Objectives vs. Goals: What's the Difference? (With Examples) | Indeed.

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Objectives vs. Goals: What's the

Difference? (With Examples)
Indeed Editorial Team
Updated February 4, 2023

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Goals and objectives are important to almost any business plan, and they help teams
focus on the steps required to achieve a desired outcome. Although goals and
objectives are terms some use interchangeably, they have different meanings and serve
different functions. Understanding the clear definitions of both can be a great first step in
planning projects and helping teams achieve success across an entire organization.

In this article, we discuss the differences between objectives and goals, define what a
strategy is and provide examples of goals and objectives for reference.

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Objective vs. goal

To better understand the differences between objectives and goals, it's important to first
understand their respective definitions, which are as follows:

Goals
A goal is a result you want to achieve, often within a specific time frame. It's typically a
general and overarching idea expressed clearly, concisely and descriptively. It's a long-
term and time-sensitive indicator of where you hope to be in the future. A goal is the aim
of a project in terms of what the associated team should accomplish. Goals are normally
a single sentence that specifies the desired outcome, the anticipated date of
achievement and the resources required. Company or team goals typically align with
the business' vision, mission and ideals.

Related: How Do You Set SMART Goals? Definition and Examples

Objectives

An objective is a specific action or step that you plan to take to achieve your goals.
They're the smaller, more achievable parts of a goal, or how you might work towards a
goal. Objectives are time-bound and have more immediate deadlines than goals
typically do. Objectives are easily quantifiable and delineate specific and limited actions
that require a conclusion in a specific time. They also help team members maintain a
focus and keep moving toward the overall goal. As indicators of a goal nearing
attainment, objectives also serve as a means of encouragement.

Related: How To Define Brand Objectives in 6 Steps

What is a strategy?
A strategy is a plan that outlines how each individual or team can work toward a clearly
defined objective. The strategy is used to reach the objective and may change
according to need. The objective is what you do, while the strategy is how you do it. For
example, if a company sets an objective to reach 10 million social media followers in
three months, the marketing team might create a new marketing strategy to help ensure
they meet that objective and the overreaching goal of becoming the leading social
media presence in the industry.

Strategies are typically multi-step processes that follow specific instructions or

guidelines that a team or business agrees on. For example, if you create a strategy for
your career goal of becoming a chief executive officer (CEO), you might work on a
strategy with your supervisor that includes leadership training, participating in internal
company policy meetings and obtaining a master's degree in business management.

Related: Ultimate Guide to Strategic Planning

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Examples of objectives and goals

Goals and objectives are similar terms since one functions as the means to the other.
It's important for teams and individual employees to know the difference so that an
organization remains focused and working in unison. Here are a few examples of goals
and objectives to outline the relationship between the two:

Example 1

This example focuses on increasing brand awareness:

Thompson Clothing Co. sets a goal to focus on increasing brand awareness. This is a
goal because it's long term and general in nature. An objective to help achieve this goal
is to increase website traffic by 10%, which is more specific and quantifiable than the
general goal. This objective can serve as a good indicator of how company efforts are
contributing to the larger company goal. A strategy implemented to increase website
traffic can be a newsletter campaign sent out to subscribers.

The message may end with a call to action for readers to click on a link guiding them to
the company website. The newsletter is how the company accomplishes its objective of
increasing website traffic to achieve its primary goal of increasing brand awareness.

Related: A Guide to the Objectives of an Organization

Example 2

This example focuses on marketing efforts:

Biller Retail Stores, Inc. discovers that marketing efforts haven't been attracting new
customers. Company leadership uses data to identify the goal of increasing brand
engagement through social media to build a stronger emotional relationship and trust
with existing customers. To achieve the benchmark goal, the company sets a
quantifiable objective to increase its social media followers by 15%. This objective is
measurable and specific and can help determine that efforts are effective in reaching
the company goal.

The company incentivizes interactions with social media followers by offering exclusive
discounts and codes for free shipping. This entices new customers and helps to keep
the interest of current customers, who feel valued by receiving special offers.

Related: What Are Performance Appraisal Objectives? (With 8 Examples)

Example 3

This example focuses on reaching more customers:

Tellman Industries, LLC realizes that the business and marketing strategy of using print
advertising is reaching a very select group of customers. To reach customers on a
larger scale and attract a different type of customer, the company sets a goal to market
more online. An objective the company chooses to focus on is to increase its use of
video marketing by 10%. The company also adopts the strategy of consulting with an
influencer, an individual with established credibility in the industry and a loyal following,
to help with social media presence and generate video content for the brand.

If that strategy doesn't elicit results when the company studies its analytical data, its
leaders may decide to highlight their expertise in the industry by blogging to offer insight
for customers and establish the brand as a source of knowledge for them. This may
ensure repeat customers and ensure consumers remain satisfied.