By: Ahmed Hamed, Marketing Manager at Qashio

Size does not matter. It’s how you use it! No, what I mean is that it’s not the size of your enterprise, but the finesse with which you wield it. Herein lies the rub: operational magnitude isn’t the bellwether of triumph—it’s the cunning and craft of your strategy. Arm yourself with this playbook, your trusty guide to forging strategies that don’t just aspire to success, but command it. 

Step 1: Unearth Your Inner Data Geek 

Before you can spell ‘growth,’ you must court data like it’s the love of your tech life. Think of data as the Sherlock to your Holmes, the Watson to your queries. Analyze patterns, decode customer behavior, and for love of Pitfire Pizza’s sake (make sure you try it though it’s really great), keep an eye on churn rates like a hawk on a mouse convention. Remember, BCG didn’t just knock on data’s door; they moved in and redecorated. 

Step 2: Your Value Proposition – Make it Pop

Your value proposition should be like all those Emaar signs on every building. It should stick with customers and make competitors envious. Ensure it resonates, reverberates, and relays the very essence of your brand’s superpowers. Slack is one of the few businesses that does this so well. Its value prop is “Made for people. Built for productivity. Connect the right people, find anything that you need and automate the rest. That’s work in Slack, your productivity platform.” Here are other great examples.

Step 3: The Sales and Marketing Tango  

If your sales and marketing teams are in a tiff, kiss your growth goodbye. These two should tango so tightly that it leaves the audience breathless. Sync their goals, unify their strategies, and watch leads turn into deals with the elegance of a dance-off victory. And btw, this Tango already has a name, it’s called continual contextual collaboration.

Step 4: Embrace the ABM Love Affair 

Account-Based Marketing (ABM) isn’t just a fling; it’s the love affair that could define your B2B legacy. Tailor your charms to woo those high-value accounts as if each were the last customer on earth – because in the world of ABM, they just might be. That is what IBM did to drive its success.

Step 5: Automate Like There’s No Tomorrow 

Automation is the genie in your growth bottle. CRM, marketing automation, AI tools? They’re your three wishes. Use them to conjure up efficiency and personalize customer experiences. But remember, magic only works if you use it wisely. Here is how GroupM MENA are realizing the impact of AI and automation on their industry.  

Step 6: Content – The Kingdom’s Storyteller 

Content is your kingdom’s storyteller, weaving tales of your brand’s glory. Whitepapers, webinars, case studies – these are your bards and minstrels. Let them sing songs of your brand’s valor in the grand halls of industry forums and LinkedIn feeds. But make sure that your content is not driven by vanity, but by adding value. Instead of saying that you are the King, show them why. Just take a look at Magnitt’s approach to content vs what they have to offer. 

Step 7: Networking – Your Business’s Social Butterfly 

Flutter into the garden of industry events, partnerships, and digital forums. Be the social butterfly that pollinates relationships leading to fruitful alliances. Like Public Goods partnering with hospitality pros, your network can be your growth elixir. Read the Entrepreneur Middle East’s article on How to Develop B2B Partnerships That Grow Your Business .

Step 8: Measure Like a Mad Scientist 

What’s growth without measurement? A mad scientist’s lab without a gauge. Track those KPIs with the fervor of an alchemist in pursuit of gold. And when you hit a milestone, throw your head back and cackle with glee – you’ve earned it. Here are NetSuite’s 23 B2B Marketing Metrics to track.

Step 9: Culture – The Petri Dish of Growth 

Foster a culture that’s more infectious than the latest viral meme. Encourage innovation, agility, and a customer-centric mantra. A culture of growth is like sourdough starter – feed it well, and it will rise. Ryanair does it better than most. 

Step 10: Anticipate Change – The Crystal Ball Gazing 

The future belongs to those who prepare for it today. Be like Tabby, foreseeing the evolution of retail and e-commerce and offering the market a way to fulfill all their shopping needs. Anticipate change, adapt strategies, and you might just predict the next big wave before it hits. So it’s time for you to move beyond forecasting and get into Scenario Planning. It’s basically a fancy way of asking yourself a lot of “what if” questions and preparing yourself for those scenarios that are likely to happen and you currently don’t have any systems to address them. 

Step 11: The Flywheel Effect – Your Growth Gravitron 

Embrace your inner Jim Collins and get that flywheel spinning. Small wins lead to big momentum. Every direct-to-consumer triumph feeds into B2B conquests, spinning faster and faster, until your growth is a force unto itself. 

So there you have it, the growth handbook that doesn’t just talk shop but does so with a wink and a nod. It’s the guide for the wise, the witty, and the would-be giants of the B2B world. Tie these strategies to your growth kite, and let it soar. Just remember, when you’re counting your successes, keep your feet on the ground and your head in the cloud(s) – of data, that is.

Ahmed Hamed is a seasoned B2B Marketing Expert with over 9 years of invaluable experience in the MENA region. Throughout his career, Ahmed has collaborated with a diverse range of companies, from global giants such as Google to innovative startups, leaving a remarkable impact on their marketing landscapes.