Step 1 : Start With Your Why

There are several components you need to create a growth marketing framework, but the first one is always the same: your why. That's because your why is what drives your entire business, and it should influence every decision you make about how you grow.

Your why is the big picture — it's the thing that gets you and everyone in your company excited about coming into work every day. It’s the story that inspires you and your team to do their best work.

It's crucial to find this purpose because it will help drive all of your marketing efforts and boost morale when your team members are feeling overwhelmed. You need to start with your why because without it, everything else won't matter.

Your why may be to make the world a better place or to help people achieve their dreams. It might be something as simple as "We believe that people should have access to fresh, healthy food."

Whatever it is, it's bigger than just making money, and it's something that will motivate you even when things get challenging — and keep you going when you see your “why” in action, making a difference.

Step 2: Know Your Customers

Next, you'll need to understand your customers. What do they care about? How do they talk about the problem you're solving for them? What language do they use?

Once you have a solid understanding of what drives your customers and how your “why” serves their needs, from there, you’ll be able to decide on the channels you'll use to grow, which may include:

●      Social media marketing. The first major channel to consider is social media. Social media allows companies to communicate directly with their customers, at scale. It's a platform that people are already comfortable using and can provide opportunities to interact with your audience in a personal way.

●      Search engine optimization (SEO). SEO is also highly effective because it's another way for people to discover your products or services. Through targeted keywords, meta tags and descriptions, an SEO-friendly website optimized for mobile, and content geared toward search terms, your business will rank higher in search results.

●      Content marketing. Content marketing is crucial because it allows you to share information about your company and what it offers without asking for anything in return. This builds trust with potential customers because they're not being asked for anything other than their attention.

●      Email marketing. Driving traffic to your website, capturing new subscriber information, and communicating directly with your audience allows for more conversions and loyal customers.

●      Paid ads. Whether through social media, display ads, retargeting, or pay per click, paid ads allow you to reach more of the people who are interested in your products or services.

When you can figure out what resonates with your audience at every stage of the customer journey and how you want to reach them, you’ll be better able to address their needs at every stage of the buyer journey:

●      Awareness: How do you generate awareness for your product or service?

●      Engagement: How do you create interest in your brand?

●      Acquisition: How do you get people to buy from you first? What’s your value proposition?

●      Activation: How do you ensure your new customers have a positive first experience with your brand?

●      Retention: How do you keep your customers coming back?

●      Referral: How can you get your customers to spread the word about your business?

Step 3: Know Your Customers

With so many different marketing models out there, it can feel overwhelming trying to choose one for your business. However, as long as you get your marketing team on the same page, you should be able to find success with any model you choose. Below, we’ve outlined some of the most popular methods, plus tips for choosing the best model for your business.

Traditional Marketing Models

●      7Ps Marketing Mix: Considers various stages of business strategy, including product, price, place (where the product will be sold), promotion of that product, people (those involved with production, promotion, and distribution), the process of delivering your product, and physical evidence (proving to customers that your business exists).

●      STP: Segmentation of your audience, targeting of the people who would most want your product, and positioning of your product in the most appealing way. This method works well with social media due to the manner in which companies are able to segment, target, and position their products to a captive audience.

●      Porter’s Five Forces: Considers external influences that may affect profitability, including supplier power, buyer power, threat of substitution (how your product stacks up against competitors), threat of new entry (any barriers to a new product offering), and competitive rivalry (any other outside competitive forces at play).

Modern Marketing Models

●      AARRR: Ahoy, matey. This model takes a slightly different approach to the buyer journey mentioned above, using acquisition, activation (what does a customer do once they reach your website?), retention, revenue (LTV, conversion rates, and other factors), and referral to other customers as a guide.

●      Hook: Taps into habitual behaviors to achieve “hook” status, i.e., becoming a highly used and purchased product. This model includes triggers (sets off the buying cycle; for example, push notifications), actions (habitual behaviors lead to habitual actions like buying your product), variable rewards (anticipation of a reward makes customers likely to act), and investment (customer buy-in or loyalty).

●      ICE Score: A simple yet effective method that relies on three simple questions to evaluate an idea and any potential growth channels:

○      Impact — How much impact will this idea have?

○      Confidence — How confident are we that this will work?

○      Ease — How easy is it to implement this idea?

How to Decide on the Best Framework

There are three main questions to ask yourself when selecting the best growth marketing framework for your businesss

●      What are my company's most important objectives? Think of your “why.”

●      How can the marketing team address those goals and reach your ideal customers?

●      How will we define and measure success using specific key performance indicators?

As a growth marketer, you have many frameworks from which to choose, and the frameworks above are just the tip of the iceberg. Keep in mind that every framework has its own strengths and weaknesses, and you should always select a framework based on the needs of your business.

With the right growth marketing framework, you have a North Star when it comes to making decisions, moving forward with ideas, and analyzing the success of your efforts.  Ultimately, the best framework is the one that will help your business solve its most important challenges and continue to grow.