What’s the secret to go-to-market success this year? Growth marketing.

This is much more than just a business buzzword.  Growth marketing can fuel sustainable progress and elevate your business to greater heights. Throughout my career I have learned to make growth marketing a priority and this focus has certainly paid off, especially in today’s climate.

Over 500,000 new businesses start in the US every year, and over 200 billion dollars is collectively spent on marketing each year. It’s a crowded environment and it can be hard for companies to stand out. To break through the noise, it’s important for CMOs to work with their teams to develop a compelling and creative strategy that involves building a new loyal user base. This is where growth marketing comes into play.

So, what exactly is Growth Marketing? 

Growth marketing is the process of using data gained through marketing campaigns and experimentation to drive growth.  It can help you anticipate change and plan your strategies to make constant improvements.

What Makes Growth Marketing Different?

The idea of growth marketing is relatively new.  Traditional marketing focuses on traffic at the top of the sales funnel, emphasizing ways to increase a company’s brand awareness and user acquisition. However, growth marketing takes it one step further, expanding beyond the top of the funnel.

When growth marketing is executed well it can go all the way through the sales funnel to attract users, engage them, retain them, and turn them into loyal customers and champions for your brand. Growth marketing is more data-driven, experimenting with new ideas and zeroing in on what works and why. The modern growth marketer must dive deep into the data to figure out what strategies are working and is comfortable using all the tools that allow for such analysis.

Fuel Success with Data

Growth marketers are constantly analyzing data and feedback to determine what's working and what isn't.  The key to optimizing all programs is to listen to the data and continually improve and refine your campaigns.   Since marketers work collaboratively with product, sales, and other teams in an organization, they’re well positioned to drive growth at scale.  The key is for marketing leaders to be part of the strategy conversations from the beginning of any project to understand both the fundamentals and the objectives. Then, they have the right information to build out the appropriate growth strategies and performance marketing campaigns. The end goal of growth marketing is a long-term sustained increase in number of customers and revenue. Performance marketing includes the various short-term campaigns and tactics that collectively build to the growth marketing outcomes.

Data is every growth marketer’s friend, and I’m no exception. I’ve written previously about my love for data and the importance of companies conducting effective data governance.  Without strong policies in place, companies are vulnerable to broken processes and negative stakeholder opinions, which can have a lasting impact on an organization’s reputation and productivity. Growth marketing can help business leaders define campaign goals and work cross functionally to continually monitor, measure and optimize for ongoing success.

Leverage your Martech Stack for Growth Marketing Success

Investment in marketing technology (also known as Martech) and software solutions is on the rise. Insider Intelligence forecasted that by 2024, B2B martech spending will be $8.51 billion while B2C martech spending will be closer to $18.60 billion.  Continued investment in Martech stacks are critical, and factors such as data centralization and integration with growth marketing must be at the center of any successful marketing strategy.

When your Martech stack is setup correctly you can prioritize ROI and growth.  As part of this process, leaders must review whether the Martech stack is fit for purpose or whether there are opportunities to slim it down and optimize.   To do so, consider how you’re getting ROI, how you’re optimizing spend, and tie it back to the financials of your business. Consider who your buyer is and who influences them.  This may be a boring exercise, but it is nonetheless fundamental. Without these fundamentals in place, no technology can save you.

It’s like purchasing clothing that doesn’t fit and is the wrong size.  If you’re not investing in the right tools to drive your businesses growth what’s the point?  People invest in technology because they think it will solve the fundamentals of a marketing organization, but it won’t.  If you don’t have the basic tools in place along with defined marketing processes and metrics, continued success will be much more challenging.

Flex Your Creative Muscle

The best growth marketers are the ones who are willing to roll up their sleeves and get dirty. They’re willing to think creatively and try things that have never been done before. Don’t forget how much creativity in marketing can elevate your business and products.  It can capture the attention of customers, employees, and importantly, connect with them on an emotional level.  It can also turn adversity and constraint into new opportunities, or a better way of doing things.

Unfortunately, all the data in the world won’t help you figure out how to truly connect with your users which is why it needs creativity as a companion.  You must have the ability to synthesize both quantitative and qualitative information into a compelling story that resonates with your potential customers.  I always think of TOMS, a for-profit company which designs and markets shoes as well as eyewear, coffee, apparel, and handbags.  The brand’s growth team was able to effectively communicate how social good is a key tenant for their business and by doing so form an emotional connection to customers.  It’s an excellent example of how growth marketing can move the needle and make a difference.

Once you have a company that is trusted, reliable, and provides a good experience you can work toward growing that into a well-known and respected brand. Growth marketing is a key part of this process.  This can also be helped along with other elements of the marketing mix, including social media, PR, referral programs, events, and more.

Today’s marketing leaders must use growth marketing as a primary capability and leverage it for short-term goals and long-term strategic success.   As growth marketing continues to transform, I predict it will become one of the key ingredients defining business success now and for years to come.

— Katrina Klier