What is growth marketing? Strategies & best practices to grow your business

Growth marketing means working smarter. It combines data, customer feedback, smart tools, and creativity without blowing your budget. 

The concept evolved from growth hacking, a term introduced by Sean Ellis in 2010 to describe fast, creative ways to drive business growth without relying on big budgets. 

Growth marketing is built on those early ideas, but with a stronger focus on long-term customer relationships, full marketing funnel strategies, and smarter use of data and technology. 

Today, it’s one of the most effective ways to grow a business.

In this article, we’ll break down how growth marketing differs from traditional marketing and share strategies that can help you achieve your goals faster. You’ll also find some best practices to build the right growth marketing tactics for your business and start seeing results straight away.

What is growth marketing?

Growth marketing is a marketing approach focused on building and keeping customers through constant testing, learning, and improving.

Instead of putting all the energy into just getting attention, growth marketing works across the entire customer journey. It helps growth marketers do these three things:

• Attract people
• Turn them into buyers
• Keep them coming back

And, every part of the process is measured, tweaked, and optimized for better results.

Now, let’s define growth marketing by looking at how it’s different from traditional marketing.

Traditional marketing focuses on creating broad marketing campaigns for customer acquisition and building brand awareness. The approach is usually planned in advance and runs on fixed timelines, with little room for changes once launched.

Growth marketing is different. You run small experiments first, test what works, and then improve. If something flops, you take action and adjust quickly. If something works, you scale it up. It’s faster, smarter, and much more focused on real growth.

You’ll often hear people mention growth advertising, too. This usually means using paid ads in a smart, targeted way to support growth campaigns, not just blasting on every channel.

What are the main components of growth marketing?

Growth marketing is a dynamic, structured process built on a few key components. These elements help growth marketers plan smarter campaigns, reach the right people, and keep improving over time. 

Key aspects of growth marketing include:

1. A/B testing

A/B testing is one of the easiest ways to make better marketing decisions. It compares two versions of something to see which one works better.

Growth marketers can test two different email subject lines, two landing page designs, or two types of ads. 

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Half the test audience sees version A, the other half sees version B. Then you check the results to find out which one gets more clicks, sign-ups, or sales.

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Good A/B testing focuses on changing just one thing at a time. If you change too much stuff, you won’t know what actually made the difference.

Start simple. Test a button color, a headline, or the placement of a call-to-action. Small tweaks can lead to big improvements when you repeat the process often.

A/B testing your email campaigns keeps your marketing efforts fresh, focused, and always moving in the right direction.

2. Omnichannel and cross-channel marketing

People don’t just stick to one platform anymore. In fact, 80% of consumers use multiple channels to complete a purchase. They browse your website, check your Instagram, read reviews, and maybe even open your emails, all in the same day. 

That’s why omnichannel and cross-channel marketing matter so much for marketing growth.

Omnichannel marketing means giving customers a smooth, consistent customer experience no matter where they find you. Whether they’re on your app, your website, or your social media, everything feels connected and easy.

Cross-channel marketing is about using different channels together. For example, your growth marketers can send an email that reminds someone about a product they saw on your website. 

Platforms like GetResponse’s marketing automation make this possible. They track customers’ interactions on your website to suggest the best email content. 

The goal is to meet customers where they are and guide them smoothly toward buying. If one channel goes quiet, another one keeps the conversation going. In growth marketing, it’s never quiet.

3. Data

Data is the engine behind growth marketing. Without it, you’re just guessing. With it, you’re making smart decisions based on what actually works.

Data helps your growth marketers understand what your customer base likes, what they ignore, and where they drop off. Track everything from clicks and opens to how long someone stays on a page.

Basic analytics from your website, email platform, and social media accounts can give you a ton of useful insights.

A Customer Relationship Management system can also help you organize customer data, track interactions across channels, and spot patterns in user behavior. It gives you a full view of each customer’s journey, making it easier to deliver the right message at the right time.

