Marketing Objectives: How To Set Good Marketing Objectives

“As a small business, you can’t afford to be distracted,” author and Stanford lecturer Christina Wodtke says. “While you’re dealing with life’s fires, you don’t want to forget about what really matters, and OKRs are a great tool for focus.” 

The OKR (objectives and key results) framework is just one method for staying on track with your marketing plan. In this article, learn from Christina and other experts about the different ways to craft marketing objectives and how they can help your team achieve success. 

What are marketing objectives?

Marketing objectives are measurable performance benchmarks that guide marketing activities by setting expectations and direction. Objectives typically include a key performance indicator (KPI) and a quantitative benchmark, like a 10% increase in conversions. 

There are a few different frameworks for crafting marketing objectives:

OKRs

Marketing objectives are sometimes structured as OKRs. With this approach, the primary marketing objective may be broader and the key results define the KPIs and quantitative targets. 

To explain OKRs, Christina developed this example: 

• Scenario: An American ecommerce company is looking to expand internationally, starting by selling products in Germany. 

• Objective: Germany is delighted by our product offering.
• Key result: Sales of $500,000 in beta offering
• Key result: 25% of sales are repeat customers
• Key result: Returns are more than 8%

“The OKR that I came up with is a way of saying, ‘We, the bosses, have decided this is what we’re going to do,’” Christina says. “The objective is supposed to be inspiring, but the key results are what really define it.”

Key results make lofty goals easier to measure and give marketing teams a way to reach objectives. “Because we use the word delighted in the objective, [we have to decide] how we’re going to measure that,” Christina says. “Repeat customers is a great one. Keeping returns down is really important for costs and also suggests that people are happy.” 

SMART

Team leaders often use the SMART framework to develop achievable targets. Writing SMART objectives involves using the acronym like a checklist—each goal should address all of the outlined elements:

• Specific. Your objective is clear and actionable. For example, instead of saying you want to increase your social media presence, you might pick a platform that you want to hone in on.
• Measurable. You should be able to measure your objectives. For example, making your website the go-to resource in your industry may be hard to quantify, but increasing website traffic by 15% is easy to measure.
• Achievable. Within this framework, you will choose objectives that are attainable. If you’re starting a new social media page for your new brand, it is likely unrealistic to reach one million followers within a few weeks.
• Relevant. Your objectives should support your company’s long-term goals and missions. Reviewing your broader business objectives can ensure that you stay on track.
• Time-bound. Aim to pick an objective that has a clear deadline. 

This process has multiple benefits. Including specific initiatives and KPIs helps employees understand what is expected of them. Making the goals measurable and time-bound also makes it easier for leaders to evaluate success. 

Strategy map

A strategy map is a visual representation that uses arrows to show the cause-and-effect relationships between objectives. Strategy maps typically focus on four areas: financial, customer, internal business processes, and learning and growth. 

The map will feature arrows between different sections to show how they affect one another. For example, if one of your financial objectives revolves around increasing revenue with engaged shoppers, then your map might point to an objective that states you’ll put out more educational content under the learning and growth section.

Marketing objectives vs. marketing goals

Compared to objectives, marketing goals are typically broader and higher level. Goals don’t always include numerical targets or KPIs—they can be general ambitions, like “increase revenue,” “reduce churn,” or “increase customer lifetime value.” Objectives, on the other hand, are concrete and actionable. (If you use the OKR framework, the “objective” part of the OKR will be more general, while the “key results” part will be more specific.)

Goals and objectives go hand-in-hand, so teams may use the terms interchangeably in day-to-day operations. Objectives support goals by outlining the specific actions and improvements needed to achieve them. While a marketing goal describes what your team is trying to do, an objective explains how they will do it. 

Why are marketing objectives important?

There are different ways to work toward high-level businessgoals like customer growth, customer satisfaction, and increased revenue. Creating marketing objectives provides a clear path forward and promotes internal alignment. 

With defined objectives, each team member’s efforts will be in service of the same goals. Objectives also ensure that individual team projects connect back to larger initiatives, and can help businessesachieve success.

Examples of marketing objectives

• Lead generation
• Increase market share
• Increase website traffic
• Increase customer lifetime value

While many businesses share general goals, such as growth and profitability, objectives are unique to your team’s specific operating conditions. Review these common marketing objectives: 

Lead generation

Objective: Use lead magnets to capture 1,000 newemail addresses by the end of Q2.

Once you have captured a consumer’s email address, they’ve officially entered your sales pipeline. Alexandra Eidens used lead magnets to build a huge following at Big Life Journal—she considers her list of more than 200,000 email subscribers her most valuable asset. 

Increase market share

Objective: Introduce products into new brick-and-mortar retail stores within a year. 

Opening a brick-and-mortar store can increase your market share and help you gain an edge over your competitors. Improving brand awareness, growing your customer base, and boosting customer retentionrates can all help gain market share. 

High-protein treat company Elavi scored a major market share win when it made it onto the shelves at Costco—expanding into a major physical retailer helped the ecommerce brand access new consumers. 

Increase website traffic

Objective: Increase organic traffic to blog by 10% within a year by targeting long-tail keywords. 

Recurring traffic leads to more eyes on your products. Sebastian Bryers, founder of Ora Organic, found a winning marketing plan by investing in longtail SEO content to drive web browsers to his website. 

Increase customer lifetime value

Objective: Generate 1,500 sign-ups for customer loyalty program within three months of program launch 

Customer lifetime value (CLV) is an indicator of overall business health. A higher CLV means that you’re getting more financial return from your marketing efforts, and can put your business on the path to profitability. Loyalty programs, like the one Crystal Landsem implemented at LuLu’s, are a popular way to keep customers coming back. 

How to set effective marketing objectives

• Choose a framework
• Connect objectives to marketing goals
• Leverage existing data
• Test and refine

Effective marketing objectives are clear, actionable, and inspirational. With a strong set of goals and objectives, your team will understand what they need to accomplish and feel empowered to do so. Try these tips for developing attainable marketing objectives. 

Choose a framework 

Each framework has its own benefits. For example, an OKR framework lets you start with a more conceptual idea that you then break down into more actionable results. A strategy map is a visual representation and can help you see connections between different objectives more clearly, which is useful in helping you collaborate with other teams. Pick the framework that works best for your team.

Connect objectives to marketing goals

Objectives provide purpose and direction. While you develop your objectives, keep larger corporate goals in mind to make sure you’re steering your team in the right direction. If your objectives support your goals, then the work your marketing team does will help drive success. 

Kyle Risley, senior SEO lead at Shopify, suggests using goals as a starting point, saying “If your big goal is ‘dominate search for [product category],’ break it down. First, nail the on-page [SEO] for top product pages. Second, build relevant internal links. Finally, start targeted outreach for backlinks.” Applying this approach helps build attainable objectives that support broader initiatives. 

Leverage existing data 

There’s nothing wrong with setting ambitious goals—but historical data can provide context that helps keep objectives attainable. For example, if you’re setting a revenue target for Q3 2026, consider using Q3 revenue from 2025 as a starting point to help you identify an attainable increase. 

Test and refine 

Once you’ve created an initial list of objectives, track your progress as you go. If your team is lagging behind in one area, it may indicate the need for a strategy shift. 

Setting measurable objectives means you can see how your marketing is performing. To learn where you might fall short, you can also turn to customer feedback, something Michelle Razav, cofounder of Elavi, suggests. “I like to say that your first draft is never going to be your final, and there’s always iteration and pivoting along the way,” Michelle says. “Going in with that mindset allows you to really launch with openness, curiosity, and with the humility to make changes and come back to the drawing board once you have a little bit of data.”