Global spending on digital advertising is projected to reach 876 billion dollars by 2026, representing a significant increase from the 521.02 billion dollars spent in 2021. This demonstrates the importance of digital growth marketing for businesses of all sizes as they look to reach new customers online.
This ever-growing importance of digital marketing means businesses need to emphasize creating an online presence. And businesses that don’t invest in digital marketing may likely fall behind their competitors who are willing to invest in this important area.
For example, the United States alone sees more than 500,000 new company startups that spend over $200 billion on advertising each year.
With so much competition, it’s essential to have a unique strategy to reach new customers and stand out from the rest. That’s where growth marketing comes in.
A growth marketing strategy is a holistic and data-driven approach to growing a business. It encompasses all aspects of marketing, from product development and customer acquisition to retention and loyalty.
Many factors go into a successful growth hacking strategy. You need to identify your target market, set clear goals, and create a roadmap for how you’ll achieve those goals. You also need to track your progress and adjust your plans as needed.
In this blog, we will discover some reasons to implement growth marketing in your business and some actionable tips to help you build an effective strategy.
What exactly is a growth marketing strategy?
A growth marketing strategy is a customer-centric approach to driving sustainable growth for your business. It focuses on creating and executing campaigns to attract new customers and convert them into loyal, repeat buyers. For example, a growth marketing strategy might include:
- Identifying your target market and understanding their needs and wants
- Developing targeted marketing campaigns that address those needs and wants
- Measuring the performance of your campaigns so you can optimize them for maximum results
- Continuously testing new ideas and tweaking your approach to find what works best for your business
Growth Marketing vs. Traditional Marketing
Unlike traditional marketing, which tends to be geared more towards short-term campaigns and objectives, growth marketing focuses on finding and exploiting new channels for customer acquisition and retention.
One of the key differences between growth marketing and traditional marketing is measuring success. Traditional marketers tend to focus on vanity metrics, such as the number of impressions or ad clicks, while growth marketers are more interested in metrics that show real business impacts, such as the number of new users or customer lifetime value.
Another difference is that growth marketers are always testing and experimenting with new ideas, whereas traditional marketers tend to stick to tried-and-tested methods even if they’re no longer effective. This experimental mindset allows businesses to find those game-changing Growth Hacks that result in exponential business growth.
Some Common Growth Marketing Hacks
There are many different growth marketing hacks that you can use to help grow your business. Here are some of the most common ones:
A/B Testing
A/B testing is a technique to compare two versions of a web page or app to see which one performs better. By showing one version of the page to half of your visitors and the other version to the other half, you can then compare the results in terms of conversion rate or any other metric you’re interested in.
Let’s say you have a website with two versions:
- Version A has a green button
- Version B has a red button
If more people click the green button, you can conclude that the green button is more effective and make that the new default.
It’s important to note that A/B testing is not just about changing one small element and seeing what happens. The changes you make should be based on your hypothesis of what will work better for your users. For example, if you think a different website design will help users better understand or engage with your product, then that’s what you should test.
Viral Marketing
Viral marketing is a strategy that aims to create social buzz by getting people to share content with their friends and followers.
Viral marketing is more about word-of-mouth promotion, which is one of the key elements influencing purchasing decisions in over half of the sales.
So, there are a few key factors that make viral marketing so effective:
- People trust recommendations from friends and family more than they do traditional advertising.
- Viral campaigns can generate a lot of word-of-mouth exposure for your product or service.
- They’re relatively inexpensive to produce and can reach a wide audience quickly.
So what does all this mean for your business? Viral marketing is worth considering if you’re looking for an efficient way to get the word out about your products or services!
A truly remarkable and worth sharing content easily goes viral and makes people talk about it. One way marketers try to viral the content is by offering incentives for users who share it, such as discounts or prizes. However, this isn’t always necessary. If your content is good enough, people will want to share it regardless of any rewards they might get.
Creating a Referral Program
Sixty-five percent of B2Bs with an established referral programmer see referrals as “extremely critical” to their business growth. Indeed, referral programs are an effective way to get existing customers and fans of your brand to promote your products to their networks of friends and followers in return for a reward or incentive from you.
The most important thing to remember when creating a referral program is to make it easy for people to participate. No one wants to go through the hassle of filling out long forms or sharing too much personal information. Incentives also play a big role in getting people to participate in referral programs, so be sure to offer something valuable to encourage people to participate.