Effective growth marketers also use event-based analytics to track actions like signing up for a webinar, downloading a guide, or using a feature inside your app. Setting up custom funnels helps you target your prospects much better for optimal conversion rates. 

Use data to spot trends, test new ideas, and fix weak spots in your marketing efforts. Track your key performance indicators (KPIs) closely to optimize every step of your customer’s journey.

4. Customer lifecycle

The customer lifecycle is the journey people take from first hearing about you to becoming loyal fans. Growth marketing covers every step of that journey.

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It usually starts with awareness, the stage where someone first discovers your brand. Then comes conversion, where they compare you to others. Purchase happens when they decide to buy. After that, it’s all about loyalty, turning buyers into repeat customers.

Each stage needs a different approach. You can’t send the same message to someone who just heard about you and someone who’s bought from you five times.

Growth marketing focuses on helping customers move smoothly from one stage to the next. It uses targeted content, personalized offers, and smart follow-ups to keep people engaged.

For example, if you’re a skincare company, your growth marketers could start by running social media ads to build awareness. When people visit your website, you offer a free skin type quiz to help with consideration. 

After someone takes the quiz, they get personalized product recommendations and a first-time buyer discount to drive a purchase. Finally, once a customer buys, you follow up with tips on using the products and invite them to join a loyalty program to encourage repeat purchases.

Top growth marketing strategies

Let’s now look into some specific growth marketing strategies you could implement to accelerate your company’s growth. 

5. Content marketing through different channels

Content is one of the easiest ways to connect with your audience. Growth marketing uses content across different channels to reach more people and stay at the top of their minds.

So don’t limit yourself to one format. Write blog posts and use Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to boost your visibility on Google and other search engines. Create short videos to grab attention quickly, record podcasts for listeners on the go, and share tips on social media to stay connected with your audience. 

Different people prefer different types of content, so mixing it up helps you reach more of them. That means combining video, text, audio, and infographic content.

You don’t have to start from scratch every time. Instead, take advantage of content repurposing. Create one high-quality piece of content and reuse it in different formats for the different channels. For example, one blog post can turn into a video, a few social media posts, and even an email series.

Your growth marketers can also split or fragment your content to better match the format of each channel. A long guide can be broken down into short tips for Instagram, a quick video for TikTok, or a short article for LinkedIn.

The key is to be where your audience already spends their time. If they hang out on LinkedIn, post there. If they love YouTube, make videos. 

And remember, effective growth marketing focuses on adding value, not just promoting yourself.

6. Incorporate personalization

Personalization is a crucial element of effective growth marketing. Younger generations, such as Gen Z and Millennials, highly value personalized customer experiences, with 45.1% of Millennials stating they appreciate personalized marketing and offers.

But for personalization to work, your content, offers, and experiences must truly match your customers’ needs and interests. That means you need data.

Start by understanding your audience, i.e., their pain points, interests, and needs. Then, segment them based on interests, purchase history, or behavior. You can then send personalized product suggestions based on what someone has viewed or added to their cart. 

Your growth marketers can also set up behavior-triggered emails. This means sending reminders when buyers abandon their cart, or follow-up offers after they browse a certain category.

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Dynamic website content is another good idea. Show different homepage banners or recommendations depending on whether someone is a new visitor or a returning customer.

Most email platforms and website builders offer tools to help you personalize at scale. Done well, personalization can make your brand feel more human.

7. Advanced customer support

Fast, helpful support can turn a questioning visitor into a loyal customer. Growth marketing treats client support as part of the overall customer experience. It’s not a side job.

One easy way to improve support is by using chatbots. They can answer simple questions right away, even when your customer support and growth marketing team is out of office. This keeps customers happy and saves you time.

Video chats add a personal touch when someone needs a little extra help. Sometimes talking face-to-face (even virtually) solves problems faster than emails ever could.

Then there’s the third way, which is knowledge hubs. A good FAQ page or a more advanced help center platform lets people find answers on their own, which many customers prefer.

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People are more likely to trust you and stick around longer when you make support easy, quick, and friendly.

