On the face of it, growth marketing seems like just another buzzword conjured up by marketers to differentiate their offerings and charge a premium for their services.
That being said, however, leading SAAS companies and startups swear by this relatively new subfield of marketing, and its ability to deliver results, and kickstart exponential growth even with substantially low marketing budgets to start with.
A cross-disciplinary field, growth marketing essentially brings together the different subfields of digital marketing, analytics, design, and engineering to drive exceptional value for startups, small businesses, and consumers alike.
Tips & Tricks For Choosing The Right Growth Marketing Agency
So yes, you should hire a growth marketing agency for your company, and in this article, we cover certain tips, tricks, and best practices for doing just that, all the while getting the best value for your money by choosing the right agency or service provider.
- Define Your Goals
As is the case with all endeavors, whether in business or in life, it’s good to start with a clear understanding of your goals and objectives.
Are you looking to grow your website’s traffic? Increase sales and leads, improve brand awareness, or all of the above? A clear picture in this regard will help you choose the right growth marketing agency with services and approaches that perfectly align with the same.
- Look For Industry Expertise
Growth marketing agencies come in different shapes and sizes, and more recently they’ve started offering services in particular niches, signaling expertise within particular industries.
This makes a lot of sense, considering that each niche, sub-niche, or industry comes with its own share of unique challenges and dynamics, something that takes years of trial and error to truly understand and master, before offering this expertise to customers.
Agencies with focus and expertise in a particular industry already have a good understanding of your target audience, various risks, and opportunities. They also tend to have resources and marketing materials that can help further reduce costs, and drive additional efficiencies in the process.
For example, at Story Sells, a leading product marketing agency, the focus remains entirely on B2B SAAS products and startups. As a result, the agency has all the resources, systems, and knowledge in place to get the ball rolling for your own startup with relative ease.
- Evaluate Track Record & Case Studies
Any growth marketing agency you choose to engage with should ideally have a proven track record of success, working with and delivering results to companies within your niche, and relatively of the same size as your own.
Most professional agencies highlight case studies and references to past customers and campaigns on their websites. Even though this might be biased in their favor, it is a great place to get started and understand the workings, experience, and skills offered by the agency.
When going through these case studies, look for measurable outcomes, such as an increase in revenue growth, leads, conversions, and cost of customer acquisition, among other things.
- Assess Their Systems & Approaches
Growth hacking or marketing is a dynamic field, with few standards or generalized procedures. This means individual players and agencies often develop their own unique approaches to best deliver value to customers.
This isn’t particularly a problem, but given the long-term implications these methods might have on your brand, SEO, and reputation, it is good to inquire about the processes and methodologies that agencies use when it comes to growth marketing.
They don’t have to give away their prized strategies, but a casual explanation of the methods they employ and the results they wish to achieve can help instill trust, and ensure that their approaches are broadly in-line with your goals and objectives.
Final Words
Hiring a growth marketing agency can be an absolute game changer for your startup’s growth and success.
Their knowledge, skills, and expertise can make them valuable partners as you work to scale your business, provided that you engage the right agency, after thorough consideration of the crucial factors discussed above.