What are business objectives? Definition and examples

Passing a driving test, earning a black belt in jiu-jitsu, knitting a frilly frock – these goals might seem unrelated, but they share one common trait: they’re all aspirational. Objectives come in various shapes and sizes, and you might be more adept at goal-setting than you think. However, a bit of clarity can go a long way. In this article, we’ll break down what business objectives are, highlight their key benefits, and offer examples across different departments.

Let's dive in…

What is an objective?

Terms like objectives, goals, and strategies often get used interchangeably, but they have distinct meanings. 

An objective answers the question: What do you want to achieve? Objectives are context-dependent, whether it's landing a pop shove-it on your skateboard or improving your business profits. For now, let's focus on defining business objectives and assume you're not Tony Hawk.

What is a business objective?

Business objectives are qualitative statements outlining the desired direction for your business, guided by the overarching strategy. While increasing profits is a common for-profit objective, other goals like boosting market share, increasing sales, and expanding the customer base are also prevalent.

Businesses create objectives to:

• Establish a direction.
• Evaluate performance.
• Guide projects and decision-making.
• Encourage collaboration and motivate teams.

There are several methods for developing and achieving effective business objectives, with Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) being a popular choice. These measurable statements help to track progress and adapt strategies accordingly.

However, business objectives aren't limited to vague long-term ambitions. Successful organisations develop both short-term and long-term objectives that support each other. This is where project objectives come into play – they serve as performance indicators for short-term projects, aligning them with long-term goals.

What are strategic objectives?

Strategic objectives are the actionable steps that implement a business’s broader goals. Think of your objective as the destination and your strategy as the road map to get there. In simpler terms, your strategic plan outlines the milestones and actions needed to achieve your overarching business objectives.

For example, if a company's broad objective is to improve sales, a strategic objective might be to grow sales by 10% by the end of the quarter through enhanced training and offering incentives for hitting targets. To meet these objectives within a certain timeframe, specific tasks should be assigned. In this example, a manager might schedule training sessions for specific employees with set deadlines for completion.

What is the difference between strategic and business objectives?

While they may sound similar, strategic and business objectives are complementary in propelling a company forward. Here’s the key distinction:

Business objective: This defines what you want to achieve on a broad scale.

Strategic objective: This specifies what you want to achieve and details the steps to get there.

Together, these objectives guide an organisation towards fulfilling its mission.

How to set measurable objectives

We’ve covered what objectives are and why they matter—now let's look at how to set them effectively. At Tability, we rely on a proven method known as OKRs, which stands for Objectives and Key Results. This approach helps teams set measurable goals and track their progress.

How to turn requirements into business objectives

If you already have some ideas for your business goals, you can use Tability to turn them into measurable objectives.

1. Go to Tability’s plan editor
2. Open up the goal generator AI
3. Describe your objective

The AI response will include both an example that you can use, as well as some suggestions to refine your goals. From there you can iterate further or use this template to start tracking progress on your new objectives.

How to refine existing objectives

You may already have business or strategic objectives that you would like to improve. If this is your case, you can use Tability’s AI feedback to get direct suggestions to make sure that your objectives are clear and measurable.

1. Go to Tability’s plan editor
2. Add your existing goals (you can import them from a spreadsheet)
3. Click on Generate analysis

Tability’s AI will scan your goals and offer improvement suggestions if it finds anything that can be improved. You can then implement these suggestions in 1-click or dismiss them if you do not wish to use them.

How to write OKRs from scratch

You can write OKRs directly if you're feeling comfortable with the frameworks. There are 3 main components that you'll need to understand (I'm adding initiatives here, as it will help with the definitions).

• ‍O — Objectives: This is an inspirational statement, outlining the broad outcome you want to achieve by the end of the quarter.‍
• KRs — Key Results: These are specific, measurable ways that will help you track success throughout the quarter.
• Initiatives: These are the specific actions that you will take to make progress on the key results and your objective.

Taking the initiatives in account is often useful to avoid mistaking KRs for strategic projects.

OKRs are written in three easy steps:

1. Identify Objectives

Define your business objectives by describing the broad outcomes you want to achieve. Keep them general and avoid including numerical values or overly specific details.

2. Define Key Results

Set SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) key results to gauge success. Use this simple formula to get started:

Increase/decrease [metric] from X to Y

3. Add initiatives

Develop a strategy for achieving your key results by planning actionable steps. Assign these initiatives to team members, ensuring everyone knows their role in reaching the objectives.

5 examples of objective-setting by department

Feeling unsure about OKRs? Visualising them in action might help. Here are five examples of objectives for marketing, customer success, design, sales, and HR teams.

Marketing objectives examples

Objective: Enhance online presence

KR1: Increase Facebook followers from 10,000 to 15,000

Initiative: Run a competition backed by paid ads.

KR2: Boost homepage visits from 5,000 to 8,000 daily

Initiative: Conduct a UX A/B test on homepage design.

KR3: Consistently achieve 100 views per article daily

Initiative: Embed more keywords in articles and seek backlink opportunities from organisations.

Customer success objectives examples

Objective: Elevate customer satisfaction

KR1: Raise NPS from +32 to +45

Initiative: Implement feedback from the last NPS survey.

KR2: Increase repeat customer rate by 15%

Initiative: Offer a 20% discount to returning customers via email and create a customer loyalty program.

KR3: Boost referral rate from 30% to 50%

Initiative: Launch a referral program.

Design objectives examples

Objective: Enhance checkout page UX

KR1: Reduce checkout steps from 5 to 3

Initiative: Eliminate unnecessary information from the checkout process.

KR2: Speed up payment processing on the app by 30%

Initiative: Enable a guest checkout option.

KR3: Decrease cart abandonment from 20% to 5%

Initiative: Improve clarity on shipping costs.

Sales objectives examples

Objective: Increase sales revenue

KR1: Generate 20% of new business through upsell/cross-sell

Initiative: Train sales staff in upselling and cross-selling techniques.

KR2: Increase homepage conversion rate from 15% to 20%

Initiative: Add a pop-up to the site and include testimonials on the homepage.

KR3: Achieve quarterly revenue of $300,000

Initiative: Increase prices by 5% and run a 15%-off sale.

HR, People & Culture objectives

Objective: Improve employee retention

KR1: Reduce quarterly turnover from 20% to 10%

Initiative: Increase salaries by 2% for high performers.

KR2: Raise employee engagement score from 60% to 80%

Initiative: Organise social events during work hours and provide free lunch once a week.

KR3: Lower the number of weekly complaints from 3 to 1

Initiative: Give feedback to managers regarding multiple complaints.

Looking for more OKR examples? Visit our OKRs library.