What Is Growth Marketing? [And How It Compares to Digital Marketing + Demand Gen]

Growth marketing is having a moment—but what does it mean?

If you're an industrial company trying to grow sustainably, it’s easy to get lost in the marketing lingo: digital marketing, demand generation, growth marketing, inbound, ABM…the list goes on. 

Let’s break it down. This blog defines what is growth marketing, how it compares to traditional digital marketing and demand generation, and why a growth marketing mindset delivers the strongest ROI—especially for long, complex B2B sales cycles.

What Is Growth Marketing?

Growth marketing is a strategic, data-driven approach focused on measurable business growth. Rather than just executing tactics (like SEO or email), growth marketing starts with goals and builds a marketing system to achieve them.

Key traits of growth marketing:

• Strategic and long-term
• Relies on testing and optimization
• Aligns sales, marketing, and service
• Uses full-funnel tactics
• Designed for sustainable, scalable ROI

Example: You want to grow market share in the Midwest. A growth marketer won’t just run ads—they’ll develop a strategy based on ICP data, competitive intel, and real-time performance tracking.

Digital Marketing vs. Growth Marketing

Here’s how strategic growth marketing stacks up against traditional digital marketing tactics:

Growth marketing uses digital marketing tactics—but with a map and a measurable destination.

Growth Marketing vs. Demand Generation

These approaches are often confused. Let’s break down how growth marketing and demand generation are different:

Demand generation is part of a good growth marketing strategy, but it’s not the whole picture.

Which Marketing Approach Delivers the Best ROI?

Spoiler: Success doesn’t come from choosing one marketing tactic over the other—it’s about choosing the right mindset.

Digital marketing and demand generation can absolutely drive results. But without strategy, it’s easy to waste time and budget on tactics that don’t move the needle.

Growth marketing usually delivers the best ROI because it:

• Starts with specific business goals
• Uses real-time data to guide decisions
• Constantly optimizes based on performance
• Balances short-term wins with long-term growth
• Prioritizes outcomes, not just outputs

By applying a growth marketing mindset, you no longer ask, “Did my ad perform well?” Instead, you ask, “Did this campaign move us closer to our revenue goal?” This kind of thinking delivers results you can actually measure and scale.

Why Growth Marketing Wins for Industrial Companies

Industrial brands face long sales cycles, interact with complex decision-makers, and work within niche markets. Growth marketing is uniquely suited to this challenge.

Growth marketing works best for industrial companies because it:

• Aligns marketing with business goals
• Adapts to long buying journeys
• Provides measurable ROI
• Balances short-term pipeline needs with long-term growth
• Unifies sales, marketing, and service around shared metrics

How to Get Started with Growth Marketing:

Start by asking:

What are your top three growth goals this year?

Where are you seeing friction in your pipeline?

Are your marketing efforts aligned with sales outcomes?

From there, you can build a plan that combines data, strategy, and tactics to support measurable business outcomes—not just clicks or impressions.

Work With a Team That Gets Growth

If your current marketing consists of disconnected tactics or you’re not seeing the ROI you expected, it might be time for a new approach.

If you're ready to stop guessing and start growing with a strategy that aligns with your business goals, growth marketing is the way forward.

At Evenbound, we specialize in helping industrial companies build and execute custom growth marketing strategies with HubSpot at the core. Let’s talk about what growth looks like for your business!