Every brand that wants to scale has implemented paid marketing campaigns at some point. Some may have seen success, some don’t but no one is ever satisfied.

While there are many factors in a company’s growth – as a Performance Marketer, I believe we can do more and make our contribution significant. The perspective I share purely comes from my understanding & the approach I try to follow – I hope it makes sense to you.

Before diving into Performance Marketing, let’s first understand if Performance Marketing, Paid Marketing and Growth Marketing can be used interchangeably? In my opinion, NO.

Paid Marketing acts as an enabler to scale performance (reach, traffic, lead, sign-up, downloads etc.) over and above organic efforts through available channels. I categorize short-term or paid activities focused on immediate results under this. There also is a misconception that ad spend is directly proportional to results. I would say, it really depends on a lot of factors again.

On the other hand, Growth Marketing is responsible for company revenue & growth so the role often involves working in close collaboration with the product team along with the other marketing & non-marketing teams. Thriving on listening to customers is a must if one has ambitious business goals to achieve. An ideal fit for this role would combine skills in Marketing (online+offline), Product Marketing, Business Strategy & People Strategy.

Coming to Performance Marketing, it sits between paid and growth marketing where the core focus is on the action that is usually most important for a business i.e. conversion, purchase, bookings etc. through new customer acquisition & by strategically promoting products & services. It demands a holistic perspective of all customer touchpoints, product knowledge, and a deep understanding of the end-to-end customer related processes.

As cliched as it may sound, it is the art of reaching & sometimes being available for the right people, at the right time, and in the right place, combined with the science of delivering the right message and a seamless experience—one that feels natural, not like a push. The problem? This doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a journey for the brand as much as it is for the customer if you are looking for sustainable results. Being logical & practical is the key.

Now let’s understand the ideal responsibilities of a Performance Marketer

1. The homework : Familiarize with the product, industry, competition and audience.
2. Know the basics : Seek foundational knowledge from seniors and cross-functional department heads . #1 will help ask better questions.
3. Due diligence is non-negotiable : Time to apply or pick up analytical skills – dive into historical data, insights, audience behaviour, competitor analysis, set-ups, strategies & others. Go through the entire customer journey, understand team capabilities, workflows, and stakeholder contributions.
4. Technical proficiency : Master key platforms while continuing to explore others as you learn more about your audience and identify where they engage most effectively. If you are
5. Collaboration with cross-functional teams : Ensure all teams involved in customer touchpoints collaborate & stay aligned. Work closely with creative, brand, content, SEO, analytics, data science, creative, sales, and others to synchronize efforts and create seamless customer experiences
6. KPI planning & strategy: By now a marketer has some relevant data and understanding on what to consider when working on a plan & strategy for a specific goal but not everything for a reason so do not ignore on having a contingency plan as well along with possible opportunities for test & learn. Ask yourself if the experience you’re designing for potential customers would convince you to become a customer—and how quickly. Performance Marketing is all about building that right balance, right?
7. Systematic implementation: Implementation is the foundation of success or failure. Start by planning the structure of each channel based on the data you aim to capture and optimize, ensuring alignment with the overall strategy. This includes setting up with proper nomenclature, tracking, and other such essential elements.
8. Monitoring & governance: Move beyond just discussing the frequency of excel reports. Schedule periodic meetings with cross-functional team to gather updates on ongoing items and track progress on any roadmap items assigned to them. Staying informed about all touchpoint-related activities (both online & offline) is essential and non-negotiable. Remember, everyone is working to support the same overarching goal directly or indirectly, making this collaboration a shared responsibility.
9. Learning and growth : To stay ahead – focus on continuous experimentation, identifying new opportunities, staying informed about industry trends, and, most importantly, don’t stop listening to your customers which also makes churn rate an important metric to gauge the true impact of your performance marketing efforts & future strategy planning & optimization.

Above all, do you know what’s missing the most from this industry?

The Purpose. The Curiosity. The Impact.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. If you have insights, thoughts, or stories to share, feel free to reach out via the contact form or leave a comment below. Let’s continue the conversation!