As we enter a new year of business and marketing for business, most of us are asking ourselves what marketing looks like in a post-pandemic, return to the normal (mostly) world. Do we want to continue to use the same old strategies, the same types of traditional marketing that have not always been so successful and have taken a long time to evaluate, adapt, and change? The answer, for most of us, is no. We want something new, fresh, and exciting. And so do our customers. 2022 is calling for growth marketing, and we are here to answer that call.
Growth Marketing vs. Traditional Marketing
Traditional marketing, the marketing we’ve seen for decades if not centuries, is staid, predictable, and always thinks in the long term and at the top of the sales funnel. A marketing team gets together, or an entrepreneur sits down and establishes a strategy for the next year. It may include some cross-channel marketing like weekly email campaigns, paid advertisements on Facebook, and some social media content, but the content is static and extends out for the entire year, no matter what kind of response is received. The goal is to get attention and to get new business – to sell a product or service.
Growth marketing, in contrast, is constantly evolving with the times, it is in touch with the audience, it is reflexive and bold. Growth marketing aims for top-of-the-funnel sales like new acquisition and attention, but it also seeks the gold at the bottom of the funnel, client engagement, connection, and retention. Share-ability is big with growth marketing. Think of Starbucks’ #redcup campaigns at Christmas that include the customer. Starbucks gets thousands of Instagram pics from customers posting their beverage and the hashtag #redcup. Free advertisement, anyone?
Growth Marketing Strategies
Growth marketing is relatable and involves the customer at all levels. It is data-driven and evidence-based, so as a business owner you are not just trusting your gut, you are asking for and utilizing client feedback. Growth marketing is what the people want, and nothing says good business like giving the people what they want.
Growth marketing strategies include:
- Cross channel marketing
As mentioned above, growth marketing engages the client and potential client at all levels. Email campaigns, social media content, YouTube videos, TikTok videos, long content blogs, you name it. You are reaching out to your client wherever they may be during the day. - Storytelling
Back to Starbucks. Have you seen their Instagram stories? Of course you have. Starbucks regularly tells the story of their employees. They share stories of gender equality, of LGBTQ+ issues, of Veterans, of Disabled or Handicapped employees, all to show their personality and relatability. They engage the Starbucks customer in a way that makes them feel like a friend or family. Stories sell. - A/B Testing
You give your client several different streams of marketing, different email campaigns, various direct to clients content, and watch to see which strategy performs better. You continually do this in a way that gives you broad knowledge of specific metrics, and you adapt and shift what you send out accordingly, continuing to adapt to your clients responses. - Data. Data. Data.
Without data, growth marketing is useless. It all hinges on what kind of data you get and how you respond to that data. You need regular access to your client feedback. Do they click on your call to action? Do they open the email? Do they head to your website from the email. Do they buy anything? All of that data speaks volumes, and then you learn volumes about what to do next.
You get the point. You come up with a strategy, you implement it, and you analyze the data you receive from that strategic approach. Then you adapt quickly to that data.
Growth Hacking
The short version of growth marketing is growth hacking. Growth hacking takes a quick and radical approach to growth marketing. You must have no fear of failure. Indeed, be excited about what failure will teach you. Send the wild email campaign through and see what happens. Hit the streets with a food truck with your logo on it and see how your target audience responds. Create a consumer engagement video out and see who participates. Try, fail, and try again. That’s growth hacking. Then, when you see what does work, you implement it for a longer-term strategy with your growth marketing campaigns, which you will review over a longer period of time, also adapting and shifting along the way.
Do You Need Growth Marketing?
In short, yes. There is virtually no business that can ignore growth marketing these days unless you have absolutely no competition. In this fast-paced, short attention span world, you need to be engaging your customers fully, connecting with them, and letting them know you care. You can no longer afford to simply turn and burn, to get the business and let it go. People want businesses they can believe in, like Tom’s Shoes. They have built a brand around giving free shoes to those without, for every pair you buy. That’s growth marketing! It engenders love and loyalty. You cannot beat that kind of customer base. And, you know what they say, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.
Contact Major Impact Today
The real question is, what kind of growth marketing is right for you? At Major Impact, we have years of experience with data-driven analysis in marketing that helps us find the right solutions for our partners in business. We have worked extensively on every level of growth marketing, and we have seen what works, what doesn’t, and how to tell the difference.
If you are new to the game of growth marketing and are ready to jump in, or you have tried it on your own and you’re ready to get some professional, expert help, contact Major Impact today.
You can focus on your business when you let us focus on your marketing.