At the core of CLG, there are just three components:

• Targeted customer research;
• The top-priority customer’s Job-to-Be-Done definition;
• The top-priority customer’s experience/journey map.

Yes, just three. But pretty big ones, right?

Once you have them, you can use them to solve any number of business problems. Working through the CLG framework opens your eyes in a way—it highlights both the gaps and the opportunities that exist in and for your business.

A common one is customer acquisition. Addressing churn. Closing sales. Turning one-time purchasers into lifelong customers. Creating a referral program. And so many more!

“Customer-led growth” is a SaaS-inspired term coined by Georgiana Laudi and Claire Suellentrop from Forget the Funnel. Think “product-led growth”, “sales-led growth”, “marketing-led growth”—these are all popular models in the technology sector. Even though CLG is also “something”-led growth, it is not meant to replace these models, but complement them. I believe it can work in perfect tandem with a sales-led company and a marketing-led startup alike!

Customer-led growth can work in perfect tandem with a sales-led company and a marketing-led startup alike.

I’ll go even further and say that being customer-led lays the solid foundation for your company to make a conscious decision to become anything-first. And then rock it, own it and win at it.

CLG is not synonymous with marketing strategy but it is a great framework for developing a superb one. This is what got me interested and what ultimately sold me on CLG. This is also how I’m planning to apply it—by helping companies write and execute marketing strategies that are perfectly unique to their customers and their product or service. See my newly updated Services for more details.

CLG sounds straightforward—gather and analyze research, apply the Jobs-to-Be-Done theory to the findings, create a Customer Experience Map, then make decisions—and it is. But this doesn’t mean it’s easy. It’s time- and resources-intensive, taxing and plain hard, which explains why many companies aren’t doing it. But it’s also incredibly important and rewarding to do!

And I strongly believe more businesses should.

Book a call with me to talk customer-led growth.

The post Customer-Led Growth (and why I believe it’s the way forward) appeared first on SMM Headquarters.

Is it a business plan? A 5-year roadmap? A portrait of a target customer? A combination of the above?

The way I understand it, a strategy is one big & audacious business goal and a step-by-step plan to achieve it.

And no, “making money” is not an audacious enough goal.

Besides the goal, there is also a plan. Having a strategy means having a plan. So, for simplicity’s sake, let’s call it a plan from now on.

Your business needs to have a plan. The Plan.

You may have started your business with an idea and a desire to make money. Good! Probably, that sort of worked. (Otherwise, you wouldn’t be in business right now.)

You are making money, growing in spurts, you have employees or contractors. Things are moseying along. But you have this vague feeling that it all isn’t very planned or proactive. Sounds right?

Well, you’re not alone. I see this all the time. It’s common among micro- and small businesses that I work with, but isn’t limited to them. I actually believe it’s the norm across the board.

So, many businesses don’t have The Plan. They don’t have a clear direction they’re moving in. Because “We want to make money” isn’t a clear direction. It’s the reality of staying in business. You can make money without a plan, as you know—because you’re already doing it.

That’s kind of the hardest thing about all this—lotsa companies succeed without. Succeed somewhat. Succeed despite of.

But imagine succeeding with purpose. Proactively. Growing bolder, being better, achieving a purpose beyond staying solvent. Imagine having a clear direction and a plan. The Plan.

That’s what I want for your business. You would be one of the very few.

The post What’s a strategy anyway? appeared first on SMM Headquarters.