Growth starts with smart marketing 

Growth comes from customer centricity  

Marketing is a lot more than just ads and social media posts. Fundamentally it’s about getting to know your customers – what they need, what they want and how your products or services fit into their lives. We're talking about digging into research, really listening to what customers have to say, fine-tuning what you offer and figuring out how to stand out from the crowd.  

All this is crucial if you want to grow. See your marketing team as the group that has a map of where you are and where you need to go. They're the ones who can point out the roadblocks, the stuff you might not see, and most importantly, the chances you haven't taken yet. 

Marketing can help solve your top struggles 

Growth companies run into challenges on a daily basis: not enough resources, lots of competitors, the constant need to change things up to keep up with the market.  

None of this is getting any easier in 2024. In the challenging market situation, you need a plan to help make the big decisions – a smart growth plan that really gets into the nitty-gritty of what the market and customers are all about.  

Here's how marketing can help tackle these challenges: 

• Limited resources: Modern growth marketing focuses on quick, focused sprints that intend to “fail fast and learn fast”. You're not wasting time or money on things that don't work, and you’re able to quickly scale what brings positive ROI.  

• Intense competition: Marketing is your toolkit for standing out in a packed market. You can edge out the competition by really understanding what your customers are looking for and clearly communicating what makes you different. 

• Adaptability: Today's market waits for no one. Marketing keeps you in the loop on what's happening and what your customers want, so you can switch gears fast if you need to, catching new opportunities or dodging potential setbacks. 

How to employ marketing to cultivate growth 

Let’s say you're ready to put your marketing team in the driver's seat for growth. Whether you're starting afresh or already have a team, here's where we’d suggest starting with: 

• Put marketing at the heart of strategy talks: Your marketing leaders should be right there making big strategy plans with the rest of the team. Choose leaders eager to be part of those critical conversations. 

• Link marketing with everything else: Marketing needs to be best friends with product development, sales, customer service and finance. The goal? A unified growth strategy where everyone's insights and plans mesh perfectly. Get them talking, sharing and building on each other's ideas. 

• Be okay with getting it wrong: The market won't stay still, and neither should your marketing strategies. Push for trying new things, and don't sweat the missteps. Use them to learn and refine what you do next. 

• Trust the data over gut feelings: Let hard data and analytics steer your marketing strategies. If you have a hunch, test it. Experiment with assumptions and turn the fruitful ones into solid insights supporting your business growth strategy.  

• Choose your partners wisely: You don't need to do everything yourself – it's costly and unrealistic. Look for partners who get the growth game and can identify both the resources you have and the opportunities you're missing. Be smart about what you handle in-house and who you team up with. 

The critical role of marketing in steering strategic growth is clear. For businesses aiming to scale up and navigate growth challenges, weaving marketing deeply into your strategic planning is your ticket to real, lasting success. Marketing isn't just support, but a key growth driver. 

Let’s talk about your growth 

Here at Valve, we're all in on helping you make marketing a cornerstone of your growth strategy, unlocking scalable and sustainable success.

Got some ideas buzzing after reading this? Book a quick chat with our growth expert for a free 30-minute brainstorming session!