Growth Marketing versus the Standard Approach to Marketing

1. 6 Ways Growth Marketing Differs
from the Standard Approach to
Marketing Products and Services
By Mark Sekula

2. Growth Marketing: The primary goal of growth marketing is to
achieve rapid and sustainable business growth, often measured in
terms of user acquisition, revenue, or other key performance indicators
(KPIs). Growth marketers focus on driving measurable and scalable
results.
Standard Approach to Marketing: Standard marketing typically has
broader goals, which may include brand awareness, customer
engagement, and maintaining a consistent market presence. While
standard marketing also aims to increase revenue, it may not prioritize
rapid growth as aggressively as growth marketing.
Goals

3. Growth Marketing: Growth marketing is highly data-driven and relies
on experimentation, testing, and optimization. It often involves a
"growth hacking" mindset, where marketers use creative and innovative
strategies to achieve rapid growth, such as viral marketing, referral
programs, and product optimizations.
Standard Approach to Marketing: Standard marketing tends to
follow established best practices and traditional marketing channels like
TV advertising, print media, and radio. It may not be as experimental
and may focus on building and maintaining a brand presence over
time.
Approach

4. Growth Marketing: Key metrics in growth marketing include customer
acquisition cost (CAC), customer lifetime value (CLTV), conversion rates,
retention rates, and viral coefficient. Growth marketers closely monitor
these metrics to assess the effectiveness of their strategies.
Standard Approach to Marketing: Standard marketing often relies on
metrics like brand awareness, reach, impressions, and customer
sentiment. While revenue is important, it may not be as granular or
focused on customer acquisition and retention metrics as growth
marketing.
Metrics

5. Growth Marketing: Growth marketing is highly customer-centric. It
focuses on understanding customer behavior, needs, and pain points,
and it tailors marketing efforts to address these specifically.
Personalization and segmentation are common in growth marketing.
Standard Approach to Marketing: While standard marketing also
considers customer preferences, it may have a broader target audience
and may rely on mass marketing techniques that appeal to a wider
range of consumers.
Customer Centricity

6. Growth Marketing: Growth marketing is often associated with rapid
iterations, quick decision-making, and adaptability. Marketers are
willing to pivot and change strategies quickly based on data and
experimentation results.
Standard Marketing: Standard marketing campaigns may be planned
well in advance and executed over longer periods. They may have a
more stable and predictable approach.
Speed and Agility

7. Growth Marketing: Growth marketing may allocate a significant
portion of the budget to experimental and scalable marketing channels,
such as digital advertising, social media, and referral programs.
Standard Marketing: Standard marketing may allocate resources to a
mix of traditional and digital channels, depending on the company's
industry and target audience.
Budget Allocation

8. It's important to note that these distinctions are not rigid, and many
businesses blend elements of both growth marketing and standard
marketing in their strategies to achieve their unique goals and
objectives. The choice between the two approaches depends on factors
like the business's stage, industry, target audience, and growth
aspirations.
Summary