Growth-stage companies are in an exciting phase of their lifecycle, this is where businesses begin to turn up the heat, but only with the right strategy and execution.
They’ve proven their concept, found product-market fit, and are now ready to scale operations and serve a larger audience. But scaling doesn’t just mean increasing output—it’s about developing effective marketing strategies that can maintain, and indeed, drive this growth.
Let’s delve into the steps you can take to create a robust marketing plan for your growth-stage company.
1. Planning a Go-To-Market Strategy for Growth
A Go-To-Market (GTM) strategy is essentially your action plan. It outlines how you will sell your product or service to customers, how you’ll reach your market, and how you’ll retain those customers.
For growth-stage companies, a well-designed GTM strategy is essential. It should account for key factors like pricing, product positioning, customer segmentation, and channels of distribution.
At this stage, you already have an understanding of your product-market fit, which will provide valuable data to refine your GTM strategy. The goal is to scale your efforts while ensuring that you are efficiently targeting the right customers.
Many SMB’s “spray and pray”, this is a bad approach, if this was your approach in a prior business you may no longer be in business. GTM is key to growth and sustainability.
2. Strategizing Execution and Deliverables
After you’ve designed your GTM strategy, you need to strategize its execution. This involves setting clear and measurable goals, defining key performance indicators (KPIs), and scheduling deliverables. What gets measured, gets improved and optimized!
Start by setting SMART goals—Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. These should align with your overall business objectives and guide your marketing efforts. For example, if your aim is to increase market share, your marketing goal might be to increase brand awareness by X% in a specific market segment within six months.
Next, define your KPIs. These are measurable values that demonstrate the effectiveness of your marketing efforts. Common marketing KPIs include cost per lead, customer acquisition cost (CAC), and return on marketing investment (ROI).
Finally, schedule your deliverables. These are the tangible outputs of your marketing efforts, like ad campaigns, content pieces, or events. Be realistic about what your team can achieve, and remember to align deliverables with your SMART goals and KPIs.
3. Setting Benchmarks after Getting Customer Feedback
Customer feedback is a crucial component of a growth-stage company’s marketing strategy. It provides valuable insights into what’s working, what’s not, and how you can improve.
Once you’ve collected feedback, use it to set benchmarks. These are the standards against which you’ll measure your future performance. They can be based on anything from customer satisfaction scores to net promoter scores.
As you can see above. YOU NEED CUSTOMER REVIEWS!
Remember that benchmarks aren’t static—they should evolve as your company grows. Be flexible and adjust them based on new information or changes in your business environment. They serve as a compass, not a map.
4. Improving Distribution Channels
Distribution channels—the routes your product takes from you to your customers—are key to your growth strategy.
To improve these channels, start by analyzing your current performance. Which channels are most effective? Where are the bottlenecks? Once you’ve identified areas for improvement, you can implement changes. (Example channels: Paid Ads, Content Marketing, Email Marketing, Video Content and Ads, Social Media, Trade Shows, Direct Mail, etc)
This might involve diversifying your channels to reach new market segments, improving logistics to speed up delivery times, or investing in relationships with key intermediaries like retailers or distributors.
5. Experimenting with Different Marketing Channels
In the digital age, there are numerous marketing channels available, each with its strengths and weaknesses. It’s worth experimenting with different channels to see what works best for your company.
You might try influencer marketing, SEO, social media advertising, content marketing, email marketing, or any number of other strategies. Monitor your results closely and don’t be afraid to pivot if a particular channel isn’t delivering the expected results.
The key is to keep testing and learning. The marketing landscape is constantly evolving, and what worked yesterday may not work tomorrow. Stay agile and be willing to adapt your strategies as needed.
Wrapping Up
Marketing for a growth-stage company is one of the greatest challenges in business. It’s about leveraging the knowledge you’ve gained in your startup phase while exploring new strategies for expansion.
Remember that planning a GTM strategy, strategizing execution and deliverables, setting benchmarks based on customer feedback, improving distribution channels, and experimenting with different marketing channels are all key components of a successful growth-stage marketing strategy. It’s a continuous process of learning, adapting, and growing—much like your company itself.
Take the time to understand and implement these steps, define what makes sense for your brand, and you will find success. At Imprint we focus on serving growth-stage companies. If we can be of service to your business to help scale to new levels of growth, reach out: 970 205-9166