The Do’s And Don’ts Of Successful Growth Marketing

Growth marketing can be very effective, but it can also be very confusing for business owners. Getting it right can mean the difference between a thriving company and one that lags behind. This quick guide will help you learn where to start and help you avoid getting lost along the way—saving you time and money.

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The Basics – What Is Growth Marketing?

When you look about bringing in a growth marketing resource it’s important to understand all of the ways it can affect your business. It is used throughout the sale process, adding value from awareness to purchase to referral. It adjusts to your customers’ changing preferences, motives, and needs. It also uses several channels to get the message across.

It involves experimentation. It changes methods frequently so it can determine the best, most effective method. It focuses on increasing effectiveness while also decreasing the overall cost. The method involves constant analysis to determine what is working and what is not, with an overall focus on growing the business.

This type of marketing technique is also highly personalized. According to a 2015 article in the Harvard Business Review, when done correctly, personalization can lift revenues between 5 and 15 percent. It can also increase the efficiency of marketing spend by between 10 and 30 percent—all while reducing acquisition costs by as much as 50 percent.

Getting Growth Marketing Right

Any type of marketing strategy can feel a bit overwhelming for business owners. However, the variety of strategies and movement in this tactic alone can be daunting for even the savviest business owner. Having the right resources and information can be very helpful as you work on your own growth marketing strategy. Use the following Dos and Don’ts as a starting point.

The Do’s

Do Deliver Excellent Content

You have likely heard that good marketing starts with adding value to the customer. You can do that by providing content that is actually useful.

Good content adds value to the customer by providing information they need and can actually use—whether that means how-to videos or podcasts. Content that is fun, inspiring, or useful will keep customers coming back for more.

Do Focus On Long-term Marketing

This marketing tactic isn’t just about the acquisition (like traditional marketing). Instead, it provides useful information all along the sales funnel. It gives tools and information to existing clients and encourages them to spread the word to others.

Do Focus On The Customer And Their Needs

Effective marketing under this strategy is about more than just getting your company’s name out there. It is about solving a problem or addressing a need for your customer. By truly adding value to a customer’s life, you will build trust with that customer that will last for years to come.

This process starts by getting a feel for what the customer wants out of your business. You need to do some in-depth examination of your target audience to not only understand how they consume information but also what they want from you. You can do this by conducting surveys or having direct conversations. Once you understand how you can help, you can deliver better services and products and target your marketing methods even further.

Do Review And Continually Improve Or Adjust

Growth marketing is agile. Traditional marketing often involves an annual review of strategy and budget, but it does not move fast enough to respond to customers’ frequently changing needs and preferences. Using this type of marketing, you identify patterns and continually refine strategies.

To improve or adjust regularly, you need to track everything. Automation is the best way to ensure proper tracking. Without accurate information, you will likely have a hard time adjusting as necessary to take full advantage of these strategies.

Do Personalize Where You Can

Personalized marketing as part of your overall strategy is vitally important. When you personalize correctly, you can get a huge boost in effectiveness while also decreasing overall costs.

The Don’ts

Don’t Compromise Quality In Favor Of Quantity

One of the main focuses of growth marketing is that you are adding value to your end-user. Garbage or spammy content does not add value to anyone. It would likely make you cringe as a business owner if you realized that type of content was associated with your brand.

Too many blogs, videos, or social media posts can overwhelm customers, and it can actually drown out your message. Keep marketing professional and scheduled. Customers like being able to rely on regular content (like weekly podcasts or videos), and it keeps them from becoming overwhelmed.

Don’t Experiment Without Analyzing

Growth hacking is another marketing method with different focuses and goals than growth marketing. It relies heavily on experimentation to find effective marketing channels. While that portion of the strategy is similar to growth marketing, it does not take an extra, necessary step—it does not track, analyze, and adjust.

Adjustments in this type of marketing strategy involve algorithmic processes and automation. The adjustments are periodic and slighter. Growth hacking will tweak and test, but it is more ad hoc. It will occasionally scrap an entire campaign altogether if it isn’t working fast enough.

While growth hacking can be effective, it is not focused on long-term growth. It also only applies to acquisition, rather than the entire sales funnel. Growth marketing helps companies get long-term customers by focusing on the customer; growth hacking is a quick marketing method that only tailors to a company’s pain points.

Don’t Be Afraid To Get Help When You Need It

As a business owner, you wear a lot of hats. Getting marketing right requires a lot of training and experience. Sometimes the best way to ensure that you are using proper tactics for long-term growth is to engage a professional. The alternative is often that you simply spin your wheels, losing both time and money.

Having a professional walk you through the process allows you to spend time actually running your business instead of marketing for it. Most business owners would much rather spend time actually doing the work—isn’t that why you started your company in the first place?

Conclusion

Growth marketing can be extremely effective if done correctly. By focusing on the customer, doing continual analysis, and creating content that has value, you will be well on your way to an effective growth campaign.