"Oh, so you do marketing?" Many times, when I'm asked about my profession, I find it a bit challenging to explain. As a Growth Engineer, the closest resemblance people can think of is 'marketing', but that feels somewhat reductive. Sure, I do campaigns, copywriting, etc - but I also fix broken products, optimize conversion, and optimize sales funnels.
In short... I optimize for specific outcomes through learning and iteration to achieve tangible business results. In my career journey, I've been a storyteller, magnifying intricate tech narratives for one of the world's leading software giants. I've been a product marketer, passionately communicating the merits of software to customers. As a product manager, I've prioritized features based on customer needs. Beyond all this, I've been deeply involved in data analytics, media buying, and digital campaigns.
I've had the unique opportunity to work across multiple disciplines for companies like Microsoft, Priceline, Chewy, and Etsy and the one thing that they have in common with other successful organization is that they take a measure, growth engineering approach that optimizes for learnings.
So, let's clear the air: what really is growth engineering?
Growth Engineering vs. Traditional Marketing
Traditional marketing tends to be siloed and execution based. Hire an email marketer, and they'll execute email campaigns. Once they're done, that's usually the end of the story. Growth engineering is outcome driven across an entire funnel. It's about ensuring results. A growth engineer, unlike a conventional marketer, is relentlessly committed to realizing business growth. Imagine a puzzle, unique for every company, where the correct combination of words and visuals unlocks exponential growth. That's the essence of growth engineering.
Drawing from a vast skillset, which spans copywriting, product marketing, digital campaigns, product management, conversion optimization, and data analysis, a growth engineer isn't merely 'doing tasks.' They are strategically selecting tools from a diverse arsenal, applying them at the right moments for maximum impact.
Analytics: The Growth Engineer's North Star
Here's the deal-breaker for me: many businesses I've encountered, some remarkably successful ones, operate without clear analytics. They're flying blind, relying on grit and intuition. My first order of business? Illuminate their path. Measure every step, every interaction that could translate into revenue.
Whether it's tracking the journey of a lead in a B2B setting or tracing an ecommerce product's sales funnel, understanding and implementing analytics is paramount. From managing diverse CRMs to crafting insightful sales reports, the growth engineer takes an analytical approach, ensuring every stage of the customer journey is understood, refined, and optimized.
The Engineering Approach to Growth
Being a growth engineer implies adopting an engineering mindset for business growth. This means meticulously analyzing each step of the sales and marketing funnel, and if something's not measurable, putting the mechanisms in place to measure it. The essence here is continuous learning. While some might take stabs in the dark hoping for growth, a growth engineer's approach is methodical and iterative, believing that every bit of learning compounds into tangible business results. At ITER8 we have a cyclical approach to this (its actually how we named the company)
Interestingly, in my role, I've seen the dynamics of growth change through cycles. Sometimes, there's a need for design resources, sometimes for data analysis, and sometimes for customer journey optimization. This is where the unique proposition of my agency, Iter8, comes into play. We offer businesses the flexibility of an entire team, adept across various disciplines, usually at the price of a single headcount. It's like having a Swiss Army knife for growth, ready to deploy the right tool at the right time.
Conclusion
So, the next time you hear someone mention they're into 'marketing', delve a little deeper. In the world of growth engineering, the focus is on continuous learning, optimizing, and growing, ensuring every effort compounds into real-world success.
If you're looking for a deep dive into your business growth possibilities, consider growth engineering. And if it resonates, remember we're here to help. At the end of the day, our aim isn't just to 'do', but to unlock pathways for sustainable growth.
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