OVER TO YOU
The three dimensions of growth
What the three dimensions of growth demand from marketing.
Resources to accompany chapter 2 of Make Marketing Matter: Change perceptions. Drive performance. Architect growth.
Chapter snapshot
Marketers are obsessed with audience attention. Rightly so, but attention alone doesn't grow a business. It needs to turn into the right kind of action that enables business outcomes and growth strategy.
Chapter 2 introduces the three dimensions of growth. The x-axis, audience attention, is a scarce commercial asset and the first controllable input in the commercial engine, not the end goal. The y-axis, business outcomes, is the results others are measured on, which marketing enables rather than owns. The z-axis, growth strategy, is the deliberate choices a business makes about where and how to grow.
It shows how to define your perfect pairing, map the outcomes that matter to boardroom peers, and use an adapted Ansoff Matrix to contribute to growth strategy. Focus on one dimension, or even two, and you create imbalance. Leave one out and marketing won't matter to growth.
Definitions in this chapter
the three dimensions of growth enabler.
The x-, y- and z-axes through which a marketing ecosystem architects growth: audience attention, business outcomes and growth strategy.
the perfect pairing tool.
A subset of your audience where customer value and business value reinforce each other. Also known as the Ideal Customer Profile (ICP).
the x-axis: audience attention dimension.
A dimension of growth. The scarce, valuable commercial asset to be earned, sustained and converted into action.
the y-axis: business outcomes dimension.
A dimension of growth. The results owned by others in the business that are enabled by action from the right audiences.
the z-axis: growth strategy dimension.
A dimension of growth. The deliberate choices the business makes about where and how to grow so decisions compound over time.
Check In
Take a moment to reflect on which dimensions shape how marketing operates in your business today.
- When marketing reports progress, is audience attention presented as the goal, or as the input that leads to outcomes others care about?
- What are the growth-critical outcomes in your business, the metrics they're measured on and who is accountable for them?
- Is marketing contributing to the growth strategy, or simply being asked to align to it?
Take Action
Define your perfect pairing. Start with the data, looking for the customers who consistently appear across customer satisfaction, buying efficiency and business value. Then capture five things in plain language:
- Who they are in practice: the patterns in behaviour, context or profile that show they're a good fit.
- What they are trying to achieve: the progress they're seeking, the problems they're solving, and what success looks like to them.
- What they care about and why: the pressures, risks and motivations shaping where they pay attention.
- How they make decisions: how quickly they act, who is involved, and how they gather and trust information.
- How they currently see you: their awareness, trust and belief in your value.
Distil it into two to three sentences. If it doesn't help the boardroom understand who the business is focused on, and help marketing decide where to focus, what to say and what to ignore, it's too vague.
Bring it to the room
Growth is a boardroom conversation, not a marketing one. Take it to the room in two steps.
First, map the business outcomes. Each leader brings the outcomes they own and the metrics they're measured on. Ask: which customers help us achieve these most and how does the attention we earn from them feed into each one?
Then, shape the growth strategy. Put the Growth Matrix in front of the room and ask each leader where growth is coming from today and where it could come from next. Capture the initiatives in each quadrant, then prioritise and agree the trade-offs.
No single function holds the full picture. Growth comes when all three dimensions are in the same conversation.
Back pocket arguments
- Businesses with a genuine focus on their audience and competitive landscape consistently outperform those with a product or sales orientation in profitability and customer loyalty.
A. Shoham, G.M. Rose & F. Kropp, ‘Market orientation and performance: A meta-analysis’, Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 23(5), 2005;
J. Jyoti & J. Sharma, ‘Impact of market orientation on business performance: Role of employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction’, The Journal of Business Perspective, 16(4), 2012.
Get the full picture
This page includes additional resources to support Chapter 2: The three dimensions of growth in the book Make Marketing Matter.
The chapter explores how thinking in three dimensions - audience attention, business outcomes and growth strategy - enables marketing to architect growth. Make Marketing Matter is a comprehensive guide for marketing leaders and boardroom colleagues who want to build a marketing ecosystem that shows impact, links to outcomes, and leads to recognisable revenue.
30
Definitions
Clear, precise language that gives you a shared vocabulary for your ecosystem approach.
40
Practical Exercises
Consistent, repeatable actions that bring the ecosystem approach to life.
Preorder Make Marketing Matter
Make Marketing Matter: Change perceptions. Drive performance. Architect growth. is out on 20th October 2026.
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