15 growth marketing tips that will boost your campaigns performance

Discover the secrets of rapid business growth from a growth marketing expert. What people to hire, how to manage a team, launch experiments, what tools to use, and a list of proven examples to inspire you.

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growth marketing guide

Growth marketing has been making waves in the business world, and for good reason. 

Did you know that according to a recent study, companies that employ growth marketing tactics see a whopping 78% increase in customer acquisition and 60% boost in retention rates compared to those that don’t? That’s right, growth marketing is no longer a ‘nice-to-have’ strategy—it’s an essential ingredient for success in the fast-paced SaaS industry.

So it’s time to turbocharge your SaaS sales funnel and unlock the hidden potential of growth marketing. 

In this action-packed article, we’ll dive into the world of growth marketing tips and tricks that cater to all stages of the SaaS sales funnel. Trying to enhance the entire funnel all at the same time is one of the funnel-killing mistakes, so the tips will be tailored for a step-by-step enhancement. 

Whether you’re an aspiring growth hacker or a seasoned pro, we’re confident that you’ll find these strategies to be game-changers. 

If you’re ready to kick mediocrity to the curb and take your SaaS company from zero to hero, read on!

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Growth marketing and its benefits

So, what is growth marketing, you ask? 

In a nutshell, it’s a supercharged, data-driven approach to marketing that focuses on the entire customer journey — from awareness and acquisition to engagement, retention, and customer led growth

The goal of the growth marketing team is to attract more leads, keep them engaged, and ultimately, turn them into loyal, happy customers who can’t stop raving about your brand.

Now, let’s talk about why growth marketing is the bee’s knees compared to traditional marketing:

  • Holistic approach. While traditional marketing often focuses on just one aspect of the customer journey (think: advertising, public relations, or social media), growth marketing is all about the big picture. It optimizes every single touchpoint in the customer journey, ensuring a seamless and delightful experience for your audience.
  • Data-driven decision. Growth marketers are like Sherlock Holmes — they love using data to uncover hidden insights and opportunities. They’re constantly testing, analyzing, and iterating to find the most effective strategies with various growth marketing tools. So, say goodbye to gut feelings and hello to data-driven decision-making!
  • Agile and flexible entity. In the fast-paced world of digital marketing, being able to adapt quickly is crucial. Growth marketing embraces an agile mindset, allowing marketers to pivot and change course as needed. This means you can respond faster to market changes and stay ahead of the competition.
  • Cost-effective approach. Growth marketing is all about getting the most bang for your buck. By focusing on high-impact growth hacking tips and constantly optimizing, marketers can achieve better results with less budget. So, it’s not just about throwing money at the problem—it’s about working smarter, not harder!
  • Long-term growth. Traditional marketing often focuses on short-term wins, but hacking growth is all about playing the long game. By building strong relationships with customers and focusing on their lifetime value, growth marketing can help your business achieve sustainable, long-term growth.

The list turned out pretty convincing, don’t you think? 🤔 Hope so, because we carry on!

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The AARRR framework

It’s time to set sail on the high seas of the AARRR framework — or as it’s also known, product metrics framework or the Pirate Metrics. Don’t worry, you won’t need an eye-patch or a parrot for this adventure, but you will need a thirst for growth and a desire to make your sales funnel work for you like never before.

The AARRR framework is a simple yet powerful way to organize your marketing growth strategy and break down the customer journey into five key stages:

growth marketing tips for the whole funnel

Let’s take a quick look at each stage 👀

1. Acquisition: This is all about attracting potential customers to your brand. It’s the “Ahoy, me hearties!” moment when they first discover your product or service.

2. Activation: This stage is about turning visitors into engaged users. It’s when they say, “Aye, aye, Captain!” and start interacting with your product or service, realizing the value it brings to their lives.

3. Retention: Now that you’ve got their attention, you’ll want to keep them coming back for more. Retention is about building lasting relationships with your users and ensuring they stay engaged and happy with your product or service.

4. Referral: This is the stage where your loyal customers become your brand ambassadors, spreading the word about your amazing product or service. It’s when they exclaim, “Arrr, matey, you’ve got to try this!” to their friends and colleagues. Make sure to check out these range of referral marketing tools which can help you create a program that you can easily scale.

5. Revenue: Last but not least, it’s time to make some treasure! Revenue is about converting those engaged, loyal users into paying customers, and ultimately, growing your business.

Now that you know the basics of the AARRR framework, it’s important to understand that you’ll need to work out strategies for each stage of the sales funnel. Why? Because each stage requires a unique approach. So pay special attention to each step, while creating your growth hacking canvas.

By optimizing each stage step-by-step, you’ll design a seamless customer journey map that keeps users engaged, happy, and ready to spread the word about your brand. And let’s not forget — growing that treasure chest of revenue!

Read also: RevOps vs Sales Ops and Growth marketing vs performance marketing.

