How to Build a Growth Marketing Strategy

Growth is the key to the survival of any business. About 78.6 percent of businesses pull through the first year in operation, around half survive the first five years, and only one-third make it to the 10-year mark. These statistics are surprisingly constant across most industries and they also stress the importance of planning for growth right from the start. So, how do you build a growth marketing strategy? Here are 7 steps to follow.

1. Determine Your Differentiator

For your business to maintain constant growth, you must have a clear picture of what makes you stand out from the competition. Why do customers buy products or services from you and not from your competitors? What makes you unique and reliable? Is it your authority in your specific niche? Or is it the quality and prices of your offerings? Your answers to those questions will help you convince other customers to do business with you.

2. Identify and Know Your Target Audience

Your business exists to provide solutions to problems that a specific audience face. It’s important to identify and understand that audience. Collect enough data about that audience, including demographics, their likes, interests, motivations, what they do, and where they spend most of their time. This information will help you tailor your products or services to the unique needs of your target customers.

3. Build a Solid Presence on the Channels Your Target Audience Frequents

The common mistake that some businesses make is to try to establish a presence in almost every channel. They end up investing a lot of resources and time, with little to show for their efforts. Don’t fall into that trap! Instead, identify just two or three channels that your target customers frequent and establish a presence there. For instance, if your target customers prefer Instagram over other social media platforms, you can find out the ideal day and time to engage them. Then, you can create and regularly publish content that will intrigue and motivate them. There are many comprehensive guides and resources on the Internet on how to set up your Instagram for growth. Case in point, Eduard Klein’s post shows how to automate your Instagram growth with tools. Instagram lives from the content the users share on the platform. Posting consistently is the secret of growth and success on Instagram. If you’re new to the platform and don’t know what to post, check the profiles of other brands and influencers, and get inspired.

4. Set a Budget

You’ll need resources to finance the tactics that you’ll use to develop your growth marketing strategy. A variety of digital tactics, including email marketing, social media marketing, lead generation, and mobile advertising, require some investment. They also require a team to help with the huge workload associated with planning, implementing, and measuring. To minimize labor costs, consider outsourcing your work to freelancers rather than working with full-time employees.

5. Set Measurements and Monitor them

Growth must be quantifiable. Or how else will you know whether your growth marketing strategy is working or not? Think of metrics that affect your business and use marketing analytics tools to assess them. Make use of analytic tools on social networks before investing in professional ones.

6. Study Your Competition

Regardless of your industry, your competition can be a source of valuable insights that help you hone your growth marketing strategy. Don’t just assume you’re smarter. Instead, find out what other similar businesses are doing differently and what they are excelling at. The objective here is to acquire insights that’ll inspire your creativity without copying the ideas of your competition. On top of studying your competition, it’s also important to seek professional guidance, especially when you encounter trends that don’t make sense to you.

7. Invest in Email Marketing

On top of being cost-efficient, a solid email marketing strategy can be a great way to position your business for exponential growth. There’s a lot that goes into building an email marketing strategy that delivers impressive results. But some of the most crucial steps include recruiting subscribers, personalizing your email content, and leveraging automation tools to segment subscribers. Be sure to create your email communication on existing templates as you can benefit from their past experience instead of starting it from the scratch.

If you want to establish a sustainable and successful business, you must plan for growth from the first day. And that involves building a solid growth marketing strategy and putting it into action. The process of building and executing a growth marketing strategy is effort-intensive, so be sure to hire the right people to help you ease the workload.