Step 5: Repeat

Growth is everywhere you haven’t been as a business.
– Steli Efti, CEO, Close.io

The methodology behind this growth marketing strategy is meant to be repeated again and again.

Why?

Two things happen over time:

  1. Your growth goal will change.
  2. Your test results will weaken in an ever-changing marketing landscape—costs go up, channels get saturated and audiences find new platforms. This is unavoidable.

In the final video of this playbook, Nathan explains how to know it’s time to return to Step 1 and find new growth marketing tactics to move the needle.

BACK

Video transcript | Step 5: Repeat

You’ve now reached the last step of this framework.

By now you will have gained some new marketing chops and, with time, your company will be seeing some growth. Congratulations!

You will also have had some practice in using this framework—and the good news is that you will have opportunities to make use of these skills again and again and again.

This is because you never cross the finish line when it comes to marketing. It is an ongoing process.

As we’ve mentioned, platforms change, costs go up and channels become saturated. The factors that made your campaign successful at one point will not remain static. Marketing tactics can become twice as expensive or reach fewer targeted customers. And, of course, as your business grows, your growth goals and marketing needs will change.

It’s important to keep collecting and measuring data from your tests. When your metrics show that your ROI in a channel is flatlining or decreasing, or when your company’s growth goal changes, it is time to go back to Step 1. At that point, you need to repeat this framework and once again find a marketing tactic that helps you move the needle.

As you return to the brainstorming stage each time, think about what you’ve learned from previous rounds of applying the framework. Are there lessons learned that can help you this time? Are there unused ideas from previous rounds that would be useful now? Are there ways you or your team can run your tests more efficiently?

We hope this framework helps you hone your marketing efforts. Take a look at the other videos and content in this playbook. We’ve gathered first-hand experiences from growth experts on different marketing channels, as well case studies on the ins and outs of growing a venture. You may relate to some of their challenges.

While you’re doing that, this playbook will evolve too. So keep checking back with us as you build your growth engine.

Remember, life is short. Do stuff that matters.


WHAT TO DO NEXT

Lean more about testing different marketing channels—get strategies and resources on running and optimizing channel tests.

TELL US WHAT YOU THINK

Help us fit this playbook to your needs as we add new material. Tell us what you loved (and what you didn’t) and what you’d like to see.

FURTHER RESOURCES
Traction by Gabriel Weinberg & Justin Mares This is the book that inspired this playbook. It’s a valuable read. Check it out!
Hacking Growth: How Today’s Fastest-Growing Companies Drive Breakout Success by Sean Ellis Get growth marketing insights from growth hacking pioneer, Sean Ellis.
The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz Valuable wisdom on building a startup packaged in a highly readable way.
The Innovator’s Solution: Creating and Sustaining Successful Growth by Clayton Christensen and Michael E. Raynor Key reading for any entrepreneur. This classic follows on the heels of The Innovator’s Dilemma.
Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel with Blake Masters The authors take a look the future of progress and argue that innovation starts by learning to ask the right questions.
To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others by Daniel Pink Think selling is only for salespeople? Think again. This bestseller delivers practical and surprising insights.
Podcast: Project Entrepreneur’s #theTools Get ideas, strategies and tools from entrepreneurs and investors to help you build your startup.
Podcast: Ellevate Successful women discuss their business experiences, as well as the challenges, successes, and risks taken in their careers.
Podcasts: Entrepreneurship 101 (MaRS) A complementary resource to MaRS Entrepreneurship 101, this podcast features successful entrepreneurs sharing insights on a range of topics, from hyper-local selling to management fundamentals.

The Growth Marketing Playbook is based on the work of Gabriel Weinberg and Justin Mares in their 2015 book, Traction.