PROJECT: create two SMART goals for a fictional email marketing campaign. 

INSTRUCTION: Businesses often use the SMART format to outline the what, how, when, and why of their goals. Clarifying their objectives makes them easier to achieve. 

Remember that a SMART goal must be:

• Specific: It answers questions like what needs to be done to achieve the goal.

• Measurable: It’s clear how you’ll prove you've achieved the goal.

• Attainable: It’s realistic given the timeframe and other constraints.

• Relevant: It supports larger project or business objectives.

• Time-bound: It includes a timeline or a deadline.

You’re part of the digital marketing team at Feels Like Home, an upscale furniture retailer that does most of its business online. The company is launching a new line of furniture called For All, which is designed to expand their customer base. The For All line features the brand’s high level of craftsmanship, but at a lower price point than their previous offerings. Feels Like Home’s main business goal for the For All line is to grow their total active customer base by 30% within a year of launch.

You’re in charge of the email campaign for the launch of this new line. You and your team have set two email marketing goals to support Feels Like Home’s overall business goal: 

• Goal 1: Grow the email subscriber list by the end of September

• Goal 2: Increase the monthly email conversion rate

Your next task is to turn these goals into SMART goals. To do this, you’ll use the information from the meeting notes below:

• The For All line will officially launch at the end of June, three months from today.

• The email subscriber list is currently about 100,000 people, and we currently add new subscribers at a rate of about 1,000 per month. There is high interest among target audiences, and market research indicates that 2,000 per month is a reasonable target.

• Only 35% of current email subscribers have ever made a purchase. Surveys indicate that the other 65% are interested in Feels Like Home’s existing products, but the high price point has been the main obstacle to purchase.

• We estimate that a substantial number of new customers will come from our current subscriber list if we segment for the new product line.

• The average monthly conversion rate for email subscribers is currently 5%. Bringing that rate up to 7% per month within six months of launch will help us reach our business goal. An increase of this size is in line with industry benchmarks.

• Segmenting our email list will help us reach the right subscribers and maximize conversions.

• Giving discounts to existing subscribers who refer friends or family members should help grow the email list. Social media and paid media specialists are also working to grow the list.

EXPLANATION:

MART goal one

The original goal indicates that Feels Like Home will grow their email subscriber list by the end of September, but it doesn’t indicate how they will do it, whether it's possible, or why it’s important. The SMART goal addresses all these questions, which increases Feels Like Home’s chances of reaching their aim:

“Grow the email subscriber list by 12,000 people by the end of September by partnering with social and paid media specialists and launching an email referral program that offers discounts to existing subscribers.”

• Specific: Feels Like Home will create an email referral program that offers discounts to existing subscribers.

• Measurable: The goal indicates by how much they want to grow the list, so it’s clear how they will measure success.

• Attainable: They have six months to reach this goal and the target number of new subscribers is reasonable given the launch of an entirely new product line. However, more information may be needed to determine feasibility. 

• Relevant: Adding new subscribers to their email list means more potential conversions, which supports the goal of adding new customers to their base.

• Time-bound: The deadline is in September.

SMART goal two

The original goal indicates that Feels Like Home will increase the monthly conversion rate, but it doesn’t indicate how they will do it, whether it's possible, why it’s important, or when they will get it done. The SMART goal addresses all these questions, which increases Feels Like Home’s chances of reaching their aim:

“Increase the monthly email conversion rate by 2% within six months of launch by segmenting the email list for the For All line of products.”

• Specific: Feels Like Home will segment their email list for the new For All line of products.

• Measurable: The goal indicates by how much they want to increase conversions, so it’s clear how they will measure success.

• Attainable: The goal is attainable because they have six months after launch to reach and a 2% is in line with industry benchmarks. However, more information may be needed to determine feasibility.

• Relevant: Increasing the conversion rate of existing email subscribers directly supports the business goal of expanding the customer base by 30% within a year.

