If you are looking to take your business to the next level, growth hacking might be the perfect solution. Growth hacking is a marketing technique that focuses on finding ways to engage with customers and encourage them to buy products or services. This guide will take you through what growth hacking is, what it can do for your company, and how you can apply these techniques in your own life!
What is Growth Hacking?
Growth hacking is a marketing technique that focuses on finding ways to engage with customers and encourage them to buy products or services.
Growth hacking relies on creativity, data analysis, and experimentation rather than traditional marketing techniques.
The term “Growth Hacking”, was started by Sean Ellis back in 2010, who can honestly be described as the Jedi Master of growth hacking. Sean was known to help many online businesses and startups (Example: Dropbox) achieve their desired growth.
Though the issue started every time he chose to give it a rest and find a replacement, which was almost impossible. Marketers couldn’t fill the role and so Sean came up with the term “Growth Hacker”, as he was looking for this new role to fill.
Though the term “growth hacking” can be applied to offline businesses as well, this term is mostly applied to the world of startups. Considering that most startups don’t have the budget to buy billboard spaces or heavily contested show sponsorships.
That being said, it’s given that what those startups have is a scalable product.
Let’s take the example of Airbnb. Airbnb, a startup that provides an online marketplace for people to find rooms to rent, started from humble beginnings; the founders didn’t have any money and had to use their own resources (e.g., laptops) to get the company off the ground.
The challenge that they faced was how could they get people who had never heard of them, to use their services.
One of the first growth hacks that they used was offering a free online service called “airbeds” where people could list places or spaces in their homes as accommodation for travelers who didn’t want to stay at hotels. The “airbeds” in itself, offered by Airbnb, was a scalable product.
This allowed Airbnb to spread awareness about its platform and allowed it to learn more about its customers.
The next step was to focus on acquiring new users, and they did this by partnering with groups like StudentUniverse (a travel company for students) to offer discounts on Airbnb rooms.
They also used targeted Facebook ads to reach people who were likely to use their services.
All of these techniques led to a significant increase in the number of people using Airbnb, and as a result, the company was able to grow rapidly.
Getting Started: Offer The Right Product for Successful Growth Hacking
When it comes to Growth Hacking, the number one rule is that you have to offer a product or service that can be scaled. This means that the product has to be able to grow with your company and reach more customers as you expand.
One of the most common mistakes that startups make is trying to grow to hack a product or service that doesn’t have the potential for scalability.
For example, if you are trying to grow a product that requires people to come back on regular basis or purchase more of your products/services then growth hacking tactics can’t help you achieve what you’re looking for.
This is because most Growth Hacking techniques rely heavily on acquiring new users, and if your product doesn’t have that potential then you’re out of luck.
The best way to know if a product is scalable or not, is to ask yourself the following question: “How easy would it be for this product/service to reach more people?”
If the answer is yes, then congratulations! You have a scalable product and you can start using Growth Hacking to help your company grow.
The Three Main Steps of The Growth Hacking Process
The Three Main Steps of the Process: Focus on Retention & Acquisition, Leverage Data Collection/Analytics Tools, and Create A Plan for Iteration
One of the biggest reasons why companies fail is not because they don’t have a scalable product, but because they don’t know how to use it correctly.
This is where the four main steps of Growth Hacking come into play. The goal of these steps is to help you focus on the most important aspects of growing your company, and as a result, increase your chances for success.
#1: Retention and acquisition
The first step is to focus on retention and acquisition. This means that you need to find a way to keep your current users engaged, while also finding new ways to attract more people to your product or service.
One of the best ways to do this is by experimenting with different marketing channels. There are many different channels that you can experiment with, including but not limited to, online marketing (e.g., Facebook ads), offline marketing (e.g., television commercials), and word-of-mouth advertising.
#2: Data Analysis
The next step is leveraging data collection/analytics tools that can help you learn more about your customers’ behaviors while also noticing any patterns or relationships between specific actions that they take on the platform.
#3: Plan for iteration
Lastly, you have to create a plan for iteration. This means that once you start implementing Growth Hacking techniques, it’s important to monitor the results and adjust your approach accordingly based on what is working or not working for your company.
All of these steps are interconnected in some way which makes them perfect for helping startups grow their customer base while keeping them on track.
The Bottom Line: Growth Hacking is a Process, Not a One-Time Event
One of the biggest misconceptions about Growth Hacking is that it’s a one-time event. This could not be further from the truth.
In reality, Growth Hacking is an ongoing process that requires continuous effort and tweaking to be successful.
This is because the goal of Growth Hacking is not to achieve a certain number of users or sales in a short period of time, but rather to steadily increase your company’s growth over time.
6 Growth Hacks To Try
At this point, you know more about the history of growth hacking, what it is, and its process. But how do you actually Growth Hack?
Luckily, there is plenty of Growth Hacks out there for you to try. Here are five Growth Hacks that have been proven effective by other startups:
A/B Testing Landing Pages
One growth hack that has worked well in the past was creating different versions of a landing page and then testing to see which one converts better.
Using A Freemium Model
A freemium model is when you offer a basic version of your product or service for free and then charge for premium features. Many startups have found success with this Growth Hack.
Creating A Referral Program
Another Growth Hack is to create a referral program that rewards current users for bringing in new ones. This has been proven to be successful in the past.
Offering Free Trials
Another way to increase acquisition is by offering free trials of your product or service. This Growth Hack has been proven effective by many companies.
Remarketing Campaigns
One growth hack that is often overlooked is remarketing campaigns. When used correctly, these can help you reach a larger audience and increase conversion rates significantly.
A common issue here is that many companies tend to use the same type of messaging they use in their prospecting campaigns, rather than adapting and changing their messaging.
Gamification
A Growth Hack that is growing in popularity is gamification. This involves adding game-like elements to a product or service to increase engagement.
An example of a successful company using gamification Growth Hack is Duolingo, a language-learning app. Duolingo used gamification by adding a points system that rewards users for completing lessons and tasks.
The result was an increase in user engagement, with the number of active users doubling in the first year.
Keep in mind that not all Growth Hacks will work for your company and it’s important to experiment with different techniques
Wrap up!
Growth Hacking is a process that can be used by any company, regardless of size or industry, to help them grow their customer base. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you too can start Growth Hacking your company and see the results for yourself.
So there you have it: a comprehensive guide to Growth Hacking that covers everything from its history to the process itself. Be sure to bookmark this page so you can come back to it later as a reference.
