goals setting

Goals Setting for Entrepreneurs Using the SMART Technique

by with No Comment Content WritingEnglish post

Goals setting is one of the most important tools in the workplace. Goals create a clear roadmap and finish line for all work-related tasks. Achieving them helps actualize the purpose of work and measure its success. With specific goals, you know precisely what you want to achieve and when you intend to achieve it. Goals also have many other benefits:

Goals Setting as a Lifestyle

Setting Short-term and Long-term Goals

The most significant challenge in setting and achieving goals relates to their scale. Often, we set goals that are too broad, without a clear understanding of how to realistically attain them. On the other hand, setting only small goals doesn’t propel us towards our objective, as this isn’t clearly defined.

In reality, we need both short and long-term goals, each with its crucial roles. A long-term goal usually corresponds to a single objective we aim to achieve. To make reaching this goal feasible, we require smaller and more concrete short-term goals beneath it. These can be as many as needed to match the scope of the primary goal.

Goal Achievement Isn’t Always the Main Point

Surprisingly, goals don’t always need to be achieved. The primary purpose of goals is to support staying on track. Changes occur constantly, including within our value systems. If a goal proves impractical or no longer aligns with your objectives, you can choose a new one. Your previous goal has kept you on track for a while, thus fulfilling its purpose.

SMART Technique

The easiest way to goal setting is through the SMART technique. It’s a formula that encompasses five characteristics of an intelligent goal:

  • S = specific
  • M = measurable
  • A = achievable
  • R = relevant
  • T = time specific

Next, a deeper look into each characteristic.

S – Specifically Defined

A good goal is always as clearly defined as possible. For instance, ‘enjoy life more’ isn’t a specific enough goal, and achieving it isn’t probable. Try considering things that diminish your life’s enjoyment and set your goals around those aspects. If overtime is hindering your life’s enjoyment, an appropriate goal in this case could be ‘Limit work to a maximum of 8 hours a day.’

To enhance goal clarity, consider these questions:

  • What do I want to achieve?
  • Why is this goal important?
  • Who is involved in this goal?
  • Where will I pursue this goal?
  • What limitations are associated with this goal?

M – Measurable

A good goal should be measurable, meaning it should have a suitable unit of measurement. These can include school grades, steps tracked by a pedometer, or hours spent using a smartphone. Monitoring your own feelings is also crucial and part of measurement!

Why is measurement so important? It helps assess where you currently stand in achieving the goal. Measurable goals also provide better motivation. A measurable goal should answer:

  • How much?
  • How many?
  • How will I know when the goal is achieved?

A – Achievable

You don’t want your goals to be too easy to achieve, but you want to ensure they are possible. Goals you set for yourself shouldn’t be entirely impossible to reach.

For instance, let’s say you want to learn Spanish to be more competitive in your field. If you’ve never spoken a word of Spanish before, you can’t expect to speak it fluently by next month. That’s simply not an achievable goal.

Instead, you can set a goal to study the language for 20 minutes daily using a language learning app. By making the practice consistent, you set an achievable goal. Too demanding goal setting only leads to frustration and demotivation.

An achievable goal should answer these questions:

  • How can I achieve the goal?
  • Considering my current circumstances and skills, how realistic is this goal?

R – Relevant

The goal must also be realistic and worth pursuing. This is particularly important in challenging times. If the goal is important and meaningful to you, it’s easier to try again even after failure. A meaningful goal should also be in balance with your life and other objectives; otherwise, you might take two steps back instead of progressing.

Consider these questions:

  • Is the goal worth pursuing?
  • Is this the right time for the goal?
  • Do I have the resources to fulfill this goal?

T – Time-bound

Your goal needs to have an end date. Without a deadline, your project may drag on, success metrics might be unclear, and time might slip away unnoticed. Deadlines create a sense of urgency, helping keep short-term tasks on schedule and preventing them from unnecessarily delaying long-term goals. If you haven’t already, ensure you outline a clear timeline for your project. Deadlines are crucial for achieving goals as they motivate action.

