By Taylor Tuomie
Introduction
In part 1 of our blog series on the 2016 Green Industry Benchmark Report, we covered the importance of training and the difficulty that many companies have while hiring. We also discussed the strong correlation between growth and training. The companies who train their employees are typically the ones who grow, conversely, those who don’t are the businesses that take a step backwards.
Read part 1 of Key Lessons From the 2016 Green Industry Benchmark Report blog series here
In part 2 we will cover the importance of goal-setting and its effect on growth. Goal-setting is becoming an important factor for growth in the green industry. And it also becoming more of a regular thing for businesses to do. Here’s why!
Part 2 - Goal Setting and Growth
“Goal-setting in green industry businesses grew substantially in 2015. And with good results: Those who set goals were more likely to see high revenue growth in 2015. Even more eye-opening – those who set long-term – 3, 5 and 10 – year goals all saw growth in excess of 6% in 2015. “
Strong correlation between goal setting and growth
This year's Benchmark Report shows that more people were setting goals and it also showed that they were meeting them. The businesses that set goals saw higher revenue growth and those who set long term goals saw even higher growth.
That correlation shouldn’t come as a surprise, but it reiterates the importance of planning and setting goals for your business. Goal-setting is working and you should be doing it! The business who are growing rapidly are the ones who have both short term and long term goals. Instead of just winging it, you should have a plan in place.
As a whole, green industry businesses have become more sophisticated over the course of time that we have been running this survey and compiling the Benchmark Report. More and more people are utilizing technology to acquire leads, more businesses have a field service software that they are using and more businesses are strategizing.
What kinds of goals you should be setting?
Every kind of goal possible!
You should be setting short term goals for you and your crews as well as big picture, long term goals for the business as a whole. You should be setting goals for client acquisition growth, for financial goals and also goals for your employees. Here are a few tips for setting both types of goals:
Short Term
- Set short term goals for activities such as marketing campaigns Ex. Gaining 20 new customers by the end of the season through a referral program
- Communicate short term goals across your business
- Collaborate with your employees, know their personal goals
Long Term
- Set annual, 3 year, 5 year and even 10 year goals for your business
- Do you want to expand territory? Expand your team? Expand services? Do you want to retire?
- Create SMART goals - Specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely
Is my business too small to set goals for?
Often times we hear smaller businesses say that they're too small to actually have set goals. They don't think that they need to strategize and have systems in place, becuase they are only a few employees. That isn't the right mind set to have. While we saw midsize companies grow faster this year than 1-2 person operations, planning is still important for even the smallest businesses.
Or, you can check out the Benchmark Report for yourself! Click below to download it now!
