With the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of advanced technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), and the internet of things (IoT), it has been a crazy last few years in the digital world. Growth Marketing, traditionally considered separate from technology, is also going through an evolution as it is increasingly becoming technology and data-driven.
So, whether you have a brick-and-mortar store or tech giant, your 2022 growth marketing strategies have to align with the changing landscapes. However, not everyone needs to jump on the digitization bandwagon. As a growth marketing company, we have been keen observers of the ongoing trends and have brought five expert tips to grow your business in 2022.
Let’s get the ball rolling!
Tip 1: Create a Growth Marketing Mindset
TV advertisements, billboards, and social media ads are the first things that come to our mind upon hearing the word ‘marketing.’ But modern-day marketing has shifted away from these ‘set it and forget it’ methods. Be it startups or multi-national enterprises, growth marketing is the talk of the town.
Growth marketing is not a new phenomenon, but it is a fundamental shift to marketing efforts leading to company growth in a relatively short period of time. A growth mindset doesn’t only apply to marketing, but to every division of your company be it production, sales, customer service, support, marketing and or any other.
Here’s what a growth mindset looks like:
- Can improving your product help you stay ahead of your competitors? Do it.
- Do you need a better customer success mechanism? Implement it.
- Does your sales team need training by industry experts? Start it.
- Do you need to have a sound social media presence? Create it.
- Has your employee come up with a crazy idea? Give it a shot.
You don’t necessarily need to spend a fortune on your marketing budget, but focusing on everything better is bound to lead to your company’s growth. As a business leader, not only you but it should be embraced by everyone working in your company. Also, your employees must also be growing in terms of their responsibilities as well as skills.
Many believe quick growth to be elusive but they need to believe that it is very much possible. It is all about perspective. We’re not asking you to be impatient, rather asking you to be optimistic.
Here’s how a growth mindset differs from a fixed mindset:
| Growth Marketing Mindset | Fixed Marketing Mindset |
| 1. People with a growth mindset are always on the lookout for growth opportunities across the entire organization. | 1 The ones having fixed marketing tend to think within walls of conventional marketing. |
| 2. They treat growth as a wholesome effort of all divisions of the business. | 2. They see marketing as the only channel for growth. |
| 3. They are not afraid to work on crazy ideas. | 3. They stay within their comfort zone and hesitate to embrace new things. |
| 4. They fail and succeed often. | 4. They tend to follow natural growth patterns, don’t show remarkable growth. |
| 5. They are almost always ahead of their time. | 5. They are followers and risk getting outdated. |
| 6. They take decisions based on accurate data. | 6. They often make decisions based on their ‘guts.’ |
| 7. They are marketing rockstars. | 7. They are “marketers.” |
Tip 2: Sell without Selling
Marketers spend their days and nights trying to prove and propagate how the products or services of their company are better than their competitors. While you certainly need to accomplish the same goal, you don’t have to use the same means you have been using for years.
Today’s customers don’t want to hear about how great your product is as they first want to educate themselves on the topic. They also want to know about your company, its culture, and what it stands for. In other words, the art of selling is no longer about the best ad copy or creating the most attractive marketing campaigns, it has become much more conversational.
Below are the ways you could sell without selling:
- Educating audience: Every product or service is aimed at solving some kind of problem, be it small or big. Thus, you must convey to your audience how using your product is going to help them solve a pressing problem. Here’s a great ad by ClickUp nailing this approach in less than 35 seconds.
- Thought Leadership: Let’s say you have a fitness centre and want to attract fitness enthusiasts in your city. With so many such centres around, what incentive are you offering them above the rest? Well, that incentive can be your expertise.
You need to convince your audience that you have expert-level knowledge in your business and it is called ‘thought leadership.’ You can do it through videos, blogs, seminars, etc. This will establish trust between you and your audience, which ultimately helps you give a boost to your business.
- Stand Up for an Issue: Your marketing doesn’t need to revolve around your product, service or even your company. You could stand up for an issue that you believe in and create a campaign around it. It is preferred if your product helps in solving that problem but you can do even if it doesn’t.
