In a dynamic environment, the surest thing is change. This is evidenced by growth hacking.
Business growth is a topic that excites small and large companies, entrepreneurs and ambitious people. In this post, I will introduce you to a term that has gained popularity in the last 2 years in Bulgaria and will continue to be used, namely - "growth hacking". If we were to translate it into English, it would be "growth hacking". It's only used in the context of the digital space - for software products, or for that part of our marketing effort that's made possible by software tools. In other words, it refers to the application of successful marketing techniquesthat do not require a large budget, and lead a large number of users to an online space, site or to make sales of an online product.
The term was first used in 2010 by Sean Ellis - marketer who has helped various startups grow their customer database. Sean is so creative that he becomes one of the most sought after in Silicon Valley when it comes to growth. Sean used "growth hacker" as a description the first time he was looking to hire someone to fill his own position. The applications he receives are from people with education and experience in marketing, but for him that's not enough. He knows that he himself doesn't apply the techniques that traditional marketers rely on, and he worries that if he hires this type of professional, they won't fit his vision and work.
About growth
To understand the whole concept "growth hacking", we first need to address growth itself in the context of start-ups.
Growth is a combination of marketing and product development. While the two separate areas contain a partial growth perspective, growth hacking is a subfield that is focused on driving metrics and modeling outcomes around growth. Entrepreneurs in startup circles explain that growth hacking is not a new role for marketing, but a whole new realm and level of understanding of the business that leads consumers to the product, brings them back to it, and makes them buy it. Growth hacking is much more about the technical understanding of the product than marketing itself.
What is different from traditional marketing?
It is important to make it clear that a growth hacker is not a substitute for a traditional marketer. He is simply a different type of professional whose efforts are focused solely on rapid growth. All the strategies, activities and tactics that a growth hacker applies are influenced by the intention of growth. It is this focus that becomes the reason for the emergence of numerous methods, tools and best practices that do not actually exist in traditional marketing.
In growth hacking, the key is a strategy where the parameters are easy to measure and repeatable. But this strategy lies on the product and user data.
The analytical and technical parts of marketing lead to different behaviours towards distribution and putting consumers first. Growth hacking is more than direct marketing and quantitative analysis.
What changes in the product?
Traditional marketers are adept at understanding and promoting traditional products, but like everywhere, the Internet is influencing the definition of product. In the past, a product was called anything that could be touched, but today, as we all know, that is not the case. Software is also a product, Facebook, Twitter and the rest of the networks are also products. So the Internet is forcing change, and it is the growth hackers who are responsible for the adoption of things that have no physical expression. All of this requires a new way of thinking.
Because of the redefinition of the concept of product, it (the product) can play a role in its own adoption. What this means - a product like Facebook allows us to share it with our friends to make our own experience better through its platform. But a toothpaste can't do that because it doesn't have a platform. Dropbox on the other hand gives us extra free cloud space if we get a friend to use the platform. Couches don't do that. You can't get extra couch space by inviting a friend to sit, right? 😉 Did you catch the line? If your answer is no, then you won't be able to understand the role of growth hacking either. Sorry.
Sean Ellis is the man who helped Dropbox grow. His understanding of what's happening on the internet is the foundation of its success. Here's an illustration of the Dropbox strategy:
What is changing in distribution?
If we want our product to be recognizable, popular and loved, we cannot rely on it alone. We also need distribution. Just as the internet is changing views of product, it is also changing those of distribution. So the people who understand consumer behaviour on the internet will be the ones who will be able to 'hack' growth.
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An example from the 1950s, when McDonald's realized that interstates were a new channel for attracting customers, may serve to make this easier to understand. Of course, they took advantage of it. They put up arches with gold glowing letters at the exits, which still stand today. This example could be considered an offline hack. And what happens on the internet? Instead of arches that immediately clue us in that we're talking about McDonald's, keyword search exists in the digital space and search engine optimization. Instead of streets that take us the easiest and fastest way to our friends, we have Facebook that allows us to communicate even with people who are not our friends.
There are many more analogies to illustrate distribution, but the focus is again on understanding people's online behaviour. This alone would give an advantage to implement growth.
In the next post, we will point out global examples from practice to give you an idea of how growth hacking works and what it achieves. Stay tuned!
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Sources: www.quicksprout.com, medium.com, techcrunch.com
