Now that you’ve articulated your growth goals, it’s time to map out a strategy to achieve them.
For this step, you’ll need have a solid understanding of two key metrics: customer acquisition cost (CAC) and customer lifetime value (LTV).
Ready to start? In this step, you’ll brainstorm marketing channels and tactics to reach your customers and then evaluate which of these are most viable.
Involve your team in the brainstorming to get different ideas and perspectives. Watch out for any bias toward certain tactics and channels—it’s too soon to decide what will work or not work.
Keep your customer discovery data handy so you can stay focused on your target market.
Watch the video and then complete the activities in the spreadsheet (see below).
Paid channels |
Earned (“free”) channels |
Social (e.g., paid Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn) | Social (e.g., free Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) |
Direct sales | PR (e.g., free media publicity, promotion from internal employees) |
Out of home (e.g., paid billboards, subway ads) | Virality (e.g., referrals from existing customers) |
Affiliate (paid programs for partners to promote) | SEO (e.g., inbound & outbound keyword tactics, backlinks, content) |
Trade shows (paid space at events) | Community building (e.g., local meet-ups, speaking engagements, thought leadership content) |
While there are no easy answers to this, remember that you’re the expert in understanding your target market. Think about what you already know your customers and how/where you are most likely to reach them. What are their likes and dislikes, problems and challenges? Are they tech-savvy? What is their demographic?
As you work through Step 2, these strategies can help you prioritize your top channels:
Get insights on key marketing channels.
Get key insights on customer development from growth marketing expert, Alison Gibbins.
HubSpot blog: The 6 Marketing Metrics & KPIs Your CEO Actually Cares About [Cheat Sheet] | Learn more about key marketing metrics, including cost of customer acquisition (CAC) and the ratio of customer lifetime value to CAC (LTV:CAC). |
Smile.io blog: How To Calculate Your Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) | This in-depth look at CAC is presented in an easy-to-understand way. Well worth the read. |
Smile.io blog: The Easy Way to Calculate Customer Lifetime Value | This in-depth look at customer lifetime value (LTV) is also presented in an easy-to-understand way. |
Startup = Growth
– Paul Graham, Y Combinator
The Growth Marketing Playbook is based on the work of Gabriel Weinberg and Justin Mares in their 2015 book, Traction.