8. Focus on re-engagement campaigns

Not every customer stays active forever. But that doesn’t mean you should forget about them. 

Re-engagement marketing campaigns bring existing customers back and give them a reason to reconnect. Plus, acquiring a new customer can cost five to seven times more than retaining an old one. So, you must work on retaining existing customers to boost the overall customer lifetime value (CLV).

A good re-engagement campaign reminds customers why they liked you in the first place. Your growth marketers can send a special offer, a helpful reminder, or even a simple “We miss you” email.

Retargeting ads are another smart growth marketing tactic. They show up for people who visited your site but didn’t convert. Sometimes, a little nudge when they scroll their social media profile is all they need.

You can also offer customer loyalty rewards, exclusive content, or sneak peeks at new products. The goal is to make coming back easy and exciting.

9. Build a community

People trust other people more than ads. That’s why building a community is a powerful move in a growth marketing strategy. Your fans can help spread the word, share customer feedback, and make others excited to join.

Start by focusing on your early adopters. These were the first bunch of people who tried your product and loved it. 

Recognize and reward your early supporters. Give them sneak peeks, exclusive discounts, and the chance to test new features before anyone else.

Create spaces where your community can connect. It could be a private Facebook group, a Slack channel, or a forum on your website. 

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You also want to make it easy for people to share tips, ask questions, and feel like they’re part of the community.

10. Introduce referral programs and other incentives

Happy customers love to talk. Take full advantage of this and give them a little extra reason to do it. 

That’s where a referral program can make a real difference by rewarding customers for spreading the word.

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You can set up a referral program in many ways, including:

• Discounts for both the referrer and the friend they invite
• Gift cards as a thank-you for every successful referral
• Free products after reaching a certain number of referrals
• Early access to new products, features, or special events
• Exclusive memberships or customer loyalty perks for top referrers

Keep the program easy to join and even easier to share. Most referral programs work by giving customers a unique referral link or code they can send to friends. This should make it easy to track who referred whom.

The fewer steps it takes, the more people will actually use it.

Other incentives, like limited-time offers or loyalty bonuses, can also push people to spread the word faster. It’s a smart way to turn your biggest fans into your best marketers.

Referral programs bring in new customers who already trust you because someone they know recommended you. That kind of trust is priceless for growth.

Growth marketing best practices

Growth marketing campaigns work best when you follow a few key habits from the start. Here’s what successful growth marketers should always keep in mind:

11. Understand your audience thoroughly before creating your growth marketing strategy

Before you spend a dollar or create a single post, know who you’re talking to. Build simple customer profiles. 

You can use surveys, website data, and social media insights to understand your audience’s needs, habits, and pain points.

12. Start A/B testing your marketing campaigns 

Don’t test everything at once. Pick one or two important things, like a headline or call-to-action, and run small A/B testing. Focus on getting clear answers that you can build on.

13. Run sample campaigns across multiple marketing channels

Test your ideas in different places. Try running the same message on email, social media, and paid ads. See where it works best. 

You might be surprised by which channels your audience actually prefers.

14. Collect and analyze data from test marketing campaigns

Always check your numbers. Track email open rates, click-through rates, conversion rates, customer retention rates, and average order value. 

Look for patterns that show what in your growth marketing strategy is working, and what’s not.

15. Apply successful strategies to a bigger audience

Once you know something works, scale it up. Show it to a bigger group, boost it with ads, or make it a regular part of your marketing efforts. Build on small wins to create big results over time.

Conclusion

Growth marketing is all about using data, testing ideas, and finding smart ways to connect with your customers at every step.

Use A/B testing to fine-tune your approach. Be active across different channels. Personalize your communication. And keep learning from your data to stay ahead.

An excellent growth marketing campaign brings together different parts like your website, email campaigns, social media, and even traditional marketing materials. It connects them into one approach focused on long-term growth.

So, how is growth marketing different?

It’s powered by smart tools and skilled growth marketers who react quickly, personalize better, and make decisions based on real results.

Use this guide to build your growth marketing strategy and make your customer base the center of everything you do.