Growth lever

In simple terms, a growth lever is any action or strategy that can dramatically boost a company’s growth when applied. Think of a lever in the physical sense – a small move can lift a heavy object; likewise, the right business lever can produce outsized growth from relatively little effort . A growth lever could be something like improving a sales funnel or streamlining customer onboarding – a focused change that leads to significantly more revenue or users. In everyday language, it’s the high-impact move you can make to quickly accelerate your company’s success.

Identifying and using growth levers is crucial because it helps companies focus on what really drives results. In B2B marketing (for service firms, agencies, SaaS providers, etc.), there are countless things you could do, but only a few will truly move the needle. A growth lever points you to those high-impact areas – the parts of the business that might be holding back growth and, if improved, unlock major gains. By zeroing in on these levers, teams avoid spreading themselves too thin. Instead of trying dozens of tactics with little coordination, they concentrate on one or two strategic areas that yield the most benefit.

Another reason growth levers matter is that they bring strategic clarity. They tie everyday marketing and sales activities to bigger business goals. For example, if your north-star metric (main success metric) is monthly recurring revenue, a growth lever might be improving customer retention – because retaining clients directly increases recurring revenue. Focusing on the retention lever would guide marketing, sales, and customer success to work together on loyalty programs, onboarding improvements, or upselling campaigns rather than unrelated experiments.

In B2B contexts, leveraging the right growth levers can be especially powerful. B2B companies often operate with longer sales cycles and smaller target markets, so maximising each stage of the funnel is vital. For a consulting agency, pulling the correct lever (say, referral incentives or thought leadership content) can unlock a steady stream of qualified leads without proportionally increasing marketing spend. For a SaaS company, the right lever (perhaps an improved free-trial conversion process) can accelerate ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue) growth rapidly. Many teams tend to fixate on acquiring new customers, but some of the biggest wins come from overlooked levers like pricing or account expansion . In short, knowing why a growth lever matters helps B2B marketers prioritise strategic initiatives that drive sustainable growth instead of chasing every new idea.

Applying the concept of growth levers in your marketing or growth workflow involves a few key steps: identify potential levers, prioritise the most promising ones, and take action to execute changes. It’s both an analytical and creative process, combining data insights with strategic thinking. Here’s how to put growth levers to work:

1. Identify potential levers

Start by mapping the buyer journey and reviewing data for bottlenecks or missed opportunities. Combine quantitative clues—conversion drops, churn spikes—with qualitative feedback from customers and front-line staff. List three to five candidate levers that, if improved, could unlock significant growth.

2. Prioritise the high-impact options

Score each candidate for impact, confidence, and effort. Choose one or two with the greatest expected return for the resources available. This focus prevents dilution and ensures the team’s energy targets the most promising levers first.

3. Act and experiment

Build a clear plan: what will change, who owns it, and which metric will prove success. Run small experiments around the chosen lever, measure results, and iterate quickly. Document learnings so the knowledge compounds even if an experiment fails.

4. Integrate wins, then repeat

When a lever delivers, bake the change into routine processes and dashboards. Move to the next priority lever and restart the loop. Over time, successive lever pulls create a step-change in the firm’s growth trajectory.

Growth lever examples for consultancies and agencies

• Client referrals and testimonials can lower acquisition cost while lifting win rate.
• Specialising in a niche positions the firm as the obvious choice and supports premium pricing.
• Productising services into fixed-scope packages adds scalability and predictable revenue.
  

Growth lever examples for SaaS businesses

• Improving free-trial activation raises the percentage of users who convert to paid plans.
• Reducing churn through proactive success programmes compounds monthly recurring revenue.
• Adjusting pricing tiers or introducing usage-based billing can lift average revenue per user without extra acquisition spend.
  

Growth lever examples for B2B e-commerce firms

• Optimising site conversion—faster load times, simpler checkout—turns more visitors into orders.
• Increasing average order value with bundles or volume discounts boosts revenue from existing traffic.
• Loyalty schemes that encourage repeat purchasing stabilise demand and raise lifetime value.