Before marketers lay out their strategies, they first find out their business’s destination according to their company’s overall plan. Next, they figure out specifically where their business needs to be by a particular date. To accomplish this, marketers assemble to discuss where they’re headed and how they’re going to get there—a process that may take some time. Once they’re all on the same page, they write down their agreed-upon goals or objectives—what it is they want to achieve.

Let’s say that a family-style restaurant wants to increase sales. After some discussion, its marketers agree to increase annual sales by 10% over last year’s sales. The marketers know that this goal is specific and can be evaluated for success or failure at the end of a given time frame.

Read more about marketing goals and how to set them in the article “This is How You Come Up With Marketing Goals” by Jay Conrad Levinson and Al Lautenslager.