Now let’s move on to growth marketing tips for each stage of the journey.

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Grab a free template to tailor up your own growth marketing strategy

Acquisition stage growth marketing tips

So, the first and oh-so-important stage of the sales funnel: Acquisition!

This stage is all about getting your SaaS product in front of potential customers and making them go, “Wow, I need that in my life!” Here, every growth hypothesis is about spreading awareness and generating interest, so people start taking notice of your brand. 

Now, here are three tips for growth hacking on how to spread awareness about your SaaS product and make a splash in the market.

Content marketing magic 🎩

Share your knowledge, expertise, and insights through valuable content like blog posts, whitepapers, and videos. By offering helpful tips and solutions, you’ll establish yourself as an authority in your niche and attract more potential customers. 

Remember, people love a good story, so don’t be afraid to share case studies and customer success stories to showcase the real-world impact of your product.

BTW, here are some success stories of the Dashly customers 👇

Leverage influencers and partnerships 👫

Partner with influencers and other businesses that share a similar target audience. By collaborating on joint webinars, podcasts, or guest posts, you’ll tap into their established networks and get your SaaS product in front of a larger audience. Remember, teamwork makes the dream work!

Social media buzz 🐝

Dive into the world of social media and engage with your target audience on platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. Share updates, industry news, and your latest content pieces to keep your audience hooked. Social media growth hacking tools will help you with it.

Also, don’t forget to participate in relevant online communities and discussions. By being active and responsive, you’ll build trust and credibility with potential customers. These are the most important growth hacking tips for startups.

Read also: 25 Growth Marketing Books to Skyrocket Success

Activation stage tips

Alright, now that we’ve tackled the Acquisition stage, let’s move on to the next exciting step in the sales funnel: Activation! 🎉 Every growth marketing test at this stage is aimed at helping your potential customers experience the true value of your SaaS product and turning them into engaged users who can’t wait to explore more.

Offer a seamless onboarding experience 🛬

The first few minutes of a user’s interaction with your product can make or break their experience. Make sure to create an intuitive and user-friendly onboarding process that guides new users through your product’s key features. You can use interactive tutorials, in-app messages, or even short videos to help them get started with ease.

Use chatbots to engage with users in real-time, answer their questions, and guide them through your product. By being responsive and available, you’ll build trust and help them realize the value of your SaaS solution faster.

Here’s an example of an onboarding chatbot from one of Dashly customers 👉

The product had quite a complicated learning curve, so few users reached the targeted action.

Thanks to the chatbot, a new user:

  • is automatically engaged in the conversation and qualified to get tailored experience;
  • is guided through the product step-by-step; 
  • receives instructions and scenarios in the chat widget: 
  • sets up the company’s tools faster, places referral links, and increases the company’s revenue.

As a result, the company sped up user activation by 2.5 times and grew conversion to the targeted action by 33%.

chatbot tips for growth hacking
Set up your own onboarding chatbot with Dashly. Sign up for a 7-day free trial

💡 You can also launch pop-ups to increase user engagement. Strategically use them to prompt users to take specific actions, like signing up for a webinar or trying out a new feature. By providing timely, helpful prompts, you’ll nudge users in the right direction and help them get the most out of your product.

Personalize the experience 🎯

Everyone loves feeling special, right? Personalize your user’s experience by tailoring the content and messaging to their unique needs and preferences. You can use data gathered during the Acquisition stage to segment your audience and deliver customized experiences that resonate with them on a deeper level.

To learn more about your potential customers, use visitor behavior tracking. It will give you plenty of insights on interactions with your website:

  • Pages they visited;
  • Buttons they clicked;
  • Messages they received.

All data is stored within one lead card for further segmentation and communication personalization.

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Provide top-notch support and resources 📚

Show your users that you care by offering exceptional support and a wealth of resources like FAQs, knowledge bases, and webinars. By addressing their concerns and helping them overcome any hurdles, you’ll demonstrate your commitment to their success and foster a strong, lasting relationship.

LeadGen App, Dashly’s SaaS customer, had a help center page that collected all the FAQs in one place. They launched an FAQ chatbot, so user could find answers to their question faster:

chatbot growth hacking tips
Launch an FAQ chatbot and answer user queries 24/7. Sign up for a 7-day free trial

Chatbot helped alleviate the workload of LeadGen App’s support agents and doubled user engagement on the website. 

These tips will help you increase your key growth marketing metrics.

Retention stage tips

Now that we’ve conquered the Activation stage, let’s dive into the next crucial phase of the sales funnel: Retention!  

This stage is all about keeping your customers engaged and happy, so they stick around and continue using your SaaS product. It’s the secret sauce to building long-lasting relationships and ensuring your customers come back for more, the essential part of Product Led Growth Marketing.