A time-bound goal should address these questions:

  • When?
  • Where will I be with my goal in six months?
  • What about in six weeks?
  • What can I do today?

Goal Practice: Goals Setting for the End of the Year

We have an exercise for you to practice goal setting. Many of us traditionally set goals for the new year. New year – new life. However, setting goals is a skill that’s good to practice towards the end of the year.

Let’s assume your next goal is to ‘succeed as an entrepreneur.’ This is clearly a long-term goal. To refine this goal, you need a smaller, more concrete goal. How about this: ‘Learn about one important skill for entrepreneurs every day in December’? This goal meets the criteria of the SMART technique: It’s clearly defined, measurable because you can count how many topics you covered. It’s also likely achievable and relevant as it stemmed from a broader goal. Additionally, it’s time-bound as achieving this goal would take a month.

Finally, welcome to Katrium’s Facebook page!

In December, we’ll be sharing knowledge about important entrepreneurial skills in the form of an advent calendar! Each day, you get to open a door discussing one important skill or aspect for entrepreneurs.

Join us, and by the end of December, you’ll have a better grasp of 24 facets of entrepreneurship! The texts aren’t lengthy, but each topic is truly significant. When you internalize all the facets of the advent calendar, you’ll have excellent goal setting and achieving skills! Join the ranks of winners and make 2024 the best year for your business!

customer experience metrics

Customer Experience Metrics To Track Customer Satisfaction

by with No Comment English post

Customer experience metrics are techniques you can use to monitor and evaluate customer interaction with your company. These interactions may not lead to a final purchase, but are still important for creating a positive brand image for the company. In order to create an optimal customer experience, its interdependence with the company’s operations must be understood. Generally speaking, customer experience depends on the following: market research, integrated sales & marketing, CRM, employees skills, innovation, and corporate culture & leadership. 

In order to assess the state of the business areas listed above and to conclude its impact on the customer experience, several techniques must be taken into account. We offer five metrics that provide consumer experience insights and a rounded picture when evaluated together.

The 5 Customer Experience Metrics 

1. NET Promoter Score (NPS)

Net Promoter Score (NPS) is the first of customer experience metrics. It is measured through challenging customers to rate how likely they are to recommend your product or service to others on a scale of 0-10. This technique works as a predictor for business growth. 

Your customers will only recommend your product or service provider to their households, friends or colleagues if they are confident that the customer experience is right. On the other hand, your customers will also send you terrible experiences, which are likely to be more important than high-quality ones. The higher the NPS measure, the healthier the relationship is with customers who feed word of mouth and create a positive cycle of growth. 

The final NPS value is obtained by the following calculation:

NPS = promoters (%) – detractors (%)

  • Promoters are customers who recommend the product with a rating of 9-10. These are the company’s most loyal customers.
  • Detractors are those who recommend the product with a rating of 0-6. These customers are unlikely to make subsequent purchases with the company, so they cannot be its ambassadors.
  • Passives are customers who recommend the product with points 6–9. These customers don’t make or break a business. This customer group is excluded from the NPS calculation.

2. Customer Retention Rate

Customer retention rate is the percentage of current customers who continue interacting with your company after certain period of time. This metric can show you the need for improvements in your company. 

The final customer retention rate consists of three measures: 

  1. Customer count at the beginning of the time period 
  2. Customer count at the end of the time period 
  3. New customer count acquired during the time period 

The counts above should be then inserted to the following calculation: 

Customer Retention Rate = ((ending customer count – new customer count) / beginning customer count) x 100%

3. Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT)

Customer experience metrics include one more simple but effective metric – customer satisfaction score (CSAT). It means that customers are given the opportunity to rate their satisfaction on a scale of 1-5.