• Time-bound: The deadline is six months after launch

INSTRUCTION:

TASK 2:Now that you’ve set SMART goals and are growing the email list for Feels Like Home’s For All line of furniture, it’s time to start segmenting your subscribers. 

When people sign up for the email list, they can customize their experience by responding to a series of questions. These questions are designed to collect data that you will use to segment the list for different types of emails. Some of the questions include:

• What is your main challenge (aside from cost) when buying furniture?

• What room(s) are you most interested in furnishing?

• Would you like to receive emails about special promotions?

• Would you like to be notified of in-store events?

Using subscriber responses to these questions, you will segment the list for three email topics:

1. Promotional email with discounts on space-saving furniture solutions for small kitchens

2. Promotional email with information about exclusive in-store sales

3. Newsletter with tips for keeping bedroom and living room furniture safe from pets

Note: These segments represent only a few possible ways to divide the email list. In a real email marketing campaign, there could be additional segments (for example, special promotions for specific types of furniture).

EXPLANATION:

Small kitchen solutions

The following subscribers selected “kitchen/dining room” and “small space,” so they should receive emails about small kitchen solutions:

• Ava

• Deonte

• Emmett

• Leona

• Stefania

• Penny

• Min

Exclusive in-store sales

The following subscribers selected  “yes” for both In-store events and Special promotions, so they should receive emails about exclusive in-store sales:

• Deonte

• Leona

• Min

• Felix

• Rosa

• Casey

• Tarit

• Shirin

• Ahmet

• Riley

• Kenji

Pet-friendly content

The following subscribers selected  “pet-friendliness” and “bedroom” OR “living room/den,”  so they should receive emails with pet-friendly content:

• Felix

• Rosa

• Casey

• Shirin

• Ahmet

• Jaya

• Saanvi

• Quinn

• Hector

INSTRUCTION:

you will complete a short email series welcoming new subscribers to an email list. Each email in the series should have:

• A subject line that reflects what the message is offering

• A body that provides helpful content for the reader 

• A call to action that encourages the reader to do something

TASK 3:

As the digital marketer in charge of the email campaign for the launch of the For All furniture line, you’ve already set SMART goals and segmented your email list. Now you’re planning the email content for your campaign.

One of your tasks is to write a series of three emails designed to welcome new subscribers and encourage them to make a purchase:

1. A welcome email with a discount code, sent to all subscribers immediately after signup

2. A newsletter that introduces subscribers to the For All line 

3. A promotional email that remarkets products subscribers visited on the website and reminds them of the discount code 

The emails are already partially drafted. To complete them, you will provide a subject line, body text, or call to action for each. 

INSTRUCTION:

you will analyze the data from your email marketing campaign. Then you will create a presentation to convey the most important results to stakeholders. 

TASK 5:

While evaluating the August performance metrics for the For All email marketing campaign, you uncovered some important information:

First, you discovered that you are behind schedule in working toward the following goals:

• Goal 1: Grow the email subscriber list by 12,000 people by the end of September through an email referral program that offers discounts to existing subscribers.

• Goal 2: Increase the overall monthly conversion rate by 2% within six months of launch by segmenting the email list for the For All line of products.

Second, you identified certain metrics as key performance indicators (KPIs) to optimize and help you track progress. 

Now you’re preparing to present your findings to stakeholders. You’ve created a slide deck that visualizes some of the KPIs you identified. The deck includes seven slides:

• Slide 1: A title slide

• Slide 2: Campaign SMART goals and activities

• Slide 3: A list of campaign KPIs

• Slide 4: A column chart that tracks new email subscribers added each month from April to August

• Slide 5: A column chart that compares this year’s monthly conversion rates with last year’s rates during the same period (April-August) 

• Slide 6: An area chart that displays the weekly open rates and click-to-open rates for For All campaign emails in July and August

• Slide 7: Conclusion and next steps

To complete the presentation, you will write speaker notes for each visualization that explain these performance results and recommend next steps.

COMPLETE THANKS.