A Quick Look Back at 2020: The Year of Growth Marketing
Growth marketers use a combination of traditional and digital channels to deliver the most relevant campaigns throughout every stage of the customer journey — from awareness to advocacy (and beyond). This approach helps them identify growth marketing trends for better engagement and customer experiences.
The idea and practice of growth marketing have been around for a while now, but it really took off in 2020. So much so, that if your LinkedIn feed looks anything like mine, you’ve probably become an expert on the topic over the last 12 months.
Some of the biggest names in the industry even got in on the action — including Brian Dean, Neil Patel, and Rand Fishkin (as did we) — helping rookie and veteran marketers alike transform into growth marketing pros. Meanwhile, the average cost-per-click of paid search terms around growth marketing skyrocketed, as did the volume of organic keywords related to growth marketing.
Most noticeably, hundreds of MarTech companies and digital marketing agencies across North America and Europe are aligning with the growth marketing revolution. This universal buy-in of growth marketing underscores the power and value of this approach, and early adopters are now well-positioned to become serious disruptors in the marketplace.
As we FINALLY turn the page on this turbulent (and, let’s be honest, pretty terrible) year, we’re confident that growth marketing concepts and strategies will continue to dominate the digital marketing landscape moving into the new year.
How can we be so sure?
Keep reading to learn the most telling digital marketing stats from the last few years and how these numbers point toward some exciting growth marketing trends to come in 2021!
Growth Marketing Trend #1: Content Marketing Is More Important Than Ever
The most successful organizations spend 40% of their marketing budgets on content marketing.
Many marketers view content marketing as an essential demand generation strategy at the top of the funnel. Unfortunately, far fewer marketers understand that content marketing fuels and supports the entire customer lifecycle — from awareness to advocacy (and beyond).
However, as more and more organizations adopt a growth marketing approach, they place more of a premium on extending the lifecycle through omnichannel experiences. And what do they need to bring those experiences to life?
Awesome content… and lots of it!
No wonder the most successful companies are dedicating such a large portion of their marketing budget toward content marketing. It’s the best way to speak your audiences’ language and put them in charge of their buying journey.
Use Marketing Automation to Map Your Content and Drive Engagement
Growth Marketing Trend #2: Customer Experience Takes Center Stage
Investing in the customer experience results in a 170% increase in ROI within three years.
By improving the customer experience, you do more than just win initial business; you create brand kinship and customer loyalty, which are crucial to adopting a growth marketing mindset. The most loyal customers become long-term consumers who are willing to buy and spend more from their trusted partner or retailer, so you’re growing your business from the inside out.
Most companies and their competitors market and sell very similar products, services, and solutions. So they compete against one another not so much on the quality of their offerings but on the experiences they provide their customers. This involves understanding their interests, anticipating their needs, and delivering sound solutions to their problems — and doing so in a way that is fun and engaging for your consumers while also putting them in control of their buying journey.
Growth Marketing Trend #3: Personalize the Customer Experience to Humanize Your Brand
49% of all consumers have made an impulse purchase based on a highly personalized experience.
For several years now, you’ve probably been hearing about how and why personalizing the digital experience is such a powerful sales and marketing achievement. But while most companies are interested in driving more personalization, many of them find it difficult to accomplish at scale.
The good news is that you don’t have to completely overhaul your entire approach overnight. Instead, you can take minor steps that are proven to have a major impact on the growth of your company.
- Add dynamic content to your email subject lines.
- Launch remarketing campaigns on social media.
- Place a tracking beacon on your website to highlight the most relevant products and content.
- Deliver segmented nurture emails based on behaviors and engagements.
And do it all through marketing automation!
The Amazingly Effective Email Marketing Automation Guide
Growth Marketing Trend #4: Move From Multichannel to Omnichannel Experiences
Over the last 10 years, the amount of companies investing in omnichannel experiences has increased from 20% to 80%.
Most consumers don’t randomly walk into your shop off the street anymore, especially since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which means you have to meet them where they’re at online. In order to do that, you have to understand who they are and how they behave on the internet. By developing accurate personas of your target audiences based on hard data, you can deliver relevant and effective omnichannel campaigns when and where these individuals are most active and most likely to buy.
Whereas multichannel marketing describes how marketers interact with their audiences across numerous communication platforms, omnichannel marketing is a highly integrated approach to the entire customer lifecycle across every relevant channel. Whether the customer is in your store or on their phone (or both), good omnichannel marketers deliver seamless brand experiences that continuously delight consumers at every turn with consistent messaging, branding, and promotions.
And since your competitors are likely already developing omnichannel strategies of their own, you need to align your campaigns across every platform relative to each persona to achieve ultimate growth.
Growth Marketing Trend #5: Your Customers Remain Your Strongest Marketers
72% of customers will share a positive experience with at least six people.
Without a doubt, your customers represent your absolute best growth marketing channel. There’s just no better way to earn and solidify a trustworthy reputation than through happy, satisfied, loyal clients. But generating this kind of customer loyalty takes a concerted effort and a long-term commitment to the success of your program.
Of course, you want to start with great products.
From there, you want to deliver exceptional customer experiences.
After that, though, you need to extend the lifecycle and give your happy customers a good reason to sing your praises — whether that’s through online reviews, social media shout-outs, or in-person conversations with their friends and family.
Consider incentivizing your satisfied customers to spread the word with special rewards programs, loyalty promotions, or surprise gifts. Provide phenomenal customer and brand support to improve product and service adoption. And give your clients the VIP treatment by offering them exclusive access to new products and services.
Keep Customers Engaged With Marketing Automation
Achieve Your 2021 Growth Marketing Goals With Act-On
Whether you’re trying to drive more leads and optimize your funnel or perfecting your brand loyalty strategies to extend the customer lifecycle, Act-On is the growth marketing platform you need to exceed all of your business goals in 2021.
Built for marketers who love marketing, Act-On is a comprehensive solution that is easy to learn, dynamic, and scalable for organizations of all shapes and sizes. If you’d like to learn more about our best-in-class growth marketing automation software and services, please contact us today to schedule your free 20-minute demo with one of our automation experts.
Or, if you’re more of a self-directed learner, click here to take our interactive product tour and choose your own marketing automation adventure!