Read also: A secret collection of growth marketing services Dashly team uses daily

Regularly update and improve your product 🛠️

Keep your SaaS solution fresh and relevant by regularly updating it with new features, enhancements, and bug fixes. It’s one of the crucial SaaS growth hacks. This shows your customers that you’re committed to their success and always looking for ways to make their experience even better.

Use triggered emails to keep customers informed about new features, updates, and helpful resources. This not only helps them get the most out of your product but also reminds them of the ongoing value you provide.

Here’s an example of Freedom24, Dashly’s FinTech customer 👉

They use emails to share weekly updates from platform’s users and give inspiration for new investment ideas.

email growth hacking tips for startups

Listen and learn from your customers 📣

Encourage feedback and actively listen to your customers’ needs and pain points. Real customer reviews keep you on your toes, so you keep connection with your audience.

By addressing their concerns and implementing their suggestions, you’ll create a sense of trust and loyalty, and they’ll feel valued and heard.

One of the easiest way to collect reviews is launching a feedback chatbot 👇

feedback chatbot growth marketing tips

Reward loyalty and celebrate success 🏆

Recognize and reward your customers’ loyalty by offering incentives, discounts, or exclusive access to new features. Celebrate their achievements and milestones, and let them know how much you appreciate their support.

Want more ideas for your growth experiments? We’re ready to help! 👇

Referral stage tips

Ready for the next exciting stage in the sales funnel? Let’s talk about Referral! This stage is all about turning your happy, satisfied customers into brand ambassadors who can’t wait to spread the word about your amazing SaaS product to their friends, colleagues, and networks.

Create a referral program that rocks 🚀

Offer incentives and rewards to your customers for referring new users to your product. It could be anything from discounts, freebies, or exclusive access to new features. Make it easy for them to share their unique referral links via email, social media, or messaging apps. 

Remember, everyone loves a good deal, so make sure your referral program is too good to resist!

Leverage user-generated content 📸

Encourage your customers to share their experiences, success stories, or even tips and tricks on using your product. User-generated content not only helps showcase the real-world impact of your SaaS solution but also adds credibility and trust, making it more likely for potential users to give your product a try.

We love sharing reviews from our customer on our website:

Build a sense of community and belonging 🤝

Cultivate a strong community around your brand by engaging with your customers on social media, online forums, or even hosting webinars and events. When your customers feel like they’re part of something bigger, they’ll be more likely to share their positive experiences with others and invite them to join the party.

Revenue stage tips

Alright, we’ve made it to the final and super important stage of the sales funnel: Revenue! 💰 This stage is all about turning those engaged and loyal users into paying customers, and ultimately, increasing your SaaS product’s revenue. 

Read also: Your Growth Marketing Strategy Template with guide and examples

Offer flexible pricing and plans 🎛️

Make your SaaS product accessible to a broader audience by offering a variety of pricing plans and options. Consider including a free trial or freemium plan to attract new users, and provide tiered pricing to cater to different needs and budgets. It’s essential for successful B2B growth marketing.

By making it easy for users to upgrade or customize their plans, you’ll increase the chances of turning them into paying customers.

Answer all the question and dispel doubts about pricing in-time. For this, you can use a chatbot on the pricing page that tells about plans in details and helps pick the best option.

LeadGen App used a Dashly chatbot to work with users on the pricing page. It helped:

  • Answer FAQs;
  • Pick the most suitable pricing plan;
  • Lead users to the sign-up page.
faq chatbot growth hacking tips for startups
faq chatbot growth marketing tips

Eventually, chatbot helped increase sales by 31% and alleviated the workload of support agents significantly. 

Cross-sell and upsell like a pro 🛍️

Identify opportunities to cross-sell and upsell your existing customers. Keep an eye out for users who might benefit from additional features or services, and offer them personalized recommendations. By showing them how they can get even more value from your product, you’ll not only boost revenue but also strengthen customer relationships.

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Monitor and optimize your sales funnel 📈

Regularly analyze your sales funnel to identify areas of improvement and optimize your strategies accordingly. 

Focus on removing any bottlenecks or friction points that might be preventing users from converting to paying customers. Look for inspiration for your B2C or B2B growth hacking strategies from your competitors. You can also find new ideas on the pages of our growth marketing playbook.

By continually refining your funnel, you’ll increase the chances of users moving smoothly through the stages and ultimately boosting your revenue.

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The bottom line

Growth marketing is all about taking a holistic approach to the customer journey and optimizing every stage of the sales funnel. Remember, the key to success is constant experimentation and improvement. 

Don’t be afraid to test out new strategies, learn from your successes and failures, and adapt to the ever-changing needs of your target audience.

By focusing on the AARRR framework (Acquisition, Activation, Retention, Referral, and Revenue), you’ll create a seamless and enjoyable experience for your users, turning them into loyal customers and brand advocates. 

From spreading awareness to generating revenue, the journey is filled with countless opportunities for growth and success 🚀

If you need more inspo for your growth strategy, we can help 👇

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