  1. Very unsatisfied 
  2. Unsatisfied 
  3. Neutral
  4. Satisfied 
  5. Very satisfied 

The actual CSAT value is obtained by calculating the percentage of customers who rate their satisfaction with a rating of 4-5.

CSAT = ((customer count with scores 4 and 5 / total customer count) x 100%

Measuring customer satisfaction helps to analyze the results of the customer retention rate.

4. Customer Effort Score (CES)

Customer effort score (CES) is a measure that analyzes how much effort a customer puts into interacting with a company. This interaction may be making requests, resolving issues, purchasing products, or returning products. Generally ,this metric answers the question: “how easy it is to interact with a company?”. The easier is the interaction, the more loyal customers become. 

Usually CES is approached on a 7-point scale. The value of CES is calculated taking into account customers who have evaluated the dexterity to interact with the company with a grade of 5-7. The calculation is the following: 

CES = ((Customer count with 5-7 grades / total customer count) x 100%

The ways to improve CES include: providing various communication channels for interaction, utilizing self-service tools, and reducing wait times. 

5. Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) is one more of customer experience metrics that evaluates the total net profit a company can expect to receive from a customer throughout their interaction. It takes customer’s initial purchases, repeat purchases and the average length of interaction into consideration. A higher CLV level ultimately makes companies more profitable.

CLV is a good representation of customer loyalty. It shows you how long your customers are typically interacting with your company. Knowing the results of CLV is beneficial for the following decision-making areas: 

  • How much is it optimal to spend on new customer acquisition? 
  • What are the most wanted and hence profitable products purchased by the high-value customers? 
  • Which customer segments are the most profitable? 

The higher the value of CLV, the more capital can be invested in acquiring new customers, developing new products, and optimizing communications. A high CLV means that the strategies currently in use, including the marketing strategy, are working. The company can only continue to implement them. CLV level can be improved through: 

  • Making it easier to return items. 
  • Making the most loyal customers exceptional with a help of discounts etc. 
  • Creating a loyalty program. 
  • Implementing upselling practices 

Responding to Customer Experience Metrics

As we stated at the beginning, each of the customer experience metrics above provides a unique view. Although the parameter captures the ride given by the customer in a certain time, it inevitably also reflects previous experiences.

Customer Experience Metrics And Profitability

The best way to use consumer devices is to constantly sift through a few gauges for a while. These can be tracking the consumer journey from more than one perspective. In the long run, this process can help the company get a complete picture.

Read more about improving customer experiences and the benefits of hiring a virtual assistant on our blog! 

Social media management

Social Media Management: How to Become a Professional?

by English post

Social media management is a process of designing and controlling content and so growing the audience. This consists of social media content strategy, online reputation handling and community management and programming. Managing content can be vitally important to both managers and employees. An extensive, interconnected network of information and contacts can be a powerful weapon or a gold mine.

In the following article, we look at an interview with Reid Hoffman, one of the co-founders of LinkedIn, now representing this corporate social networking service as executive chairman. Some of you already know this name, others are probably confused. Mr. Hoffman is a man who can work miracles in the field of networking and we can learn a lot from him.

Extraordinary Social Media Man

Let’s get to know who this extraordinary man is. As mentioned earlier, he was one of the pioneers who founded the business-oriented social media platform known to everyone as LinkedIn. He is a pioneer in this field as his thoughts were breakthroughs in the years 1993 and 1994; At that time, there weren’t many opportunities for online networking, so this idea was evolving along with the Internet and people’s ability to use it.

“An entrepreneur is someone who jumps off a cliff, and builds a plane on his way down.”

(Reid Hoffman)

Basically, the social servers and social media management tools set for a purpose. And the purpose changes with time and as technologies evolve. What is the key to success with social media, how can somebody see, or better foresee demand and its adaptation in the next few years? It all starts with networking. Next, we will bore into some extracts from an interview made by Khan Academy. Letter K stands for a founder of this educational server, Salman Khan, whereas letter R represents Khan’s interviewee Reid Hoffman.