Social Media Marketing Hacks
Growing your social media following can be a great way to increase brand awareness and drive traffic back to your website or blog. Here are some social media hacks that can help you grow your social media following quickly and efficiently:
- Follow relevant users in your industry and engage with their content regularly. This will not only get you on their radar but also help you build relationships with other influencers in your industry.
- Use hashtags strategically when posting updates on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. Hashtags can help you reach a wider audience and get your content seen by more people.
- Take advantage of social media advertising. Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn all offer paid advertising options that can help you reach a larger audience with your messages.
Encouraging User-Generated Content
Another great way to promote your content is by encouraging user-generated content (UGC). You can do this in several ways, such as hosting contests or challenges requiring people to create their versions of your product or service or simply asking for user feedback and testimonials that you can share on social media or your website.
UGC is a great way to build excitement and interest around your brand while getting people more involved with what you do – plus, it’s free marketing!
Benefits of Growth Marketing (With Examples)
Shaping the business growth marketing strategy is important because it helps businesses to identify and target new markets, understand customer needs and preferences, and develop new products and services. In addition, it helps businesses to track their progress and performance and make necessary adjustments to their marketing plans. Growth marketing or hacking is often used by startups and tech companies but can benefit any business. There are many benefits of growth marketing, which include:
1. Brand Recognition
As a business owner, you want people to know about your company and what it does. You want potential customers to be able to find you easily, and you want them to have a positive impression of your brand. Here are some ways that growth marketing can help with brand recognition:
- Increase visibility with SEO: 50% of people who conduct a local search on their smartphone visit a business within 24 hours. One way to ensure people can find your company easily is by appearing at the top of search engine results pages (SERPs). You can achieve this through Search Engine Optimization (SEO) techniques such as keyword research and on-page optimization or paid advertising such as Google AdWords or Facebook Ads.
- Get social media talking: This could involve creating interesting content that gets shared widely, participating in relevant online conversations, or running social media ads targeting specific demographics.
- Get coverage in the press: Get your company name out there by getting media coverage. This could involve pitching story ideas to journalists or sending out press releases about newsworthy events related to your business.
- Make sure your website is professional and easy to use: This means having a well-designed site that’s easy to navigate, with informative and up-to-date content. If you want people to take your business seriously, your website needs to look the part.
2. More leads and conversions
If you’re not A/B testing your website, you could miss out on some serious conversion rate boosts. According to a recent survey, 60 percent of businesses say that A/B testing is beneficial.
So what is A/B testing? It’s a method of testing two different versions of a web page to see which one performs better. Testing different web page versions let you learn what works best for your visitors and make the necessary changes to boost conversion rates.
Growth marketers often use A/B testing to improve conversion rates on landing pages or sign-up forms. By constantly testing different versions of a page or form, they can figure out which one is most effective at getting people to take the desired action (such as signing up for a newsletter).
It can help funnel more leads into your sales pipeline and convert them into paying customers. And as your business grows, so does your ability to invest in paid advertising and other lead generation activities.
3. Avoid PPC Overload
PPC overload occurs when a company becomes so focused on generating new leads through paid channels that they forget to focus on other important aspects of their business, such as product development or customer retention. This can often lead to high customer acquisition costs and low lifetime value.
So how do you avoid falling into the trap of PPC overload? Growth marketing utilizes a mix of organic and paid tactics to more effectively reach your target market without overloading your budget or sacrificing other areas of your business.
For example, growth marketers use SEO to drive organic traffic to their websites or utilize social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter to connect with potential customers. You could also experiment with content marketing or email marketing campaigns to reach a wider audience without relying solely on paid ads.
Ultimately, the key is to find a balance between paid and organic growth tactics that work for your business. By diversifying your marketing efforts, you can prevent PPC overload and fuel sustainable growth for your startup.
4. Increased brand awareness
Brand awareness is the level of consumer recognition of a brand. It’s one of the key elements to building a successful business because it:
- Allows customers to quickly and easily identify your products or services
- Generates repeat business from customers who are familiar with your brand and trust it
- Enables you to charge more for your products or services because customers are willing to pay more for brands they know and trust.
There are many ways to measure brand awareness, but one of the most common is through surveys. You can ask consumers how likely they would be to purchase from or recommend your brand or how easily they can recall your brand when given a list of similar businesses.
