What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word marketing? It could be commercialisation, exchange of goods and services, or simply reaching out to people.
But do you understand the different types of marketing exist or are you familiar with the ways through which marketing practices can be conducted?
In this article, I will be discussing all major types of marketing. But, before delving into the specifics, it's crucial to recognise the significant advancements in marketing practices, particularly in the realm of digital marketing.
In recent years, the landscape of marketing has undergone a profound transformation, largely driven by the integration of artificial intelligence (AI).
This cutting-edge technology has revolutionised how businesses approach their marketing strategies.
AI-powered tools now enable companies to gather and analyze vast amounts of data, allowing for highly targeted and personalised marketing campaigns.
AI in marketing enhances ad targeting and content optimisation. Chatbots provide 24/7 support, boosting customer satisfaction and brand loyalty. These innovations make digital marketing crucial for success in today's dynamic business environment.
Let's start with the first type of marketing i.e.-
1. Growth Marketing
Growth marketing focuses on the ultimate customer and its goal is to create a long-lasting relationship with them. It works with the motive of increasing the customer acquisition rate and the revenue from the sales.
Growth marketing is a customer-centric approach aimed at establishing enduring relationships. Its primary objectives are augmenting customer acquisition rates and boosting sales revenue.
This strategy is distinguished by its sophisticated use of data analytics. It involves meticulous examination and comprehension of customer behaviour. This data forms the foundation for campaign strategies and rigorous testing.
1.1 Key Tools of Growth Marketing
It encompasses customer lifestyle analysis, A/B testing, and multi-channel marketing techniques. By leveraging these technically advanced components, growth marketing pinpoints the most effective strategies for driving revenue.
It is a little more complex as it uses a high level of data to read, analyse, and understand the customer more precisely. This data is then used in running the campaigns and performing tests.
It uses technically driven tools or components like customer lifestyle, a/b testing, and other cross-channel marketing to find the most effective marketing results.
Here are a few examples of companies that have extensively used growth marketing in the past.
1.2 Statistics showcasing the impact on the company’s growth:
1. Airbnb:
Strategy: Referral programs and SEO optimisation.
Impact: Over 10 million nights booked by 2012.
2. Dropbox:
Strategy: Successful referral program.
Impact: Went from 100,000 to over 4 million users in 15 months.
3. Netflix:
Strategy: Data-driven personalisation.
Impact: 200+ million paid subscribers in 2021.
4. Spotify:
Strategy: Social media integration and personalized playlists.
Impact: 365+ million monthly users in 2021.
5. Uber:
Strategy: Referral programs, discounts, and promotions.
Impact: Over 110 million users globally by 2020.
6. Slack:
Strategy: Word-of-mouth, integrations, freemium model.
Impact: 12+ million daily users as of 2020.
7. HubSpot:
Strategy: Content marketing, SEO, inbound techniques.
Impact: Revenue growth from $255 million in 2015 to over $883 million in 2020.
These companies exemplify how growth marketing can lead to substantial user acquisition, retention, and revenue growth. Specific statistics may vary based on sources and timeframes.
2. Product Marketing
As the name suggests product marketing is concerned with the products, a company, an organisation, or a startup willing to sell to its potential customers. In simple words, product marketing refers to the continuous process right from finding the needs of the customers to after-sales services.
2.1 Identifying customer needs is a critical step in product marketing, as it forms the foundation for creating and promoting products that resonate with the target audience.
2.2 This process involves several key components:
Market Research: Dive deep into industry trends, competitor strategies, and customer behavior to uncover opportunities.
Customer Segmentation: Divide target markets based on demographics, psychographics, and behavior for tailored offerings.
Surveys and Feedback: Engage customers directly for vital insights into preferences, pain points, and expectations.
Competitor Analysis: Scrutinise competitors' products and strategies to identify market gaps to fill strategically.
Feedback Loops: Establish communication channels for ongoing customer engagement, listening to evolving needs.
Prototype Testing: Gather direct customer feedback through prototypes or beta versions before the official release.
Data Analytics: Utilise tools to reveal customer behaviour patterns, guiding decisions on product features and pricing.
Post-Sales Feedback: Analyse post-sales data and customer reviews to understand how well the product meets expectations.
This iterative process ensures products not only meet customer needs but also position the company for enduring market success.
It focuses on creating a demand in the market, analysing the needs of the customers, studying the potential market locations, and a lot more to keep the sales up. The most important factor is the customer, and It also gives the product marketing team feedback on where to improve.
3. Performance Marketing
Performance marketing depends on the targets achieved or fulfilled by the performance marketeer, and the payment is based on the targets achieved.
Performance marketing relies on meeting specific targets set by the performance marketer, and compensation is directly tied to achieving these goals. It operates primarily in the digital sphere, encompassing lead generation, campaign management, and brand/product/service promotion across various digital platforms like social media. This approach aims to enhance customer engagement and subsequently convert leads into potential buyers.
