It is not a new concept—the idea of focusing marketing actions on measurable outcomes, most commonly revenue, but not always. The concept that through continuous and iterative improvements, you can drive significant growth. The feeling that you’re never done, and you can always do better.
I’ve been marketing this way for years, it’s a mindset. A lifestyle. A bar that every growth marketer lives by. You check “the numbers” every 5 minutes, and hit refresh on your SFDC reports so often you don’t even realize you’re doing it anymore. You’re all over your sales team to make sure the leads are being worked properly, and you take disqualified leads personally (no-one talks sh*t about your leads).
Sound familiar?
I’ve been seeing a lot of content about “growth marketing” and “growth hacking” lately as if it’s some new phenomenon in marketing… It’s not. At least not in my world. So I started thinking about what separates a growth marketer from the rest of the pack. Here’s what I came up with:
You take calculated risks and embrace failures as critical learnings. You focus on optimizing the entire funnel from acquisition to referral.
You live by the results of your teams most recent A/B test.
You lead from an analytical layer that exists at the foundation of everything you do you build sophisticated models to measure progress, and set the bar high.
You are logical, track and measure everything, and are always searching for the next best tool to add to your marketing stack.
And you’re never done.
Yep, that’s what growth marketing is all about…or is it? Sorry, there’s more to it than that!
These are all things we do to measure and understand where growth is coming from. And they are non-negotiable characteristics of a growth marketer, but by themselves, these things will not drive the kind of growth you’re looking for.
No, these tools, actions, ideas, and concepts give you the structure, data, and insight to understand which levers to pull, and which to push.
They help answer the question: “Am I on the right track”?
I believe sustainable growth comes from someplace else. It’s a very simple concept, but if its missing you’re going to have an incredibly difficult time driving growth.
So, here it is:
Deliver Genuine Value as Quickly as Possible.
If you do this, and I mean really do this. You will provide your customers with a remarkable experience at every intersection.
They’ll have no choice but to fall in love with your product and brand. They’ll tell their friends. Tweet about you. Like you on Facebook. Talk you up at networking events, signup for you referral program, write reviews, buy upgrades…
They’ll advocate for you at every turn.
This is where product led growth comes from — excellent experiences. You can dump as many leads in the top as you want, if you’re not quickly adding value, you will not sustain growth.
So, what do you think? Are you a growth marketer?
Here’s one way to tell…
Ask yourself, is what I am working on going to add genuine value for my customer, lead, or prospect? If the answer is no, move on, and go do something that does.
