The Comprehensive Guide to Sustainable Business Growth: Beyond Performance Marketing

Introduction

Spoiler: Its not easy! Marketing is probably the most underestimated business discipline: Everyone thinks they know how its done. Guess what: It's not that simple.

As a digital marketing consultant, I frequently get approached by potential clients eager to grow their business rapidly. Their initial question often revolves around performance marketing—specifically, Meta or Google ads. While performance marketing can be a powerful tool, it’s not the only avenue to sustainable growth. This blog post will delve into a more holistic approach to growth, exploring the entire marketing funnel from Awareness to Loyalty.

First of: What does "growing sustainable" mean exactly? Growing by being profitable, earning more than it costs to get a customer. In Marketing we calculate it by ROI (return on marketing spend): (Sales Growth - Marketing Cost) / Marketing Cost = ROI. This is the simplest way, of course there is some more nuance to this. More on that in a next post.

Understanding the Marketing Funnel

The marketing funnel comprises five key stages:

1. Awareness
2. Consideration
3. Acquisition
4. Retention
5. Loyalty

Focusing exclusively on performance marketing at the top of the funnel (Awareness) often leads to unsustainable and costly growth and will not do good on your ROI but also it usually hits a plateau when its simply not possible to grow via paid campaigns anymore. To truly thrive, businesses need to address each stage of the funnel comprehensively.

Stage 1: Awareness

Goal: Make potential customers aware of your brand.

Strategies:

• Performance Marketing: Utilize Meta, Google, and other digital ads to reach a broad audience.
• Content Marketing: Create valuable content that addresses the pain points of your target audience. Blog posts, infographics, and videos can drive organic traffic and build brand awareness.
• Social Media Marketing: Engage with your audience on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Share content, participate in conversations, and run social ads. (A full guide with tipps and tricks coming soon on this channel ??). PRO Tip: Don't forget to comment consistently within your community and on influencer posts placing your brand. Its tedious work but will go a long way and is basically for free.

Stage 2: Consideration

Goal: Encourage potential customers to consider your product or service.

Strategies:

• Email Marketing: Nurture leads through targeted email campaigns. Share case studies, testimonials, and informative content to build trust. Caveat: Be careful on sending cadence, you do not want to spam your customer base)
• Remarketing Ads: Use remarketing to re-engage visitors who have interacted with your site but haven't converted. (Pro-Tip: Watch out that you set a limit as to how many times people see your ad over and over again, it can lead to annoyance.)
• Reviews: A lot of companies underestimate the power of reviews. They are the lifeblood of your marketing because if you buy your potential customers via paid marketing but your reviews stink, this is money down the drain. You can actively push good reviews by building a great product, automise the review feedback process by asking customers a few days/weeks after the bought to review your business on Trustpilot, Google Maps, App Store etc. If you can afford it have one person/team or yourself check your reviews and answer to them every day.

Stage 3: Acquisition

Goal: Convert potential customers into paying customers.

Strategies:

• Optimized Landing Pages: Create compelling, user-friendly landing pages with clear calls to action. Ensure they are optimized for conversions.
• Special Offers: Provide limited-time discounts or bonuses to incentivize purchases.
• Seamless Checkout Process: Simplify the checkout process to reduce cart abandonment. Ensure your website is mobile-friendly and supports various payment methods.

Stage 4: Retention

Goal: Keep customers engaged and encourage repeat purchases.

Strategies:

• Customer Support: Offer exceptional customer service to address any issues promptly. Use chatbots, help centers, and responsive support teams. Especially when you are a small brand, it is great way to get ahead of those larger firms and corporates because they usually use unpersonalised bots that suck ?? and people really do appreciate a personal approach).
• Upsell and Cross-sell: Identify opportunities to upsell or cross-sell related products or services. Personalized recommendations can significantly boost sales. I see it all the time: Businesses are not aware of the gold nuggets in their customer base, there is usually so much potential and its easy to set up and its free!.
• Loyalty Programs: Implement a loyalty program that rewards repeat purchases. Offer points, discounts, or exclusive access to new products.

Stage 5: Loyalty

Goal: Turn customers into brand advocates who promote your business.

Strategies:

• Referral Programs: Encourage satisfied customers to refer friends and family. Offer incentives for successful referrals.
• Customer Reviews and Testimonials: Actively seek out and promote customer reviews and testimonials. Positive feedback builds trust and credibility.
• Community Building: Create a community around your brand. Use social media groups, forums, and events to foster a sense of belonging among your customers. Newsletters can be a great addition to keep your fanbase engaged.

Holistic Growth Strategy

While performance marketing plays a crucial role in driving traffic and generating leads, it’s essential to look beyond the top of the funnel. A sustainable growth strategy requires a comprehensive approach that addresses every stage of the marketing funnel.

Here are a few key takeaways:

1. Break Down Your Customer Base: Identify upsell opportunities and ways to move free users into paid products or services with proper incentives.
2. Analyze the Customer Journey: Look for points to integrate growth loops. For example, Dropbox’s referral program significantly boosted its user base.
3. Evaluate Your Reviews: Ensure you have positive reviews before investing heavily in paid ads. Poor reviews can deter potential customers and lead to wasted ad spend.
4. Consistent Messaging: Maintain clear and consistent messaging and visual language across all customer touchpoints that speaks to your target group. This reinforces your brand and makes your marketing efforts more effective.

Conclusion

Growth is a multifaceted process that extends beyond performance marketing. By addressing each stage of the marketing funnel, businesses can achieve sustainable and impactful growth. Whether it’s nurturing leads through email campaigns, optimizing the checkout process, or building a loyal customer base, a holistic approach is key.

If you’re ready to take your business to the next level, let’s create a comprehensive growth plan tailored to your unique needs. Together, we can unlock new opportunities and drive lasting success.

Teaser: My next post will be about how to define your ideal target group. Because executing this funnel only makes sense if you know who to target ??. So make sure you subscribe to this newsletter.