Smart Goals: Examples and Tips for SMEs and Non-profits
You have a great idea: a campaign, a new product, a growth plan. But how do you make sure it doesn’t remain just a good idea? How do you measure whether you’re actually making progress? The answer: SMART goals. You’ll find clear examples of SMART goals in this article.
Plus, discover practical tips for SMEs and non-profit organizations, and learn how tools like project management software and CRM systems can help you reach your goals more effectively.
Table Of Contents
What are SMART goals?
SMART is an abbreviation that stands for:
- Specific: What exactly do you want to achieve?
- Measurable: How will you know if the goal was achieved?
- Acceptable: Is the goal achievable and relevant to your team or organization?
- Realistic: Is the goal achievable with available resources?
- Time-bound: When should the goal be achieved?
A SMART goal forces you to be specific. Instead of “We want more donors,” it becomes, “We want to recruit 150 new donors through our newsletters in the first quarter of 2026.”
That clarity increases the likelihood that you will actually achieve your goal. So what are some other good examples of SMART goals? We’ll discuss that next.
Practical examples of SMART goals
1. Wish: Generate more newsletter subscriptions
You want to generate more subscribers to your newsletter. An example of a SMART goal would be:
SMART Goal: We want to generate 200 new newsletter signups from our homepage by August 31, 2025 through an improved pop-up and a rewritten call-to-action.
- Goal: We want to increase the number of newsletter subscribers through our website.
- Specific: We want to increase subscriptions through our website’s homepage.
- Measurable: The number of new subscribers should increase by 200 signups.
- Acceptable: The marketing department is enthusiastic and available.
- Realistic: With a pop-up and better call-to-actions, this is achievable.
- Time-bound: The goal must be achieved by Aug. 31, 2025.
2. Wish: Improve our customer service
You want to improve your customer service. An example of a relevant SMART goal then becomes:
SMART Goal: We want to reduce our average response time to customer inquiries from 48 hours to a maximum of 24 hours within two months through better task distribution and the use of customer support software.
- Goal: We want to increase customer satisfaction by responding faster to inquiries.
- Specifics: We want to reduce customer service response time.
- Measurable: The average response time should go down from 48 hours to no more than 24 hours.
- Acceptable: The team agrees to the new way of working.
- Realistic: We have sufficient staff and software to accomplish this.
- Time-bound: This must be accomplished within two months.
3. Wish: Increase donations through email campaigns
You want to increase your donations through an email campaign. Your SMART goal could be:
SMART goal: We want to raise at least $2,500 in donations for our educational project with an email campaign from September 1 to 30, 2025.
- Goal: We want to receive more donations for our educational project.
- Specific: To raise donations for our project through a targeted email campaign.
- Measurable: The campaign should raise a minimum of $2,500.
- Acceptable: The communications team has set aside time for this.
- Realistic: Previous campaigns generated an average of $2,000.
- Time-bound: The campaign will run from September 1 to September 30, 2025.
4. Wish: Generate new leads via LinkedIn
You want to generate new leads through LinkedIn. Then your SMART goal could be:
SMART Goal: We want to generate at least 15 qualified B2B leads through LinkedIn between July 1 and July 31, 2025 by posting weekly content and running ads.
- Goal: We want to expand our customer base through LinkedIn.
- Specific: We want to generate leads via LinkedIn for our B2B service.
- Measurable: At least 15 qualified leads in one month.
- Acceptable: The sales manager and marketing person are working together on this action.
- Realistic: With the current reach and our advertising budget, this is achievable.
- Time-bound: The action runs from July 1 to July 31, 2025.
5. Wish: Recruit volunteers for an event
You want to recruit volunteers for your event. An example of a SMART goal might be:
SMART Goal: We want to recruit at least 25 volunteers for our summer festival by August 1, 2025 - through social media, local networks and our newsletter.
- Goal: We want to get more volunteers involved in our annual event.
- Specifics: We want to recruit a minimum of 25 volunteers to run our summer festival.
- Measurable: There must be 25 applications.
- Acceptable: The event team will coordinate.
- Realistic: Last year we had 18 volunteers; with targeted recruitment, 25 should be achievable.
- Time-bound: The deadline is August 1, 2025.
Tips for setting and applying SMART goals
- Start small, but think strategically. You don’t have to change your entire annual plan right away. Start with one or two SMART goals per quarter that align with your larger mission or vision.
- Involve your team. SMART goals work best when they have broad support. Organize a brainstorm with your team, set priorities together, and determine who is responsible for what.
- Make use of data. When formulating goals, also look at your current figures: how many customers did you have last month, how many newsletter subscriptions, how many website visitors?
- Evaluate regularly. Schedule set times to measure your progress. Are you falling behind? Then you can make adjustments. Are you running ahead? Then you may even be able to make your goal more ambitious.
- Use support tools. Project management software and a CRM system are essential to the successful execution of your projects.
How software helps you achieve your SMART goals
A CRM system is essential for tracking customer data, optimizing your sales funnel, and measuring campaign performance. It ensures your goals don’t just live “somewhere on paper,” but become an active part of your daily workflow.
With a good CRM you can segment, analyze results, and make communication more personal. And that in turn increases the chance that your input has an effect.
In addition, project management software provides an overview. You can divide your goals into concrete actions, assign tasks to team members, set reminders, and visualize progress.
This keeps everyone involved and you know exactly who is doing what and when.
Would you like to try our CRM system with linked project management and task management software for free? Then sign up now for our BETA Program!
Plenty of SMART goal examples—time to set your own!
SMART goals help you get crystal clear and specific about what you truly want to achieve. Whether you run an SME, lead a non-profit, or manage a team, start setting your SMART goals today—and experience the clarity, focus, and peace of mind they bring.