An infant grows more in its first three years than it does the entire rest of its life. Pound per pound, inch per inch, physically and intellectually, growth during these initial years is unsurpassed. One might even say it is exponential.
Yes, babies “growth hack” themselves with a little help from nature divine, but remaining at this pace would be unsustainable, so they must eventually level out, maintaining steady growth into adulthood.
This example sums up the main difference between growth marketing and digital marketing. Growth marketing occurs in exponential bursts, while digital marketing is steady. It is a question of concentration of effort that any leader should understand when determining which method to exploit, especially when starting out, when seeking to expand, or during times of uncertainty.
While a company will ultimately need both approaches, it will likely need more hired assistance for growth marketing.
Growth strategies are often outside the box in many ways. Usually, a company needing a growth strategy will be operating with limited resources, so creativity is a must. Neither does it restrict itself to purely digital methods, and this is a distinguishing factor of growth marketing: the efforts can be real-life, digital, or often a mix of both. Scale is growth marketing’s focus, and whatever achieves this is fair game.
Growth campaigns tend to be aggressive, short term methods to capture and keep as many hearts and minds as they can, so the emphasis will be on building a relationship between customers and the brand. From a marketing funnel perspective, growth focuses on the entire funnel, from acquisition to referral. Thus, there is a need to know what works in real-time to allow for agile iteration.
All of this requires specialized help, which is why any company seeking to grow should focus on growth strategies, particularly if they can integrate data and AI-driven technology.
Take Harry’s, for example. In 2013 the online men’s grooming store entered the ring after Dollar Shave Club. As a startup, they knew they had to come out swinging. Their “milestone” club was a pre-launch landing page that enticed users to send out referral links via social media and email. Customers could earn points, leading to milestones, leading to free products. This growth strategy garnered more than 100,000 emails before Harry’s even launched, giving this fledgling company the competitive push it needed.
Digital marketing strategies tend to be the ‘habits’ a company regularly uses to win and maintain customers. While it would not have been feasible for Harry’s to continue with its milestone program, it undoubtedly went on to use traditional digital strategies like SEO., email, and social media campaigns to sustain growth. A non-radical, “steady-as-she-goes” approach is eventually required to survive.
A data-driven, multi-disciplinary, creative, and sometimes experimental approach is needed to bring in more visitors and convert them into paying customers. The specialized, short-term nature of growth marketing means you would likely benefit from professionals like us. At WEBITMD, growth is our passion, and we can provide the expert help you need. Call us at (877) 959-6108 to learn how Growth Stack’s strategies can help your company evolve.
