Now that in-person events can take place again, you may want to set yourself some new goals. After all, goal setting is easy – decide what you want to focus on, write down your goal, maybe stick it up on the wall, and start doing it. What could be simpler?

As an event planner, setting goals and executing them can often mean the difference between success or failure. 

Yet setting goals doesn’t always go to plan. Unrealistic event goals can demotivate us, or they may not produce the end results we hoped for. The answer? Setting SMART goals.

Whether it’s to boost your revenue, grow your audience, or improve on feedback from attendees, SMART goals can help you get there. Keep reading to find out how you can set yourself realistic event goals that produce results and get inspired by our event objectives examples.

Getting SMART about goal setting

Here’s an example of a typical goal that an event planner might have: “I want my event to be more successful.”

This is a worthy goal, but the problem is that it’s essentially impossible to know if and when you’ve completed it successfully.

The solution is to structure your goals to be as specific and clear as possible, using the SMART framework as a guide. This has been around for a while – because it works. Your goals should be:

  • Specific
  • Measurable
  • Achievable
  • Relevant
  • Time-bound

Let’s look at each of these, in turn, to see how you can improve your event planning skills, break bad habits, and improve on these sample objectives of an event management company.

Set specific goals

When it comes to SMART goal setting, your goal should be as specific as possible. Let’s look at the above example: “I want my event to be more successful.” What does that mean? There are many ways for an event to be more successful: more attendees, higher customer satisfaction, increased profits, etc. So try and be as clear as possible when defining what you want to do by thinking about the aims and objectives of an event.

Instead of: I want my event to be more successful

Use: I want my event to generate more revenue than last year

Set measurable goals

How will you know when you’ve actually achieved your goal? It needs to be as measurable as possible. A good guide here is that goals shouldn’t be binary (yes/no, success/failure), but instead should allow a range of outcomes. Consider this example objective:

Instead of: I want my events to generate revenue

Use: I want my events to generate the same revenue as my 2019 events (even if I have fewer attendees)

Set achievable goals

This may sound obvious, but it’s important to set a goal that you can actually achieve with the resources you have available. Perhaps you could create smaller, do-able goals that can be ticked off as part of your event planning checklist. Stretch goals can also be helpful to keep you and your team motivated, but a goal that’s totally unrealistic will have the opposite effect.

Instead of: I want my event to generate 100% more revenue than 2019

Use: I want my event to generate 30% more revenue than 2019

Set relevant goals

Your goals need to be relevant to you and what you want to achieve. If you have a goal that you feel isn’t currently a top priority for you or your business, consider either dropping it or refocusing elsewhere. For example, one objective might be:

Instead of: I want my event to generate 30% more revenue than 2019 by selling T-shirts

Use: I want my event to generate 30% more revenue than 2019 from virtual and in-person ticket sales

Set time-bound goals

Your goals need a deadline. Setting an end point that isn’t too far in the future will help keep you motivated, and will turn the goal into something actionable.

Instead of: I want my event to generate 30% more revenue than 2019

Use: I want my event to generate 30% more revenue than 2019 from virtual and in-person ticket sales in the next six months

Ready to start thinking SMART?

Now more than ever, SMART goal setting is vital for creators who want to bounce back after the setbacks of COVID-19. With these event planning goals examples in mind, think about how you can create your own. With a set of SMART goals in place, you should find you have a clear aim and, as a result, feel more motivated and positive about the future. Work toward achieving your 2021 reopening goals with the help of Eventbrite.