Why I'm focused on Growth, and not just Marketing.
Growth, compared with Marketing, is still a relatively new discipline, and one that sprung up from Start-up tech companies looking to scale rapidly. It’s a discipline that adds a few strings to the original Marketing or Product role ‘bow’. Both Marketing and Growth as separate disciplines overlap, but in my experience, someone with experience in Growth, can help you scale your business by delving into the whole of the funnel and seeking to understand your ENTIRE business.
It’s a discipline that obsesses over product- and message-market-fit, what customers are saying, and company revenue metrics. For a Growth function to be successful it has to bring teams together under an agreed set of OKRs. These Cross-Functional Teams have representation from Product, Marketing, Product Design, Engineering, and Data. All would be aligned under Data Driven Experiments in these Cross-Functional Teams to increment Growth for a business.
Marketing, on the other hand would, generally, obsess around the top of the funnel, ensuring all awareness and acquisition tactics are aligned around the company vision, customer segmentation, and revenue.
When businesses are smaller, they can't afford to have a Marketing function without adopting a Growth approach. Especially if they are ambitious and want to understand what levers they have to pull on to scale rapidly. Embodying a Growth approach also ensures the Leadership Team is fully aligned on the ambitions of the company and how they are going to get there. It also stops departmental silos forming where often a Marketing department or role is pressured to deliver the full weight of the business's ambition.
What do you need to consider in a Growth Strategy?
Having a Growth Strategy is having a working playbook for your business. This is an approach everyone can get behind.
There are some fundamental elements to a Growth and Go-To-Market Strategy:
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Who is your target market? Who are the competitors? And what market trends will affect your business?
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What's your value proposition? Your USPs and customer pain points?
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What does your target customer profile look like?
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How are you going to attract your customers? Messages, channels, tactics.
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What processes do you have in place to hand your Leads along the funnel and ensure sales and after sales success?
Why Small Businesses need more than Marketing.
When businesses are smaller, they can't afford to have a Marketing function without adopting a Growth approach. Especially if they are ambitious and want to understand what levers they have to pull on to scale rapidly.
Embodying a Growth approach also ensures the Leadership Team is fully aligned on the ambitions of the company and how they are going to get there. It also stops departmental silos forming where often a Marketing department or role is pressured to deliver the full weight of the business's ambition.
"Keira is a fantastic marketer and leader. She is very data-minded and customer-focused, which makes her great at delivering results. She cares deeply about her team, excels at driving growth, and isn't afraid to stand up for what she believes in. I learned so much from Keira while reporting to her at Float, and I'm very grateful for her friendship and mentorship."