Growth marketing. What is it, and what can it do for your company? Growth marketing is a data-driven approach to marketing that emphasizes the entire customer life cycle. It builds slow but steady revenue streams by creating long-term customer relationships and —ultimately — brand ambassadors.
Growth marketing encompasses more than driving awareness and people to your company’s website or front door. It also involves discovering what motivates repeat sales, delighting and engaging customers, and leveraging the power of referrals. While growth marketing can be critical to business success, many companies overlook this practice. Let’s discuss how growth marketing can give you a leg up in your industry.
1. Digital Content Climbs the Ranks
Online content is the bedrock of many growth marketing tactics. Whether it’s emails, podcasts, blog posts, or infographics, online content is how companies grow audiences. But digital content needs a decent ranking on search engines to reach people and increase your company’s visibility.
Search engine optimization helps content rank and build credibility. Authoritative and engaging pieces satisfy people’s needs and gain backlinks. You’ll discover what works with your target audience as you experiment with and test different media, topics, and creative angles. You’ll also find out which formats and Organic SEO techniques boost search engine rankings over time.
For example, law firm SEO practices and experiments might include publishing blog posts and posting videos on similar legal topics. The videos feature snippets of repurposed content from the blog posts, increasing awareness and audience reach. If the firm’s target audience finds videos more engaging or shareable, they can serve as a gateway to other content, such as webinars.
2. Qualified Leads Increase
Some products and services, such as cars and insurance, seem to sell with little help. These are items most people either want or need. However, companies in these industries still have to compete with other businesses, stand out, and convert qualified leads.
Growth marketing campaigns and tactics can build databases of prospects. These leads may be in slightly different stages of the buyer’s journey but are interested in learning more. One set of prospects may fill out an online contact form because they’re ready to switch insurance providers. Another group might just be gathering quotes or additional coverage information. Whatever the case, an insurer can nurture both sets of leads and build on that initial interest.
From a qualified prospect database, your business can identify who might become a customer. Contact forms and free offer sign-ups are also ways to gather crucial details that could determine whether leads are likely to convert. You’re not simply matching names to potential future customers. Through lead databases and information,you gain insights into why those prospects are reaching out. This data can help you fine-tune your lead generation and nurturing efforts.
3. Knowledge of Customers and Audiences Improves
Any company can create buyer personas based on historical data and third-party market research. However, this information can sometimes become too general or dated. Growth marketing efforts gather real-time and first-party data about existing and potential clients.
This information might explain or reveal consumer behaviors that other market research can’t. In rapidly changing environments or industries, real-time and first-party data can prove invaluable. Conventional marketing techniques or experience-related assumptions may no longer produce predictable results.
For example, real-time data may reveal that a tech company isn’t reaching a key demographic group, such as Generation X. Sales among this segment could be declining, and they’re not engaging as much with the company’s social media posts.
Assumptions might lead the firm’s marketers to conclude that this group no longer prioritizes upgrading to the latest technology. However, data from growth marketing experiments could reveal that this group still prioritizes tech. It’s just that their technology needs differ from when they were younger. Distinct messaging could prove a better way to reach and convert this audience segment.
4. Companies Achieve Long-Term Gains
Traditional marketing methods, such as sales and promo commercials, tend to be effective at increasing short-term results. These tactics aim to boost the numbers, especially if a product isn’t selling fast enough. But the enthusiasm wanes once the sale is over or leads get a taste of what a business can offer. Growth marketers realize that not every customer or lead will hold the same value for the company.
Over time, some customers will spend more and keep adding services and products. This is why you often see different loyalty program tiers and better rewards that come with higher levels. Growth marketing tactics can segment and nurture the leads and customers most likely to generate long-term revenue. This way, your business knows where to concentrate its efforts and where to cut its losses.
Growth marketers also realize long-term results are what keep a business going. A temporary boost may get a company over a momentary hurdle, but customer loyalty drives true financial sustainability. Customer loyalty and brand enthusiasm also make companies industry leaders and household names. When long-term clients turn into brand ambassadors, it’s not just their revenue that keeps coming in. It’s also the sales to all the other customers they refer.
Getting a Leg Up
Growth marketing’s benefits extend beyond an increase in end-of-year sales. The practice’s methods and campaigns build authority and awareness through digital content and search engine rankings. Over time, techniques like content marketing can build legitimate prospect databases, reveal useful audience insights, and drive long-term results. Growth marketing consultant help companies stand out and become industry leaders.
