make it happen. Chances are it will. Believe it. Do it. You can.

Once you have a clear understanding of your goals and you envision your success, you are ready to consider what you know about your potential buyers.

Consider demographic information, such as gender, age, and income. But also think about their wants and needs. You use this data to craft compelling offers and emotional calls-to-action on your item pages. You can't sell to everyone successfully. Target your market. Find your niche. Sell to a particular buyer.

If your target market is somewhat homogenous, this leads to the creation of a highly targeted website with a high conversion ratio. If your target group is diverse, you might want to consider creating multiple websites - especially if you have different products that attract different groups. At first glance, this option might seem cost-prohibitive, but we have found that the difference between a 3% conversion rate and a 30% conversion rate can often justify the extra expense of creating multiple sites, and generally provides a ROI after just a few months.

With a well-understood target audience, you can go about composing content, offers and calls-to-action that are compelling. Here are the five stages of needs described by 
A. H. Maslow4. Use these as your guide to help you identify your customer's wants and needs:

1. Physiological needs: hunger, thirst, warmth, shelter
2. Safety needs: security, protection, order, stability
3. Belonging needs: affection, belonging, friendship
4. Esteem needs: self-respect, prestige, achievement
5. Self-actualization needs: self-fulfillment

Have you seen that tire ad on TV? You may have heard of it. It doesn't talk about the company's great tire, tread or price. Instead, it shows you a picture of a tire laying on the floor with a happy baby sitting in the center of the tire. The ad talks about safety. (Subtle. And very successful.)

Have you ever heard this? Sell the sizzle, not the steak.

These are both excellent examples of the application of Maslow's theory. This doesn't mean you should omit detailed product descriptions. But don't forget to add benefits to your descriptions focusing on your particular customer's wants and needs.