A growth marketing agency is very different from other marketing agencies. Today, growth marketing takes a dedicated, targeted, and strategic approach to your marketing.
Knowing what sets growth marketing apart from other agencies helps inform your decision-making. And looking for the right approaches and skills will help you make a good choice for a marketing partner.
Here’s how to find the best growth marketing agency for your business.
What is growth marketing? Growth marketing is a methodology that encompasses all marketing challenges … and all phases of the customer journey. It’s intended to grow firms deliberately and for the long haul. It grows the brand, and improves ROI, by increasing traffic, conversions, and revenue.
The approach is designed for the long term, with measurable results that expand over time. It is not growth hacking, which is a one-time approach to expanding a brand. Instead, growth marketing is designed to use every phase of the marketing funnel. Brands focus on awareness, acquisition, activation, retention, referral, and revenue at once.
Here is a pretty simple way to understand all aspects of growth marketing in two minutes:
With a growth-focused approach, a brand may experiment with different tactics until it lands on one that works. However, the idea is to understand why a tactic works and incorporate it into long-term marketing strategies.
Growth marketing agencies are different from traditional marketing firms, which often focus on campaigns for lead generation or customer acquisition. They also are not digital marketers. While a great deal of the work happens in the digital space, growth marketing takes an omnichannel approach.
First and foremost, growth marketing is a nuanced and data-driven approach to building strong client relationships over time. Strategies typically involve servicing multiple components of the sales funnel in order to not just generate leads but support conversions.
Consequently, this approach allows results to compound a business’s growth successes month after month. By doing so, results should be seen even after a growth marketing agency ends service with you.
Traditional marketing and growth marketing both operate with the basic goal of bringing more attention to you from your customer base. Where they differ, however, is the process.
Growth marketing has a strong emphasis on data and metrics. As a result of capturing raw data and analyzing various factors, growth marketing firms can better grasp which strategies are working and which strategies need adjustments. They are also better able to go beyond clicks and views and determine if those figures translate into conversions.
However, traditional marketing is more campaign focused. It tends to be a blast of content and creativity that creates a quick and impressive spike of activity. While it may generate an impressive amount of leads to the beginning of the sales funnel, there is a downside. Leads don’t necessarily result in sales, and the activity spike will likely recede without additional efforts and investment.
While each agency is different, they share some fundamental traits. Look for a firm that provides a full range of services, including marketing and sales alignment and sales enablement.
The firm should offer a holistic inbound marketing strategy, account management, and optimized pay-per-click and social media advertising. Account management, design, and creative services, and CRM support are also critical needs.
You also want an agency that can support a business like yours. Many agencies tout handling clients of all sizes and in all industries. Be sure you choose an agency that has experience in your sector and clients that are close to your size.
That doesn’t mean you can’t choose an agency with a mix of large and small clients. Agencies with a range of clients will bring ideas and experiences from many spaces to your work. Just be sure that they value clients of your size and give you the attention you merit.
Each agency should offer an organized approach. In order to ensure the firm is delivering, they should utilize different tools to keep you in the loop consistently. For example, scheduling bi-weekly meetings to discuss strategy, deliverables, and next steps is a great indicator of a trustworthy agency. There are several scheduling softwares, such as calendly, that make this process simple and straightforward.
You may have particular needs when it comes to growth marketing. Be sure to look for a firm that has the expertise in your areas of vulnerability. It may be writing, graphic design, SEO optimization, or content marketing strategy that is the most-needed skill set. Other brands need help with editing, translation, or video design.
If you need to start with a narrowly designed field, do not hesitate. Good firms may specialize in one area but should understand how their work relates to others in the space.
Once the work is defined, look for an agency that has expertise in that space. Ask for case studies and review them carefully. Be sure the case studies detail the problems that were articulated by clients and what work the agency did. The case studies should have detailed results that quantify the impact and have active client input throughout the process.
Every agency will claim that its approach is the best and that its insights will far surpass the competition. Probe the strategies and resources that agencies offer. You want specific strategies, not just generalities, that will drive growth. You want resources that line out deliverables and how each agency will deliver. Ask agencies to demonstrate how these strategies have worked in the past with detailed examples in order to better understand how growth marketing works.
Here's another way to be sure an agency walks the walk. Ask them how they implement their strategies in their own business. If they claim to be presenting a sure-fire approach, they should use it themselves.
Also, be wary about agencies that claim to be experts in everything. They likely are not. But they should show that their approach to web design, content marketing or PPC aligns with what they’re selling.
One way to determine if your potential agency partner is authentic? Look for social proof. A good agency will provide social proof from real people. These items may include reviews by customers, testimonials from experts, and ratings and reviews. Social media, industry partnerships, awards, and certifications are also good indications.
Ask to talk with other clients about work they’ve done. Read reviews and reach out to others, with an eye toward authentic and honest feedback.
The SMART goal-setting process is a proven process within growth marketing. SMART goals are those that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound.
SMART goals are quantifiable, transparent, and actionable. Once they understand your operations and needs, agencies should be able to provide clear, specific goals for your business. Ask how they will go about setting goals, the roles your staff will play, and for past examples.
Goals should not be ambiguous. They need to be laid out clearly with realistic approaches and attainable results. Generalities are not going to cut it. Any agency can say they will help you boost sales. A great agency will show you how it develops goals and the steps it takes to help you attain them.
Agencies should not be offering you a cookie-cutter approach to marketing. While their theories and approaches may be universal, your solution must be customized. Ask how the agency will develop and track metrics and KPIs. Knowing how they will collect data is the first step. Next is how they will use that data to help you make decisions.
Growth marketing is an important approach for any company looking to scale its growth. You want your products and services to scale on demand. Many start-up companies, for example, hit a scalability chasm where they are unable to expand. How will your marketing partner address this issue?
Growth marketing is a dynamic, holistic approach to expansion. Looking for the right agency with the skills and experience is essential.
We’ve evaluated growth marketing agencies from across the world and come up with the top 15 in the industry today. Our results were driven by various qualifications.
Firstly, an excellent growth marketing agency must exhibit innovation and adaptability. Every business is unique and requires a customized approach to efficiently achieve their goals. If an agency takes a one-size-fits-all approach, their clients aren’t receiving optimal service.
Secondly, reliability is also a factor. If an agency promises deliverables and consistently fails to meet deadlines, then your scaling and growth efforts will be delayed. So, specifying what you’ll be receiving and then following through is key to exhibiting quality practices.
Finally, overall industry knowledge is a must. If agencies aren’t using the most up-to-date techniques and available technology, they may be falling behind the competition. The best groups tend to be well rounded and know how to adapt successes in one industry to apply to other fields.
In short, whether your business is just getting started or moving forward into a new phase of profitability, you want quality marketing support. With growth marketing, an agency that delivers powerful results can be the difference between stagnation and fulfilling amazing potential.
