<section><h2>Where are you in your growth marketing journey?</h2><p><p> </p><p>When you’re just getting started, tying marketing activities directly to revenue can seem like an impossible goal. That’s why one of the most common questions we hear is: how do I get there from where I’m at today? It’s a good question. <b><i>There are 5 phases of the growth marketing journey</i></b>, but unless you know where you’re starting from, you won’t know which direction to point your feet.</p></p></section><section><h2>You're in the "Capitalizing" phase</h2><p><p> </p><p>At this fifth and final stage of the growth marketing journey, marketers are supporting sales throughout the funnel and measuring results based on revenue. They adjust campaign strategy based on revenue goals and performance in real time.</p><p>They operate from a marketing plan that is tied to revenue goals and is fully integrated with the business plan. They show results by reporting real-time, full-funnel metrics tied to revenue and profits. </p><p>Because of this, they’re seen and treated as essential employees and stars of the company. They’re on a leadership track within the organization.</p><p>Marketers at this stage are poised to reap the rewards of growth marketing – bigger budgets that come with proving ROI, a seat on leadership team and a path to becoming the Chief Marketing Officer. It’s a great time to expand your network to include growth marketing experts who can brainstorm with you and share ideas to take your growth marketing strategy to the next level.</p></p></section><section><h3>You're in the "Optimizing" phase</h3><p><p> </p><p>This is the fourth phase on the path to growth marketing. Marketers at this phase collaborate with sales to make improvements based on campaign performance. Sales sees them as an ally, and the two teams think through strategy together as one collaborative unit. </p><p>They update their marketing plan u based on performance every 90 days. Reporting is focused on full-funnel metrics tied to KPIs, they are celebrating big wins and enjoy elevated internal credibility. They are treated like valued employees and subject matter experts. </p><p> </p><p>Marketers at this stage need optimize their growth programs for better return on investment. They need to analyze which strategies and tactics are working the best, and which ones should be eliminated. Parts 4 and 12 in the Ultimate Growth Marketing Playbook are great resources to learn how to attribute revenue to the original source of the lead, experiment with new or improved tactics, and focus efforts where they matter the most.</p></p></section><section><h3>You're in the "Measuring" phase</h3><p><p> </p><p>This is the third phase of the growth marketing journey. By now, marketers can build awareness, generate leads, and can report on and analyze the quality of those leads. They have laid the groundwork for alignment with the sales team by agreeing upon shared definitions of lead, marketing qualified lead, and sales qualified lead. And they operate from an annual marketing plan that is integrated with the overall business plan, and report on monthly metrics tied to key performance indicators (KPIs).</p><p>But while they feel good about their accomplishments, they’re likely finding it hard to fully prove value to senior leaders who focus on the revenue numbers.</p><p> Marketers at this stage need prove that their growth programs drive revenue. Their organization’s CRM system should contain a wealth of information on that status of the leads given to sales, including conversion rates from marketing qualified lead (MQL) to sales qualified lead (SQL), from SQL to opportunity and from opportunity to won. Part 11 in the Ultimate Growth Marketing Playbook is a great resource to learn how to identify the value of efforts.</p></p></section><section><h3>You're in the "Managing" phase</h3><p><p> </p><p>This is the second phase of the growth marketing journey. Marketers in this stage have evolved from simply generating awareness to generating leads. However, they usually don’t know what happens to those leads after they pass them off to the sales team. They create content for sales, but because there is very little alignment between the two departments, these marketers are never really sure if the content is being used.</p><p> </p><p>Marketers at this stage need to rethink their relationship with sales, and get deeply involved in the sales process. This means agreeing on what a great lead looks like, understanding the steps sales goes through to turn a lead into an opportunity, and what resources are needed to close the deal. Part 7 in the Ultimate Growth Marketing Playbook is a great resource to learn how to partner with sales to drive revenue.<b></b></p></p></section><section><h3>You're in the "Emerging" phase</h3><p><p> </p><p>This is where we all began at some point. Marketers in the emerging stage are rooted in traditional, top of funnel marketing. They typically execute activities without following an agreed upon marketing plan, focus more on brand awareness than lead generation, and are isolated from sales. They may also feel that their efforts are under-appreciated, and worry that their jobs are at risk.</p><p> </p><p>The first step for Marketers in the emerging stage is to become more familiar with the concepts of growth marketing, so that they can rethink their approach and develop a plan that connects their effort to sales goals and revenue contribution. Parts 1 – 6 in the Ultimate Growth Marketing Playbook are a great resource to learn about what to include in a growth marketing plan and how to get sales involved. </p></p></section><section><h2>Social Media</h2><p><p>How would you describe your social media strategy?</p></p></section><section><h3>Email</h3><p><p>How would you describe your email strategy?</p></p></section><section><h3>SEO</h3><p><p> How would you describe your SEO strategy? </p></p></section><section><h3>Content</h3><p><p> How would you describe your content strategy? </p></p></section><section><h3>Website</h3><p><p>How would you describe your website? </p></p></section>