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The best growth tactics of 2025
The last newsletter of the year has been my opportunity to reflect on the best growth learnings shared in Growth Unhinged (see: 2024, 2023, 2022). This time I’m doing things a bit differently.
I polled 130 readers about their #1 most impactful growth experiment of the year. Then I categorized all the responses and hand-selected the most interesting tactics.
My main takeaways:
Despite all the enthusiasm around AI, the three biggest categories were outbound and ABM (20% of responses), partner and ecosystem (20%), and events and community (16%).
The tactics were quite diverse and also included content and AI discovery (12%), product-led growth (10%), product launches (8%), paid advertising (6%), and a long-tail of everything else (8%).
A few of the experiments were out-of-the-box. Most came down to picking something tried-and-true, then executing it exceptionally.
Keep reading for the best contributions: 50+ growth tactics that actually worked, as submitted by readers. I hope these inspire creative growth experiments going into 2026.
For premium subscribers: The full categorized list of 130 growth experiments is here. (You can upgrade here.)
Outbound and ABM experiments (20%)
People like to argue that automation killed outbound. The reality is quite different.
There’s much better data to identify your best-fit accounts and who’s demonstrating buying intent. While basic signals may be commoditizing, niche and first-party signals are heating up. The outbound message essentially writes itself and still gets a reply, when backed by a compelling enough signal.
Experiments from early-stage startups
LinkedIn engagement-based outreach. Tracking and reaching out to people who engage with our content or competitor content brought in 10% of the pipeline.
Prospecting and reaching out to people who engage with competitors’ posts on LinkedIn. It verifies intent and nets predictable pipeline.
We’re in full experiment mode with founder-led sales still the primary motion and a handful of early adopters and nascent partners. The best experiment has been a beachhead strategy around target accounts (for us these are large and complex enterprises).
A mix of outbound prospecting, almost like account-based marketing, but where we automate the messages sent.
Full outbound AI automation on LinkedIn.
Experiments from scaleups
Website optimization and intent tracking for lead conversion. We now have the ability to track more intent and signal the sales teams at the right time.
We leveraged Clay to scape data from sources of intent signal and drive outbound plays to those audiences to meet them in the moment of need.
Automating outbound workflows to do intent-based selling.
Creating specific ABM lists with content and outbound targeting via SDR.
Warm connects and personalized demos for high value accounts.
Deploying ABM at 1:1 level accounts and building programs to engage and nurture through the funnel.
ABM in high value accounts that included an exec roadshow.
Best outbound resource: The best automated GTM plays you’re not running (with Brendan Short)
Partner and ecosystem experiments (20%)
I’m not the first person to tell you that it’s getting harder to build an audience. Yet why build your own audience when you could borrow from someone else?
As Emily Kramer recently wrote, “ecosystem is a force multiplier and differentiator.” Readers agree. Partner and ecosystem experiments were extremely popular this year.
A caveat: the experiments themselves are highly diverse, spanning personal networks, B2B influencers, industry communities, agencies, and peer tech companies. You’ll need to create your own ecosystem playbook rather than copy from someone else.
Experiments from early-stage startups
Personal network. My GTM has completely failed, but former employers might end up becoming my first clients.
Maximizing our current network of connections to get as many intros as possible, especially our CEO, which has an incredible network of connections.
Sector influencer customer campaigns for social proof.
Experiments from scaleups
“Give to Get” program with our ecosystem partners. We’d move a customer from direct billing to billing with the partner, in exchange for the partner bringing more customers to the platform.
Joint partner marketing. We co-sponsor regional events and co-market the events.
Aligning with industry communities and high quality original research.
Partnerships scale out.
Partnering with a B2B influencer.
Best ecosystem resource: Ecosystem is the next big growth channel (via Emily Kramer and Lenny’s Newsletter)
Event and community experiments (16%)
Despite (or because of) AI, events and community are having a major resurgence. The single best channel from the State of B2B GTM report surprised me: intimate events.
Readers praised big conferences, intimate dinners, and even webinars as giving them a leg up in 2025.
Experiments from early-stage startups
Webinars with industry influencers have been surprisingly successful. The audience is extremely engaged and happy to spend 60 minutes of their day.
Going all in at a conference. Huge splash, 35+ scheduled meetings in advance from meticulous manual outbound.
A photo contest in which people signed up in order to cast their vote.
Experiments from scaleups
Inviting clients to attend conferences with us. We did it to drive new logos but it ended up 3x-ing our client’s investment which is significantly more revenue.
Big tradeshow plus ancillary intimate events for a target account list.
Expanded attendance by frontline personnel to large conferences.
Expanding in-person events to virtual events. Much lower lift and expense, somewhat similar results as in person.
Best community resource: How Mallory Contois mastered the community-led growth (CLG) flywheel with the Old Girls Club
Content and AI discovery experiments (12%)
At the beginning of the year I probably wouldn’t have predicted content-related tactics being the best place to double down. Elena Verna wrote in March that “company blogs are no longer worth the investment.” The reported SEO decline of HubSpot’s blog went viral.
The real story isn’t about decline. It’s about a platform shift as B2B buyers turn to ChatGPT for recommendations about which vendors to consider and which products to buy. AI discovery now accounts for 12.7% of Docebo’s high-intent leads (up 429% year-on-year) and 10% of Webflow’s signups (up 4x year-on-year).
Some positive news: this isn’t hard pivot. Late-funnel SEO is the foundation for great answer engine optimization (AEO).
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