In performance marketing, Pay-Per-Click (PPC) campaigns play a crucial role. These are advertising campaigns where advertisers pay a fee each time their ad is clicked. This model ensures that marketers only pay for actual user engagement with their content, making it a highly effective and measurable strategy.
3.1 Performance marketers meticulously track vital metrics to assess campaign success:
Click-Through Rate (CTR): This gauges the percentage of users clicking an ad after viewing it, indicating its relevance and engagement level.
Conversion Rate: It measures the percentage of users completing a desired action post-ad-click, like making a purchase or filling a form.
Cost Per Click (CPC): This reflects the expense for each ad click and significantly influences the campaign's ROI.
Quality Score: An assessment of keyword, ad copy, and landing page relevance and quality. A higher score leads to better placements and reduced costs.
Return on Advertising Spend (ROAS): It evaluates revenue generated versus campaign costs, a pivotal metric for profitability assessment.
3.2 Key performance indicators:
(KPIs) include Acquisition and Retention Metrics
ROI, Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV)
Conversion Metrics.
Performance marketers use data to optimize campaigns for maximum efficiency and aim for the highest return on investment.
Performance marketing is a digital form of marketing where the service providers create leads, run campaigns, and advertise the brands, products, or services on different social media and other digital platforms to increase customer interaction and thus convert them into potential buyers.
3.3 Key terminology used by performance marketers in their day-to-day operations includes:
CPA (Cost Per Acquisition): This metric represents the cost incurred by the marketer for each successful acquisition of a customer or lead.
CPS (Cost Per Sale): CPS denotes the cost associated with generating a sale. It measures the expenses incurred for each successful transaction.
CPL (Cost Per Lead): CPL represents the cost incurred by the marketer for each generated lead. It calculates the expenses associated with acquiring potential customers.
CPM (Cost Per Mille): CPM assesses the cost for every thousand impressions or views generated by an advertisement. It is particularly relevant in display advertising and is used to compare the efficiency of different advertising channels.
4. Digital Marketing
Digital marketing is the new era and has become the base of marketing your products or services. With the introduction of the internet and social media, digital marketing has taken new in taking business growth to another.
.
4.1 Evolution of Digital Marketing
In other words, Digital marketing serves as a foundational and universal element across all modern marketing strategies. Initially, marketing efforts were primarily focused on digital platforms due to the advent of the Internet and social media.
However, as marketing needs evolved, strategies became more sophisticated and strategic.
It refers to the promotion of goods and services on digital platforms like TV, phones, emails, and digital hoardings.
4.2 Digital Marketing Tools
Within this realm, techniques like SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), social media marketing, and affiliate marketing have become pivotal tools. In essence, digital marketing has not only revolutionised how products and services are marketed but has also become a crucial component of contemporary marketing strategies, influencing their overall effectiveness and reach.
5. Account-Based Marketing
Unlike other marketing strategies where the target customers are large and unspecified, account-based marketing ABM focuses on specific individual accounts that work as a market for the companies. These accounts give them higher ROI and more leads. This tailored focus tends to yield a higher Return on Investment (ROI) and generates more leads
In account-based marketing and sales, both teams work together to target the potential turrets, create quality customer profiles, collaborate with them closely, and finally, approach them using information regarding their needs, and preferences.
They collectively identify and prioritise potential accounts, craft detailed customer profiles, and then engage with these prospects based on their specific needs and preferences. This personalised strategy enhances the likelihood of securing valuable and long-lasting business relationships.
5.1 The process of ABM is not too complex but requires a set of skills to make it successful:
Identifying Key Accounts: Select specific individual accounts with high value for the company.
Prioritizing Accounts: Rank and prioritize these accounts based on their potential impact.
Creating Detailed Profiles: Develop comprehensive customer profiles for these key accounts.
Collaborative Efforts: Foster close collaboration between the marketing and sales teams.
Tailored Engagement: Engage with prospects based on their unique needs and preferences.
Enhanced Relationships: This personalized approach increases the likelihood of forming enduring and valuable business relationships, ultimately leading to higher ROI and increased lead generation.
6. Conclusion
Through this article, I shared a comprehensive overview of various types of marketing strategies.
I discussed the five major types:
Growth Marketing, which emphasises building lasting customer relationships and utilises data-driven tools for effective results;
Product Marketing, which covers the entire process from identifying customer needs to after-sales services;
Performance Marketing, a digital approach where payment is based on achieving specific targets;
Digital Marketing, leveraging internet and social media platforms for promotion;
and
Account-Based Marketing, which focuses on specific individual accounts for higher ROI and lead generation.
As a professional marketer, I have shared valuable insights into each type, aiming to enhance the understanding of diverse marketing practices. I hope you got something valuable from this article. Stay tuned for my coming articles.
Comments