Growth Marketing 101: The Basics You Need to Know

Growth marketing is a fast-paced and constantly evolving field that’s focused on driving business growth through a data-driven, experimental approach to marketing. If you’re interested in pursuing a career in growth marketing, this guide is for you.

In this post, we’ll cover everything you need to know to become a growth marketer, including the basics of growth marketing, the key skills and qualities you’ll need to succeed, the courses and books available to help you learn, and more. By the end of this guide, you’ll have a clear understanding of what it takes to become a successful growth marketer and the resources you need to get started.

What is growth marketing?

Growth marketing is a data-driven, iterative approach to marketing that focuses on driving overall business growth through various marketing channels and tactics. The goal of growth marketing is to find the most effective ways to acquire and retain customers, and to maximize revenue and profitability.

Who is a Growth Marketer and What Are the Job Roles?

A growth marketer is someone who specializes in driving customer acquisition and revenue growth for a business or organization. They use a data-driven, iterative approach to marketing that focuses on testing and optimizing strategies in order to achieve maximum impact.

Growth marketing is a relatively new field, and job titles and responsibilities can vary widely depending on the organization. However, here are some of the common job roles you might find in a growth marketing team:

1. Growth Marketer: This is a generalist role that focuses on developing and executing growth strategies across various marketing channels, such as SEO, PPC, social media, email, and content marketing.
2. Acquisition Marketer: This role is focused on driving customer acquisition through various channels, such as paid advertising, SEO, social media, and referral marketing.
3. Retention Marketer: This role is focused on retaining and engaging existing customers through tactics such as email marketing, loyalty programs, and customer support.
4. Product Marketer: This role is focused on positioning and promoting specific products or features to drive adoption and revenue growth.
5. Analytics Manager: This role is focused on data analysis and reporting, providing insights and recommendations to inform growth strategies.

Overall, a growth marketer should be comfortable with data analysis and testing, and have a strong understanding of various marketing channels and tactics. They should be able to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams and be comfortable with ambiguity and rapid change.

Difference Between Growth Marketer vs Digital Marketer

While growth marketing and digital marketing share some similarities, they have different focuses and approaches. Here are some of the key differences between the two:

1. Focus: Digital marketing focuses primarily on driving traffic and generating leads through various online channels, such as search engines, social media, and email marketing. Growth marketing, on the other hand, is focused on driving overall business growth through various marketing channels and tactics.
2. Metrics: Digital marketing tends to focus on metrics such as click-through rates, conversion rates, and cost-per-acquisition. While these metrics are important to growth marketing as well, growth marketers also focus on metrics such as customer lifetime value, retention rate, and revenue growth.
3. Testing: Digital marketers often use A/B testing and other optimization techniques to improve specific aspects of their campaigns, such as landing pages or ad copy. Growth marketers take a broader, more holistic approach to testing, experimenting with different channels, tactics, and messaging to find the best overall growth strategy.
4. Mindset: Digital marketers often have a more tactical, execution-focused mindset, while growth marketers tend to be more strategic and focused on long-term growth.

Overall, while digital marketing is an important component of growth marketing, growth marketing takes a broader, more holistic approach to driving business growth. Growth marketers focus on a wide range of metrics and tactics, and are willing to experiment and iterate to find the best overall growth strategy.

How to become a Growth Marketer

Becoming a growth marketer requires a combination of skills, knowledge, and experience in various areas of marketing. Here are some steps that can help you become a growth marketer:

1. Learn the fundamentals of marketing: Before diving into growth marketing, you need to have a solid understanding of the basics of marketing. This includes understanding the different channels, customer acquisition, branding, and messaging.
2. Familiarize yourself with data analysis: Growth marketing is data-driven, and you need to be comfortable working with data and using it to drive decisions. Learn how to use tools like Google Analytics, Excel, and SQL to analyze data and draw insights.
3. Develop a growth mindset: A growth mindset means being open to experimentation and trying new things. You need to be comfortable with failure and learning from it.
4. Focus on user acquisition: Growth marketing is all about acquiring new users for your product or service. Learn how to use different channels like social media, content marketing, and paid advertising to reach and acquire new users.
5. Master retention and engagement: It’s not just about acquiring new users, but also retaining and engaging them. Learn how to create a strong user experience, build customer loyalty, and optimize user engagement.
6. Stay up to date with the latest trends: Growth marketing is constantly evolving, and you need to stay up to date with the latest trends and best practices. Attend conferences, read industry blogs, and network with other growth marketers to stay informed.
7. Gain practical experience: Finally, gain practical experience by working on real growth marketing campaigns. Start with small projects and work your way up to larger campaigns as you build your skills and experience.