Brand awareness is important because it:
- Allows customers to identify your product quickly
- Generates repeat purchases
- Creates customer loyalty
Growth marketing uses multiple channels to promote your business, help you reach a wider range of people, and create more touch points with potential customers. This will help them remember your brand when they need your products or services in the future.
5. Referrals & Word-of-mouth promotion
Referral marketing encourages and assists customers in telling their friends about your business. It’s a form of word-of-mouth promotion that’s extremely powerful because it’s coming from someone who already knows, likes, and trusts you.
In a survey by Nielsen, 92% of people said that they were likely to buy a product if they received positive word-of-mouth about it from friends or family. When customers have a positive experience with your company, they’re likely to tell their friends about it, which drives new traffic and leads for your business. Happy customers are also more likely to leave positive online reviews, boosting your visibility and reach.
The important thing is that referral marketing should be part of your overall marketing strategy, not a solo effort. Growth marketing helps you gain word-of-mouth promotion by integrating it into everything you do to maximize its effectiveness and reach.
6. Better customer retention
Over three-quarters of businesses believe that client lifetime value is a key metric, and repeat customers account for 60-70% of sales. Retaining existing customers is essential to growing revenue and maintaining a healthy business.
Many growth strategies can help companies retain their customers. Here are a few ways:
- Focus on providing an excellent customer experience. This means ensuring that every customer interaction with your company is positive and helpful.
- Develop loyalty programs or other perks for loyal customers. This can help customers feel appreciated and encourage them to continue doing business with you.
- Keep your pricing in line with the competition. Customers may be tempted to switch to another provider if your prices are too high. However, if your prices are too low, you may be unable to cover the costs of providing quality products or services. Finding the right balance is essential for retaining existing customers while attracting new ones.
By providing a great customer experience and delivering on your promises, you can keep customers coming back for more. This loyalty will eventually lead to referrals and word-of-mouth promotion for your business (which we’ll discuss next).
Increased ROI
Finally, growth marketing also tends to have a high return on investment (ROI). It focuses on acquiring and retaining customers rather than simply acquiring new ones. Therefore, companies see a higher return on investment from their growth marketing campaigns than they would from traditional marketing campaigns. Plus, with the data and analytics available today, you can track your progress and optimize your campaigns for even better results.
The Growth Show – A Success Journey
This is agrowth marketing case study of one of the clients of Lean Summit Solutions, a growth marketing company. This is the story of American Forwarding and Logistics (AFL).
American Forwarding and Logistics is a full-service freight forwarder and customs broker, providing comprehensive logistics solutions for companies of all sizes. In business since 2012, AFL has the experience and expertise to handle any vehicle shipment anywhere in the world.
But despite its long history in the industry, AFL was struggling to reach new audiences and grow its business. That’s where Lean Summit Solutions came in.
Lean Summit is a growth marketing agency that specializes in helping B2B companies reach their full potential. Through a mix of targeted content marketing, lead generation campaigns, and social media outreach, they could help AFL break through the noise and start attracting new customers.
In just a few months after working with Lean Summit’s growth marketing strategies, American Forwarding & Logistics saw:
- An increase in web traffic
- An increase in leads
- An increase in sales
But more importantly than that? They finally started seeing consistent growth month over month – something they hadn’t been able to achieve on their own previously, no matter how hard they tried. All it took was finding the right partner who could provide them with the guidance and support needed to make their growth goals a reality.
We optimized AFL’s website for search engines, improved its social media presence, and created targeted content that spoke directly to its target audience. As a result of these efforts, AFL has seen a significant increase in traffic to its website and social media channels, as well as an uptick in sales. Currently, AFL has successfully shipped over 150,000 vehicles for 1300+ clients.
Conclusion
Growth marketing is here to stay and shows no signs of slowing down. As businesses increasingly move online, the importance of growth marketing will only continue to grow. With the right strategy in place, businesses can use growth marketing to thrive in the online space.
Growth marketing companies can help by providing SEO, social media marketing, content marketing, and lead generation services. By working with a reputable growth marketing company that understands your business goals and objectives, you can create a comprehensive digital marketing strategy to help you achieve sustainable long-term growth.
If you’re struggling to reach new customers and grow your business, don’t hesitate to reach out to Lean Summit Solutions. We can help you achieve the growth you’ve always been looking for!
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