Your first step in developing any type of plan for your law firm is to set goals. But if the goals you set won’t deliver the results you want, you’ve probably set the wrong goals.

So how do you go about setting the right goals? Take these 5 steps:

1. Make them SMART goals. SMART is an acronym for:

Specific. Don’t just say, “increase leads” – instead, the goal should state specifics, like: “Get 50 qualified leads per month using social media, blogging and email marketing.” You can’t measure generalities.

Measurable. If you’ve been specific about your goals, you should then be measuring them and making adjustments if something isn’t working.

Attainable. Your goals should be realistically attainable.

Relevant. Tie your goals to your target market to ensure they are relevant. For example, if your target market is business, you shouldn’t be wasting your efforts on Instagram or Pinterest.

Timely. Setting a timeframe to achieve your goals to help with measurement and keep you focused on achieving them.

2. Align marketing goals with business goals. Your marketing goals should support your revenue goals for your firm each year.

3. Have a written plan. If your goals are not written down in the form of a plan that details how you will reach each goal, then what you have are wishes, not goals.

4. Make them easy to digest. A goal of 100 new leads a week is not only unrealistic, it can be defeat the purpose of having goals altogether because it’s just too big a bite to take all at once. Break down your goals into bite-size bits – if they still seem too large, you need to readjust your expectations and develop goals you can actually achieve.

5. Measure. Consistently track your goals to measure what is working and what’s not working so you can make necessary adjustments throughout the year. Not measuring your goals is just as bad as not having any in the first place.

Watch this great video on setting goals: