Getting your business from launch phase to sustainable growth can be a challenge for any start-up. So when it comes to achieving all you want to with your company and getting the growth, you need to do so, using the tools at your disposal is just common sense. Growth marketing may seem like a foreign concept – but with the use of a growth marketing canvas, achieving those goals is easier than you might think.
What is a growth marketing canvas?
Also known as GMC, a growth marketing canvas is a tool that allows you to step back and look at the bigger picture of your growth plan. By allowing you to map, build and create a coherent and practical strategy from the ground-up, a growth marketing canvas provides the foundation for success in growth by laying everything out in clear black and white.
What are the common components of a growth marketing canvas?
While growth hacking canvases can vary from person to person and place to place, the fundamentals of what they do are the same. As one of the best-respected GMCs, Alexander Cowan’s growth hacking canvas includes the following components:
Segments & Personas: Who your customers are and what they want, do, see and feel.
Value Propositions: Why is your customer appealing to this persona?
Brand Experiences: What do customers get out of your product?
Branding: How is the brand positioned, and what is its personality?
Lexicon: What kinds of wording do customers use for your industry?
Assets: What are your most important brand assets?
Activities: What are your most important activities for growth?
Organic Channels: What unpaid channels are essential for growth and branding?
Paid Channels: What paid channels are essential for growth and branding?
Promotional Infrastructure: What marketing is working for your brand?
These components all form a complete overview of what direction your business needs to go to grow, based on the knowledge you already have, and knowledge you have gathered.
How can a growth marketing canvas help my business?
Much like any other growth marketing tool, a growth marketing canvas helps your business by providing clarity and direction for growth. Without a good idea of how you should grow or what you should do to get there, it’s easy for businesses to become lost and fail to thrive. With a GMC, you have a black and white understanding of the building blocks of your business, and a way to get where you need to go.
What tools can I use for a growth marketing canvas?
All you need to start with growth marketing canvases is to download and print a PDF and get started. You can download the Alexander Cowan growth hacking canvas. Or if you prefer the digital medium, using Google Slides or Canvanizer can be an excellent way to create virtual growth marketing canvas templates to share with your wider team.
While growth marketing canvas alone doesn’t provide the power to give your business the growth it needs, this unique tool does provide perspective, understanding and the bigger picture. If you’re stuck for what direction your business needs to go in to grow, using a GMC is an excellent way to get yourself on the right track – and is ideal to refer back to as your business changes and evolves.
