This year came rolling in with the same momentum as the record-setting tsunami that hit Lituya Bay in 1958.  February is here and the question now pervades: what does your business have to show for it?   Just like 2015, every New Year is preceded by an old year that ended in over-indulgence of food, fun and festivities – one where discipline and focus become buzz-words of the year past. This is what makes January an attractive month for resolutions. However taking a deeper look into the national track record of January resolutions we find that most resolutions are very short lived in comparison to actually planning out and setting smart long-term goals!   It is estimated that 45% of Americans made at least one resolution this past January, yet only two-thirds of those same Americans will keep their resolutions beyond the first month. It is also estimated that only 8% of those goals will be keep to the end of the year. When speaking in terms of resolutions, the more consistent option for many is to resolve not to make a resolution like 39% of Americans. With those facts in mind it is wise to consider the factors that affect goal-setting success when planning marketing goals for your business. Since goal-setting is directly tied to your business success, it is imperative that your goals go through a mission-priority filter. Here are a few goal-setting tips to help you start and end this year with measurable and marketable success! #1 – Take the necessary time to analyze, assess or appraise the state of your business! Do you have an accurate picture of what is going on behind the scenes of your business? The more raw and measurable data you have about your business, the more substance you have to improve with. Having a realistic measure of every internal and external element of your business will give you an authentic picture of where your business is going in relation to where you need and want it to be.  An authentic evaluation of your business will get you back on top of your marketing goals. It is easy to make a goal and achieve it, but if that goal is not meaningful to your bottom line then it can and will waste time, energy and money. #2 – The better you are at managing your time, the better you will be at achieving your goals. Most marketing professionals are creative geniuses and their creative art is expressed through their innovative means of marketing. New ideas are the fuel to their passion. However, for many, new ideas can lead into a time-warp of no return and no ROI. Learn to manage your time effectively by filtering every new idea through your business’ bottom line or mission statement. (By the way, if you don’t have a bottom-line mission statement, you probably have been wasting time up to this point so you can add that to the this list of tips as number 6). New ideas are merely new distractions if they take you away from your priorities! #3 – Establish and engage an accountable-commitment relationship. Accountability and commitment are two sides of one coin: a one sided silver dollar cashes in no value. Small business owners should seek to invest in accountability relationships like an industry mentor, business developer, or a successful business/leadership coach. Ensure that everyone on the team is committed and has an accountability partner to help keep them focused on the goals. Without proper accountability, commitments will eventually fall. #4 – Always revisit and stay personal with your market place! Staying current within your market demographics will keep your business up to date, relevant, and essential in your market economy. One of your on-going goals should be to stay relevant and reliable within your market. Don’t get stuck in an old and easy routine of doing business as usual. The community economy is always evolving and your business should be both constant and changing as the community evolves. This means your practices and strategies should change with the culture while your principles and quality should be a constant and reliable expectation. Find the balance between what really works and what could really work better. This means always staying up-to-date with the newest technologies and fads and getting personal in your market place. #5 – Never lose sight of your bottom line. Choose no more than two core long-term goals from your business statement that drive your bottom line and make sure that every single short-term goal and future decision supports it. Revisit your mission statement and make sure all your goals are tied to them. Do all that you can to make sure your entire team is committed to meeting these goals and be the head cheerleader and coach of staying focused on your goals! The bigger picture to remember about goal-setting is that those who intentionally set goals are ten times more successful at reaching their goals then those who did not plan goals at all. So whether you have your goals in motion, have your goals in mind, or have fallen off the goal-given path you started this year, the good news is that it is not too late to make or improve your marketing goals. Know that Exousia Marketing Group is always here to help you stay at the top of your marketing success.