Depending on who you ask, the word "aggressive" can have something of a negative connotation. But in the world of growth marketing, it's anything but. Here, it means setting the bar high and actually going the distance to meet it.
Let's dig deeper into the meaning of "aggressive" plus explore how true growth marketing can turn your aggressive revenue goals into a (very profitable) reality.
What Does "Aggressive" Really Mean?
Google the word "aggressive" and you'll see two definitions pop up:
- Ready or likely to attack or confront; and
- pursuing one's aims and interests forcefully, sometimes unduly so.
When it comes to growth marketing, only the second definition is relevant — minus the "unduly" part, of course. So when we talk about being aggressive or setting aggressive revenue goals, we're not talking about having a WWE-style smackdown with your competition (although that would certainly be entertaining).
Rather, we're talking about taking your perfectly reasonable revenue goals and turning them up a notch. In this way, aggressive marketing and revenue goals are relative to each brand.
So, if you think you can maintain a solid 2.5 percent conversion rate, why not shoot for 5 percent? If your brand is likely to generate 5,000 qualified leads in the next couple of months, why not strive to generate 8,000 — hell, even 10,000 — instead?
That's what being aggressive is really about: not meeting an arbitrary threshold, but striving to go above and beyond your brand's own "safe" revenue targets.
Why (And How) Growth Marketing Works for Aggressive Revenue Goals
Sure, those lofty marketing and revenue goals sound nice, but how do you actually go about achieving them? That's where growth marketing comes in and takes over.
Wondering what growth marketing is, exactly? I've delved into that question in-depth before, but let's briefly recap. In short, a growth marketing strategy will consist of:
- A data-driven approach that builds on tactics that have already been proven to work for your brand
- Thorough A/B testing, plus rapid improvements based on those tests' results
- Ongoing analysis and optimization to ensure you're on the right track and aren't wasting resources on ineffective tactics
Notice a pattern? Every single element of a well-rounded growth marketing strategy is based on doing what really works, not just what you think will work. Such a facts-based approach leads to concrete results that meet and often exceed expectations.
Take, for example, Slack, an app we're willing to bet your team is using as we speak. Founder Stewart Butterfield implemented growth marketing techniques from the company's inception by incorporating lessons he'd learned from his previous startup ventures, including a video game that flopped and a photo-sharing site that Yahoo acquired, but the relationship turned sour (Flickr, FYI).
Add plenty of word-of-mouth marketing and app integrations galore and you get the astronomic growth Slack experienced — about $4 billion in three years, to be exact:
Those kinds of results aren't just for Silicon Valley unicorns, though. We've seen firsthand how much of an impact growth marketing can have, and in six months increased a client's organic traffic and keywords by about 400 percent:
Most importantly, that increase in traffic and keywords also coincided with a successful achievement of the client's ambitious revenue goals. Specifically, their organic channel revenue increased by 40 percent.
How to Get Started with Growth Marketing
Ready to use growth marketing to achieve your own aggressive sales goals? You'll need to follow three key steps:
1. Focus on the Right Metrics
When you're trying to grow your brand as much as possible, you can't afford to be distracted by irrelevant metrics. For instance, while Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising will deliver short-term bursts of increased traffic, those bursts won't be indicative of long-term growth. In an ideal growth strategy, you'll be combining leveraging paid with organic for maximum impact.
So, it's important to set yourself up for success by zeroing in on the most important metrics ahead of time. These include organic traffic, revenue, and keywords, as well as conversion rates and keyword value.
2. Create Stellar Content
Since you're looking to increase revenue rather than visitor numbers, it's crucial to attract high-quality traffic with content they'll actually be interested in.
This means regular and in-depth articles, frequent social media posts, and plenty of multimedia elements, all tailored to cater to both search engines and your target audience.
So yes, content is still king, and it's absolutely necessary for meeting aggressive revenue goals.
3. Test, Adjust, and Test Again
Meeting and exceeding your marketing and revenue goals isn't a "set it and forget it" type of endeavor. Instead, it requires frequent and ongoing testing, as well as regular adjustments depending on your tests' results.
For instance, if you haven't tested your brand's calls-to-action (CTAs) recently, then it's time to do so. Once you have the results in hand, you'll be able to ensure that your CTAs are custom-tailored to suit your audience's current wants and needs.
Of course, those three steps are just the tip of the iceberg. If you want to see truly exceptional results, you'll need to account for every step of the customer journey and make sure that each portion of your marketing funnel is running like a well-oiled machine.
Once you do, your growth marketing strategy, conversion rate, and revenue are sure to reach new heights. So, just remember — "aggressive" isn't a four-letter word (literally and figuratively). And if you want an aggressive team of growth marketers on your side, First Page is here to help.