The Thoughts

K:  And that was the first idea for a social network. And then your next two roles explored that space.

R: Yes, well, I always have been, and I think that’s true for many entrepreneurs, and in fact, at this point, I never would have imagined that the word entrepreneur applied to me, it was that they had a certain vision of how the technology, the product or the way the world can be a solved problem. And for me, it was this question: “How are we better as individuals and as a society? » “How do we move forward?” And so, all the social dynamics of what we call “online” or “online systems” such as “What is your identity? “What photos do you post?” How do you find other people? “How do you communicate with them? » “How do you work with them? » All of these things were sort of essential. And so I knew that’s what I wanted to do and I wanted to get some experience…”

5 Steps To Success Social Media Management

After reading these thoughtful and reflective words from Mr. Hoffman, you should have a feel for the whole idea. The mistake people make is thinking that LinkedIn just shares information on the server. And they think that maybe one day someone will see you, contact you and offer you the job of your dreams. Time to wake up!

We have monitored and evaluated each particular step we take online. Whether this is true or not, we need to be careful about what we share online on social media. There is a risk that a single update on social media will turn into a bottomless pit under your feet. Likewise, it is possible that the same update shows your mature opinion and indicates your strengths in communication. This happens through reactions to various articles or shared photos.

We must admit that it is not always easy to keep pace with modern technology. There are many publications telling you how to successfully navigate the Internet. Resulting in landing a dream job or expanding your professional network, Reid Hoffman is one of them. If you don’t have time to read the post, you can simply keep these five key points in mind:

Plan Ahead

Write down all your ideas for social media posts. Make a weekly or monthly posting plan and keep holidays, like Mother’s Day or Halloween, in mind and incorporate them into your updates. You may also want to spend a minute or two thinking about the types of reactions your update might elicit and plan in advance good responses for different scenarios.

Identify Your Focus Platforms

Who is the target group of your company? In which sector would you like to get involved? Keep these things in mind when creating social media updates. Also think about which social media platforms work best for you. There is no point wasting time appearing everywhere if your target group is not involved in Snapchat for example.

Take Photos

People are visual creatures. Even if you’re not interested in art, the eye is drawn to images rather than plain text. Rather than using ready-made images searched online, we recommend photos taken by you or someone known on social media. Take a bunch of photos once every few months and you’ll have plenty to do.

Set Aside Time To Engage

It’s not enough to post updates online, you also need to be active yourself. Have an hour a day to check your social media and respond to commenters. Show people that you are active and available. It’s a simple way to increase your visibility and connect with your interest groups.

Brainstorm

Be alert and ready to find ideas and inspiration anytime, anywhere. If you see an ad on TV or on the street that provokes a reaction, write it down. What was the reaction and why? Is this a reaction you want to avoid or use on your social media management? How could you achieve this? Also be open and ask your colleagues and employees what they think about previous updates on social media. Planning together, new ideas and different ways of looking at things can never hurt.

“The fastest way to change yourself is to hang out with people who are already the way you want to be.” (Reid Hoffman)

Social media – Get in the game

There are many companies offering social media management. So that you don’t have to spend time on it yourself. But before you go for the seemingly easy option, ask yourself if it’s really worth it? How could this international company know your business other than as part of the gray mass it routinely serves? Is there a benefit to your social media channel having a more intimate view of the business? Could this be your competitive advantage?

Whether you hire a company to take care of your social media management or you take care of it yourself, the fact remains that social media is a major platform and player. And if you want to succeed, you have to be there. Keep in mind that social media is a delicate instrument. One small step in the wrong direction can have far-reaching consequences. Reid Hoffman notes that he has a strong social conscience. This comes from education and interest in history, sociology and human psychology. He managed to connect the needs of ordinary people with an incredibly difficult mechanism of entrepreneurship and business. Even if his business is unrelated to yours, his story is an inspiration. And that’s ultimately what social media is for: inspiration.

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