Growth Marketing 101: Ankit Maloo’s Strategies for Startups in 2024
In 2010, Sean Ellis first used the phrase “growth marketing” to characterise the experimental strategies utilised by businesses like Amazon and Airbnb. However, while many marketers have heard about growth marketing, sometimes also referred to as growth hacking, there isn’t a lot of clarity around which marketing techniques thies field actually includes.
In general terms, the growth marketing approach is based on the AARRR (which stands for Acquisition, Activation, Retention, Referral, Revenue) framework, which focuses on optimizing the full customer journey to stimulate referrals and revenue. But of course, this is still rather vague.
Growth experts like Ankit Maloo have become indispensable in guiding firms through this difficult landscape. With extensive expertise scaling many high-growth firms, including two that reached the coveted unicorn status (i.e. a valuation north of $1 billion), Maloo has obtained unique experience and expertise on how to fast-track the growth of any company.
In a recent conversation with Maloo, he explained some of his ideal strategies and growth hacking secrets to shed some light on the mysterious field of growth marketing in this day and age.
Identifying growth channels
According to Maloo, Companies that aim to create a winning marketing strategy first need to determine which growth channels would provide the ideal results. Extensive testing and measurement across a wide range of possible channels is the first step. In his words, “you start with one channel, get the basics right, go deep, and experiment.”
This method enables the systematic testing of various paths, thereby accumulating data on each channel’s effectiveness. Further, it is critical to set unambiguous success and failure metrics to make informed decisions about which channels are worth pursuing.
The next phase, after collecting preliminary data, is to examine the findings and zero in on the channels that demonstrate significant potential. Improving your strategy, expanding your efforts, or doubling down into channels that are functioning well could be part of this.
As Maloo highlights, marketers need to keep in mind that the ideal channels could vary as their business develops and the industry changes; therefore, one should always test, measure, and adapt a strategy in regular intervals.
Unlocking organic growth
Moving away from traditional advertising channels is the key to unlocking organic growth in today’s oversaturated digital market, says Maloo. He explains, “Meta and Google (the two popular channels) have been saturated and the costs are too high for new and upcoming startups to make any headway.” This truth has pushed creative marketers to think outside the box and find new ways to reach their target audiences that are both cost-effective and efficient.
Using specialised influencers, especially in the B2B sector, is a particularly effective strategy that has just come to light. Unsurprisingly, a trend that drew Maloo’s attention was influencer marketing. “One thing that caught my eye was influencer marketing and how well it’s working for B2b startups. This holds both for twitter and linkedin influencers,” he says.
Startups that want to get off the ground may consider forming partnerships with these influencers. By doing so, they can tap into pre-existing communities of prospective clients and use the confidence and authority these influencers have earned from their followers.
Other alternative avenues are also becoming popular besides influencer marketing. “Podcast ads, newsletter ads” are some of the possibilities that Maloo proposes looking into. “These are costly on the face of it but do work remarkably well when we look at the ROI and Lifetime value,” he continued.
Building familiarity
One effective tactic for B2B enterprises is demand generation, which involves raising product or service knowledge and interest before directly reaching out to potential customers. The idea of gradual familiarity is similar to what Maloo terms the “billboard strategy,” in which repeated exposure to a brand’s message establishes familiarity and trust.
The goal of this strategy focuses on identifying and targeting ideal customer profiles (ICPs) with tailored content across various channels.
Drawing on his extensive B2B marketing experience, Maloo suggests to “identify a bunch of companies (your ICP) who would immediately benefit from your offering – they may not know it yet – and then target them via all kinds of content on channels like LinkedIn, Meta etc.”
One of the compelling aspects of demand generation is its ability to warm up cold leads before any direct contact is made. Based on Maloo’s findings, this strategy may greatly improve lead quality and quantity by converting cold calls into friendly, fruitful conversations about how the company’s products and services can meet the unique requirements of each prospect.
Attribution as a game-changer
Accurately assessing and attributing strategies is crucial to determining which ones are genuinely driving the ideal outcomes. Ankit Maloo highlights the significance of having a strong attribution system in the context of intricate multi-channel marketing environments. With this approach, marketers can determine which interactions and touchpoints—from initial awareness to final conversion—are effective.
Given that the customer journey frequently includes multiple touchpoints distributed across a variety of channels, attribution must extend beyond the conventional last-click models. With attribution, previous performance can be quantified, and it has the potential to influence future strategy, which is its biggest strength.
When marketers gain a deeper understanding of the channels and messaging that resonate with their target demographic, they will be able to develop campaigns that are more targeted and generate more fruitful results.
Published by: Martin De Juan
