What is Growth Marketing?

It seems like new marketing concepts are emerging every day. And staying on top of with what they mean, and how they’re different from one another can be a challenge in itself.  If you have been keeping up with marketing trends, then you might be aware of the concept of ‘growth marketing’. 

Growth marketing first emerged in the early 2010s as a response to the changing landscape of online marketing, specifically for tech startups. It stems from the concept of “growth hacking” by Sean Ellis,  which describes the strategy and tactics used by fast-growing companies. Fastward to 2023, a growth marketing mindset is adopted by many businesses and marketers. 

In this blog post, we’ll explore what growth marketing entails and how it differs from traditional marketing. We’ll also explore the Rumblr approach to growth and how growth marketing tactics can be used to drive sustainable, long-term growth for your business. 

What is Growth Marketing? 

Just like the name suggests, Growth Marketing is marketing focused on growth. “Growth” can refer to anything from acquiring users, boosting revenue and even product development. It is the modern approach to marketing that brings a company’s growth strategy to life, focusing on the entire customer journey and marketing funnel. 

Growth Marketing is a data-driven approach that helps achieve measurable business objectives. As described by Mark Fiske, it is the “set of practices, rituals, and processes rooted in experimentation and understanding of the customer that ultimately results in sustainable, repeatable, growth for an organisation.” 

What’s the difference between Growth Marketing and traditional marketing? 

One of the key differences between Growth Marketing and traditional marketing is their marketing funnels. Traditional marketing focuses on the top of the funnel, prioritising brand and awareness objectives. On the other hand, Growth Marketing takes a more holistic approach, combining both short-term and long-term tactics to drive sustainable growth in the business, from brand awareness to customer loyalty and retention.

Growth Marketing vs. Brand Marketing 

Brand Marketing and Growth Marketing are both critical components of a successful marketing strategy, and when used together, they can produce even more significant results.

Brand Marketing is focused on boosting a company’s brand and establishing a relationship between the brand and customers. Targeting the top of the marketing funnel, Brand Marketing is the long-term strategy that focuses on building brand recognition and reputation by communicating brand identity, values and personality to create long-lasting relationships with customers. 

Growth Marketing, on the other hand, is concerned with the entire marketing funnel. From awareness to revenue, Growth Marketing is about driving measurable business growth through data-driven experimentations and optimisations. 

Growth Marketing and Brand Marketing complement each other. Brand Marketing creates awareness and helps feed the funnel for Growth Marketing to turn brand recognition into measurable business results.

The Pirate Funnel of Growth Marketing 

The Pirate Funnel is the framework used by growth marketers to understand the complete funnel for a business and identify opportunities for growth. It is also known as the AAARRR funnel (hence the name Pirate), as it consists of the 6 key stages: awareness, acquisition, activation, retention, referral and revenue. 

Whilst traditional marketing focuses on the awareness and acquisition stages, Growth Marketing focuses on all stages of the funnel. At every stage of the funnel, growth marketers combine data, testing creativity and behavioural psychology to gain better insights and experiment with new marketing tactics. And ultimately, find innovative ways to build repeatable growth strategies. 

Marketing Budget

Growth Marketing differs from traditional marketing as it does not rely on generic, all-encompassing campaigns. Instead, growth marketing focuses on constantly experimenting, testing and refining to determine the most effective strategies to foster business growth. Hence, the budget required for traditional marketing tends to be higher and less flexible. Growth Marketing is all about quick experiments and fast optimisations, allowing for more agile budgeting. 

The key components of Growth Marketing

1. Getting the house in order 

Before we dive into the other tactics used in Growth Marketing, it is important to highlight that the key to achieving sustainable growth in any organisation is to ‘get the house in order’. 

As an agency servicing clients of all sizes and industry backgrounds, too many times we’ve seen clients be reactive in their marketing. Not having the right infrastructure and strategies in place can lead to a waste of time and resources in executing growth marketing tactics. Therefore, it’s essential to establish a strong foundation before embarking on a sustainable Growth Marketing journey. Learn more about the Rumblr approach and our services here. 

2. A/B Testing 

A/B testing is fundamental to the success of a Growth Marketing strategy. It involves testing different versions of marketing messages or tactics to determine which one performs better. A/B testing can be used in a variety of formats, including email marketing, landing pages and social media ads. And with today’s digital marketing capabilities, it’s easy to compare results.

By conducting A/B tests, businesses can quickly identify the most effective approaches and make data-driven decisions on how to optimise marketing efforts. It’s important to remember that just because one version performs better with one audience segment doesn’t mean it will work best for another. Customisation and continuous iteration based on test results are key to enhancing performance with every experiment.

3. Cross-channel Marketing 

Another key component of Growth Marketing is cross-channel marketing, as it allows businesses to reach a wider audience and optimise their marketing efforts. This is a strategy that involves using various marketing channels, such as email, social media, text messaging, SEO and direct mail, to reach out to prospective and current customers. It’s a way to create seamless customer experiences by transitioning between different channels. 

By understanding user behaviour and communication preferences through A/B testing, businesses can tailor their cross-channel marketing campaigns to maximise their effectiveness. Integrating multiple channels into a single marketing plan can improve the overall customer experience and increase the return on investment. 

4. Customer Lifecycle

In Growth Marketing, understanding the customer lifecycle is crucial. This lifecycle typically consists of three stages: activation, nurture, and reactivation. Each stage plays a crucial role in the overall customer experience.

Growth marketers use data to identify opportunities for growth at each stage of the lifecycle and develop need-specific campaigns to proactively accommodate customers’ changing needs. By understanding the customer lifecycle, businesses can tailor their marketing efforts to the needs and interests of customers at each stage, ultimately driving retention and loyalty.

5. Customer Feedback 

Collecting customer feedback is crucial for a successful Growth Marketing strategy as it allows businesses to gain direct and valuable insights as to what’s working and what’s not. 

Data analysis through tools like Google Analytics can provide valuable insights, however, direct feedback from customers can often be more useful in identifying pain points in the customer experience. This can be done through surveys, interviews, social listening, and focus groups, as well as by creating opportunities to engage with customers and solicit their thoughts on your product. 

Feedback can improve the customer experience, as well as inform marketing campaigns and messaging. Regularly collecting and analysing customer feedback is an important component of Growth Marketing and can lead to more effective targeting, positioning, and messaging. 

Unlock the power of Growth Marketing 

Growth Marketing can help scale your business, achieve business goals and attain sustainable growth. However, as discussed above, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to Growth Marketing. Without tailoring a growth strategy to your business goals, it can be challenging to succeed in the competitive business world.

At Rumblr, we are a team of strategists, creatives, data scientists & growth marketers ready to help your business grow. Get in touch to discuss how we can help your business reach its full potential and achieve sustainable growth.