By following these steps, you can develop the skills and experience necessary to become a successful growth marketer.

Growth Marketing Courses

If you’re interested in learning about growth marketing, there are plenty of online courses available that can help you develop the skills and knowledge you need to succeed. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced marketer looking to expand your skill set, there are courses available that cater to a wide range of needs and skill levels. In this section, we’ll introduce you to some of the top growth marketing courses available online, each offering a unique approach and set of features to help you become a successful growth marketer.

1. Growth Marketing Foundations by Brad Batesole on LinkedIn Learning: This course covers the basics of growth marketing and provides a framework for creating a growth strategy. It includes modules on customer acquisition, retention, and optimization.
2. Growth Marketing Mini Degree by CXL Institute: This program offers a comprehensive curriculum on growth marketing, covering topics such as funnel optimization, customer acquisition, and analytics. It includes over 100 hours of video content and hands-on projects.
3. Growth Marketing Pro by Sean Ellis: This course offers a step-by-step guide to creating a growth marketing strategy, including customer research, funnel optimization, and user engagement. It includes video lessons, case studies, and worksheets.
4. Digital Marketing Nanodegree by Udacity: This program covers a wide range of digital marketing topics, including growth marketing, SEO, social media, and analytics. It includes video lessons, quizzes, and hands-on projects.
5. Growth Hacking with Digital Marketing Masterclass by Udemy: This course covers growth hacking strategies and techniques for digital marketing, including SEO, content marketing, and social media. It includes over 16 hours of video content and quizzes.

These courses offer a variety of approaches and levels of depth, so it’s important to research and choose one that aligns with your goals and learning style.

Growth marketing books

n addition to online courses, there are also a wealth of growth marketing books available that can provide valuable insights and strategies for marketers. These books offer a more in-depth exploration of growth marketing concepts and techniques, and can be a valuable resource for anyone looking to develop their skills in this area. In this section, we’ll introduce you to some of the top growth marketing books available, each offering unique perspectives and actionable advice to help you become a more effective growth marketer.

Here are some top growth marketing books to consider:

1. “Traction: How Any Startup Can Achieve Explosive Customer Growth” by Gabriel Weinberg and Justin Mares: This book offers a comprehensive guide to acquiring customers, covering 19 different channels for customer acquisition and providing practical advice for implementing each one.
2. “Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products” by Nir Eyal: This book offers a framework for creating products and services that encourage user engagement and repeat usage. It provides practical insights into how to create “hooks” that keep users coming back.
3. “Contagious: Why Things Catch On” by Jonah Berger: This book explores the psychology of why some ideas and products become viral sensations, and provides insights into how to create content and products that are more likely to be shared and talked about.
4. “The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses” by Eric Ries: While not strictly a growth marketing book, this classic offers valuable insights into how to test and validate ideas quickly and efficiently, and how to create a culture of continuous improvement.
5. “The Growth Handbook: A Guide to Scaling Your Business” by Sean Ellis: This book offers a framework for creating a growth strategy, covering topics such as customer research, funnel optimization, and user engagement. It includes case studies and practical advice for implementing a growth strategy.

Q: How does growth marketing differ from traditional marketing?

A: Traditional marketing tends to be focused on brand awareness and lead generation, while growth marketing is focused on driving overall business growth through a variety of channels and tactics. Growth marketing also tends to be more data-driven and iterative, with a focus on experimentation and optimization.

Q: What are some common growth marketing tactics?

A: Common growth marketing tactics include search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click advertising (PPC), social media marketing, email marketing, content marketing, referral marketing, and customer retention strategies.

Q: How do you measure success in growth marketing?

A: Success in growth marketing is typically measured by metrics such as customer acquisition cost (CAC), customer lifetime value (CLV), retention rate, and revenue growth. It’s important to have a clear understanding of your key performance indicators (KPIs) and regularly track and analyze your data to optimize your strategies.

Q: How do you develop a growth marketing strategy? A: Developing a growth marketing strategy involves identifying your target audience, understanding their needs and pain points, and developing a messaging and positioning strategy that resonates with them. From there, you can experiment with various channels and tactics to find the most effective ways to reach and engage your audience, and optimize your strategies based on data and feedback. It’s also important to have a culture of experimentation and a willingness to take risks in order to drive growth.

Conclusion:

Becoming a growth marketer requires a unique combination of skills, knowledge, and mindset. From understanding your audience and experimenting with different marketing channels to analyzing data and making data-driven decisions, the path to becoming a growth marketer is full of challenges and opportunities for growth. However, with the right resources and a willingness to learn and adapt, anyone can become a successful growth marketer. By following the tips and advice in this guide, you’ll be well on your way to a rewarding and exciting career in growth marketing.