Stop Chasing Tactics: Why Your Business Needs a Growth Strategy, Not Just Growth Hacks

It’s the beginning of the year - the time when we shift from planning to execution. The successes of 2024 are already forgotten and the question becomes “what have you done for me lately?”

In our fast-paced, results-driven world, it’s easy for CMOs to get caught up in the execution mindset, chasing the next MQL or vanity metric without asking the critical question: Is this leading us toward real, sustainable Growth? (Yes, that’s Growth with a capital “G.”) Many marketing leaders fall into the trap of focusing on the latest tactics—a quick email blast here, a social ad there—in hopes of seeing immediate wins, often under pressure from an impatient CEO, CFO, or CRO. But true capital “G” Growth is the result of strategic investments in full funnel marketing that increases brand equity and customer loyalty and retention. Successful demand generation strategies start at the top of the funnel - with strong brand strategies and differentiated product marketing. When we focus on Growth, we drive long-term revenue, and keep customers coming back.?

Moving from growth to Growth isn't about changing your tactics—it's about redefining the marketing function’s purpose and aligning every marketing effort to the broader business vision.

I’ve learned a lot over the past 25 years as a marketing leader. I too have found myself floundering in the weeds at times. But I’ve developed a few strategies that have allowed me to up-level from “growth” to “Growth” that every aspiring marketing leader should consider adopting.?

1. Step up to lead the broader business vision and strategy, not just the marketing strategy. While it might not be the CMO’s responsibility to set the overall business strategy, it’s very difficult to do your job without it. Take the reins if you find your organization lacking a concrete strategy - as a marketing leader, you have the right market, customer, and product insights to get this rolling with your executive team. Then turn your eye to change management and ensure that there is organizational alignment, focus, and prioritization against this strategy. Without this, Marketing risks becoming order takers and doing marketing for the sake of, well, marketing, rather than in service of the growth goals of the organization. How I learned this: Both PitchBook and Assurance IQ were at an inflection point in their journey and in need of a new strategy when I joined. I identified the opportunity to lead cross-functionally and stepped up as the de facto strategy leader. I leaned heavily into a tried and true HBR article, “Can You Say What Your Strategy Is” and aligned executive leadership around a singular competitive game plan that ended up being the cornerstone of our growth and success over the subsequent years.?
2. Define and Track Strategic Growth Goals, Not Marketing Metrics. Yes, of course you need marketing metrics. But don’t get tripped up by vanity metrics… those are for YOU.? No one except your web team cares how long someone spends on your website. Instead work with your Ops team to define the core business drivers that you will report to your CEO, CFO, and Board. Do Marketing efforts accelerate deal velocity? Or increase deal size? Or open the door to new customers? Define your success narrative and back into the goals from there. How I learned this: When I was building out partner marketing at Expedia Group, we struggled with how to measure our impact on revenue; we had neither the tools or capabilities to get it right. Recognizing this gap in measurement, I worked to find causal relationships between revenue and what we COULD track and built a report that connected the marketing metrics (like tool usage) to real business drivers. This helped gain credibility with leadership and resulted in more recognition of Marketing’s value across the organization.
3. Identify the Q1 Quick Wins. Telling your CEO/CFO to “wait while I build for the long-term” just won’t cut it. By setting your sights on the Q1 win, you’ll be able to drive momentum early in the year that both motivates your team and demonstrates the value to your peers on the leadership team. How I learned this: At Assurance IQ I was charged with repositioning the brand while simultaneously driving the business towards profitability. I quickly got my arms around the business and assessed what I was working with, then set into motion a series of no-regrets moves to improve the fundamentals of the business while also laying the groundwork for the future.?
4. Operate with a Profit-Center Mindset. Manifesting a revenue driving vs a cost center mindset doesn’t mean that you won’t be asked to do more with less, but it does help ensure that Marketing will be viewed as a critical driver of the business. Think like a business owner: deeply understand your business model and the financials; worry about ALL drivers of profitability across the organization; and clearly state where marketing can - and will -? influence those drivers.? How I learned this: Early in my career, I launched Pom Wonderful pomegranate juice (you know, the one in the curvy bottle). With P&L ownership, I tracked every little detail from the cost of bottle production to the impact of couponing. I brought this P&L mindset and attention to detail to Microsoft where I delivered consistent year-over-year growth for Office, Project and Visio.
5. Lead from the Front as the Chief GTM Collaborator. The “M” in CMO = “Market”. Marketing is the indispensable resource on what your market is and where your market is heading. As such, it's incumbent on you and your team to lead from the front on go-to-market initiatives, and that includes sharing your learnings frequently with Sales (short-term focused) and Product (navel-gazing). How I learned this: At Assurance IQ, I found myself as the intermediary to data scientists and insurance experts. Balancing between these two distinctly different stakeholders required that I bring bigger picture market and customer insights, first through quick-and-dirty insights and later through third party research and customer marketing. These collaboration and insights efforts drove Assurance IQ from being a low-funnel lead generation machine to a full-funnel, customer centric insurance provider, increasing customer conversion rate by 23% and LTV:CAC by 27% in one year.

Stepping up from “growth” to “Growth” requires a shift in mindset—from chasing short-term wins to driving strategic, long-term impact. By aligning marketing with the broader business vision, focusing on meaningful growth metrics, and leading with a profit-center mentality, CMOs can position themselves as indispensable drivers of success. The path to sustainable Growth isn’t just about marketing tactics; it’s about leadership, collaboration, and a relentless focus on business outcomes. As you kick off the year, challenge yourself to move beyond random acts of marketing and take a seat at the strategy table—because real Growth starts at the top.