Marketing Dojo #74: The Ultimate Growth Playbook.
Download Plan For Growth to kickstart marketing-led growth.
Hello everyone,
I hope this week is treating you well.
Your inbox is probably overflowing, so thanks for opening the 74th issue of Marketing Dojo.
Today's newsletter is less about "news" and more about strategy.
Why? Because I took a short break over the long weekend here in Singapore. I'm on a mission to teach myself the fine art of switching off. I tried my best not to read any kind of news.
Today I want to share a project that I've been chiselling away at for a while. Plan For Growth is a playbook to re-wire your marketing tactics for growth.
If you're in an industry with a complex buying committee, drawn-out research phases, and marathon buying cycles, this one's for you.
But don't worry—there's something here for every marketer, even if you're dealing with different scenarios.
I'll walk you through the critical points of the deck. But if you're short on time and prefer to draw your own conclusions, you can download the deck directly here.
If you aren’t a subscriber yet, consider signing up. I deliver some freshly squeezed marketing goodness to your inboxes every Wednesday.
I have spent countless hours putting this deck together and hope to keep updating it. Please remember to leave me some feedback after you've had a chance to dive in.
With that out of the way, let's get started.
Introduction
Marketing is becoming increasingly complex, but one thing remains certain—it's always more potent as a growth lever than a mere cost centre.
In the ten slides of Plan For Growth, I guide you through:
Three key sources of growth
Their critical role within your organization
Marketing tactics tailored to each growth source
Real-world examples for each strategy
Every industry and sub-segment you serve will come with its nuance. The playbook attempts to help you tide over your strategy's daunting blank page on a page.
3 Sources of Growth.
What does a well-balanced marketing plan look like? Here’s a framework that covers all the bases:
Future Customers: Not all prospects are ready to buy right now. When they are, only 3-5 brands typically make it to their shortlist (Gartner). Focus on driving top-of-mind recall—what the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute calls building "Mental Availability."
In-Market Customers: A fraction of your prospects actively seek solutions and are hungry for content. According to a Google & CEB study, B2B buyers consume an average of 12 pieces of content before purchasing.
Existing Customers: Upselling is 68% more cost-effective than acquiring new customers (Forrester). Highly personalized marketing for these key customers requires a tailored approach.
Each segment demands a distinct strategy. A balanced marketing plan addresses future, in-market, and existing customers' unique needs.
Generating Demand: Out-of-Market, Future Customers
There are roughly 200 global car brands. Yet when customers decide to buy a car, they typically research just 3 to 5 brands.
Practical considerations like availability and price play a role, but that shortlist is usually driven by top-of-mind recall.
Marketing efforts aimed at out-of-market customers often take a back seat to lead generation. Modern tools make it easier to track won or lost opportunities, but many prospects fall into the category of "known unknowns"—customers who don't include your brand in their limited consideration set.
Thinking in terms of opportunity cost doesn't come naturally to most of us. That’s why quantifying the cost of lacking mental availability can help secure executive support.
Measure the success: Depending on your resources, consider one or both:
Awareness: Aided and unaided brand recall
Market Share: Revenue / Total Addressable Market
Prospects are typically more numerous than leads, but the probability of conversion is the lowest among the three sources. To achieve the best ROI, focus on channels that scale, deliver broad reach and invest in organic engagement.
Capturing Demand: In-Market, Potential Customers
When a customer actively seeks a solution, they consume a lot of content. Buying committees are becoming more complex, and buying cycles are getting longer, leading to a higher volume of self-research before making a decision.
The best salespeople listen to their customers' problems, offer appropriate advice, and then, when the time is right, pitch their solutions. Similarly, the best marketing listens to intent signals (like website visits or third-party data from Bombora), creates content that helps customers advance their research, and occasionally makes a pitch.
E-books, guides, case studies, whitepapers, and webinars are your best allies in this process.
LinkedIn recently launched its Thought Leadership Ads, which look native to the platform. Additionally, the classic Matched Audiences campaign type on LinkedIn allows you to target specific accounts, customers, and audiences visiting your website. Both of these campaign types are ideal for active lead generation.
Expanding The Wallet Share: Existing Customers.
Your existing customers chose you because you met their essential requirements—the right solution at an acceptable cost. Every marketing activity should focus on moving up the value chain with these customers.
Bain's framework helps marketing teams visualize the abstract concept of "Value," providing a structured approach to deepen customer relationships.
While scalable marketing programs are crucial for out-of-market customers, the strategy shifts dramatically for existing customers. Here, marketing activities are highly personalized and often not scalable—but that's where the magic happens.
Expanding wallet share with existing customers is highly profitable, making it easier to justify resource-intensive activities.
One of my favourite strategies for wallet-share expansion is customer advocacy. Co-creating stories with your customers has dual benefits:
Deepened Commitment: When the advocacy story involves the C-suite, it strengthens your customer's commitment (e.g., ServiceNow's customer advocacy campaign in Nikkei Asia).
Attracting Similar Customers: It also attracts similar customers through the undeniable gravitational pull of Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO).
If you have made it this far - Thank you for your attention. All the slides and frameworks are free to download.
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Warm Regards,
Garima Mamgain