Tips for Creating a Growth Marketer Priority List

You only have so much money and manpower to dedicate to growing your business with.

And that means you can’t afford to waste time on strategies that don’t get you anywhere. 

Instead, you need to prioritize.

Here’s how to pick the growth strategy that will deliver the highest ROI for your business – and translate it into an actionable plan for your team to execute. 

What are the four market growth strategies?

Way back in 1957, a business manager called Igor Ansoff developed a framework that’s still used by top companies to develop growth strategies to this day.

It’s called the Ansoff Matrix, and here’s how it works:

The Ansoff Matrix defines four distinct types of marketing strategies based on whether they leverage new or existing products and markets. The more a strategy leans on existing products and markets, the less risky it is – but the lower the potential rewards.

Here’s a closer look at each of the four growth strategies so you can see which you should prioritize for your organization:

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Market Penetration

Market penetration is a strategy based around trying to increase sales of an existing product in a market it’s already established in.

This is the least risky of the four growth strategies. It revolves around doubling down on what your organization is already doing to gain more market share rather than heading into uncharted territory. Since wrestling a fraction of your existing market away from the competition generally isn’t going to be as profitable as claiming the majority of a new market, this strategy tends to have a lower ceiling in terms of potential rewards.  

A price discount is a classic market penetration tactic, as this will help tempt customers away from your competition towards you. First-class creative content or advertising campaigns can also be effective ways to lure customers away from your competition (think of the iconic “Pepsi generation” ads that successfully helped Pepsi gain market share from Coca Cola in the 80s).

You should prioritize market penetration if you’re a competitor brand trying to establish yourself in a market or an established business with a small marketing budget or a low tolerance for risk.

Market Development

Market development is the process of marketing an existing product to a new audience – or even altering an existing product so it’s more appealing to a new market.

Diet Coke is a classic example of market development. Coca-Cola responded to the number of people looking for low-calorie sodas by altering their product slightly to appeal to this new audience. 

Market development can drive serious results, but you need a very healthy marketing budget – and an appetite for risk – to make it work. The fact Coca-Cola had the budget to give Diet Coke an aggressive advertising push played a huge part in establishing it as the leading diet cola.

Every successful market development strategy starts with thorough market research. You need to understand your new audience’s exact pain points so you can pivot your product or service to solve them – and tailor your marketing around.

You should prioritize market development if your market research reveals there’s an untapped or growing market you could pivot into – and you’ve got the budget to make it work. 

Product Development

Product development is based around introducing new products or services targeted at your existing audience. 

The Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte is a classic example of product development. It’s a new item that’s still targeted at Starbucks's core audience – coffee drinkers. By expanding its range of products, Starbucks appealed to a wider section of its core market, which helped boost its market share.

Product development is another growth strategy that relies heavily on effective market research. The more clearly you understand consumer trends among your target audience, the more effective his strategy will be.

You should prioritize product development if your market research reveals a strong consumer trend you could tap into with a new product or service. 

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Diversification

Diversification – launching a new product to a new audience – is by far the riskiest of the four growth strategies. Just look at Google’s failed Glass project and Facebook’s first forays into the metaverse. If two of the world’s biggest companies can stumble with a diversification strategy then it’s clearly a risky prospect.

But it’s a strategy that has a huge upside if you pull it off. Look no further than Rolls Royce for a clear example. While most people know the company as a car brand, it’s also the world's second-largest maker of aircraft engines. Richard Branson’s Virgin Group is another example of success with this tactic, with over 40 different businesses – including a music label, a chain of hotels, and an airline – currently sitting under the Virgin umbrella. 

Diversification is essentially launching a new business or product line, but with the advantage of it being associated with your existing brand. It takes careful planning, impeccable timing, and a serious budget to get it right.

You should prioritize diversification if you’ve spotted an opportunity that’s too good to pass up – and you’ve got the resources to pursue it. 

How do I create a growth marketing plan?

The best growth strategy in the world isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on if you fail to translate it into an actionable plan for your team to execute. 

Here’s the simple five-step process for creating and executing an effective growth plan:

Understand the market

To effectively market a business, you need to understand where it sits within its market, who its core customers are, and what their pain points and aspirations are. Conducting thorough market research and taking the time to study it is essential at this stage.

Get to grips with your organization's vision and goals

Attracting the wrong kind of customers – or the right kind of customers through tactics that damage your brand in the long-term – can do more harm to your business than good. It’s therefore essential that your marketing strategy stems from your business’s vision. If it’s not helping bring that vision to life then it’s not an effective growth strategy.

Try Assembly to see how easy it can make creating a growth strategy that will bring your business’s vision to life.

Choose the right strategy

Now it’s time to take everything you know about the market and your business’s vision and use the Ansoff Matrix to decide which of the four growth strategies is right for you.

Choose the right tactics

Once you’ve settled on your growth strategy you need to work out which tactics you’re going to implement to achieve it. It’s a good idea to look at what skills and resources are at your disposal, where your business’s strengths lie, and which channels have been effective for you in the past here. Then you can break that down into projects you can start adding to your team’s to-do lists (and prioritize project tasks with these techniques).

Execute and evolve

Last but not least, it’s time to implement your tactics. It’s important to leave egos and expectations at the door here and approach each tactic like a scientific test. You’ll have the best results if you track the results then ditch the tactics that don’t help move your strategy forward and double down on those that do. 

Inevitably, you’ll hit the point of diminishing returns with even the most effective marketing tactics. And the same goes for the growth strategy you’ve chosen, too. So, be sure to keep a close eye on the data and pivot your strategy whenever results start to plateau.

The final word

So, there you have it: the complete guide to prioritizing which growth strategy is right for your organization and then seamlessly executing your plan.

Follow the steps we’ve laid out here for the best chances of successfully growing your business.