One of the best examples is Nike, which has been extending its support to the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement. Their campaign in the aftermath of the George Floyd killing murder, in particular, received accolades across the globe.
Tip 3: Digitize & Upgrade
The Covid-19 pandemic has broken the backs of many businesses but it has also presented glorious opportunities. Many smelled it early on and capitalized by digitizing their businesses and upgrading to the latest technologies.
However, digitization doesn’t mean setting up your website and posting cute social media posts. You need to think about how you can replicate your business model using digital technologies and online marketing. To give you an example, many transport companies rely on their brand name to attract customers but have no idea about the number of people searching for a shipping service on search engines. They can create an SEO (search engine optimization) content strategy to rank on the first page and get customers.
Below are the different digital marketing avenues that you could explore based on your business and industry demands:
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
- Social Media Marketing – Ads
- Social Media Campaigns – Organic
- Email Marketing
- Content Marketing
- Online Events and Seminars
- Influencer Marketing on Social Media
- Affiliate Marketing
The digitization strategy doesn’t only apply to marketing but to all of your business operations. For instance, you could adopt chatbots to reduce human efforts and apply those efforts in sales to generate business. You should find out such avenues that you can upgrade and automate to stay a step ahead of the competition.
Tip 4: Give Everything a Personal Touch
Every day, customers are being bombarded with ads, billboards, social media campaigns and tons of such marketing material. In the midst of this marketing tsunami, you must give them reasons to notice your marketing efforts. How do you do it? Personalization is the answer for you!
Upon hearing personalization, most marketers think of “Hi [First Name],” emails but that’s not personalization. Whether it is customer service, product delivery, or content production, you can give a personal touch at many places. It makes a customer feel important and establishes a connection. That’s the reason why it feels good when you go to Starbucks and see your name on a cup of coffee, although it’s often spelled wrong.
If you are a small company, personalization becomes much easier for you as you could literally adopt tactics such as calling your customers or sending personalized emails. However, larger companies can also do the same, albeit in a different way. We all know about Coca Cola’s famous ‘share a coke’ campaign, aren’t we?
Here are a few ways you could ace your personalized marketing game:
- Ask for post sales feedback from customers
- Respond to online testimonials, whether positive or negative
- Send personalized emails and messages
- Talk to your customers about their experience
- Create segmented marketing campaigns
- Participate in events and conferences
- Build online communities
Tip 5: Constantly Upgrade You and Your Team
The business world is in a constant state of evolution and you must keep pace with the latest happenings or risk falling behind the pecking order. You might have the latest tools and technologies but they are of no use if you don’t have the right personnel to make the best out of it.
We suggest you start by identifying the points and processes that could be upgraded to give your business a boost. Then, start training your people to work with them. You can enrol them in courses, provide study material or even arrange visits to educate them. Not only your under links but you also should stay updated on the latest wisdom the business world has to offer.
Last Piece of Advice
I have been a marketer for more than two decades and I’ve seen many businesses getting dusted in-ground and many skyrocket. One common thread behind all these successes and failures was the people working behind them. If you have the right people, marketers, in this case, you have fewer things to worry about. That’s why we can’t stress enough how important recruitment is.
Many startups limit their growth as their marketing efforts are led by founders who don’t have the right expertise. If you don’t have such people in your team, it makes sense to hire a reputed growth marketing company that can fill the gap with their years of expertise.
We, at LeanSummits, work with private sector customers in a variety of locations to discover their most valuable opportunities, solve their most pressing problems, and change their businesses. We are motivated by the goal of helping our clients to thrive within their industry while also enabling them to create a better work environment.
The best part of working with us is our business model is based. It is based on your success rather than your budget. Our objective is to grow your business by providing you with the right tools. We do not want to sell you anything that will not generate a return as all of our initiatives are ROI based.
Book a free consultation to know how we can help you get the growth your business deserves!
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