When you think of growth hacking, what comes to mind?
Do you envision intrepid explorers swinging machetes to slash through dense jungle foliage?
Maybe you imagine the use of platform shoes by children in order to get on amusement park rides to meet the height requirement.
Or possibly you see the process a bad dermatologist goes through to remove something suspicious from your back?
Those are all wrong. Particularly that last one. That’s wrong in every possible way.
So, What is Growth Hacking?
Growth hacking refers to shortcuts and strategies businesses can use to achieve phenomenal growth rates in a relatively short period of time.
It’s usually applied to startups that need to add hundreds, thousands, or even millions of users quickly to drive revenue and scale their product.
Growth hacking flies in the face of the standard wisdom that most marketers use when considering how to grow a business.
Experienced marketers follow systems and processes, using carefully collected research, competitive analysis, and established budgets to drive growth in steady, sustainable patterns.
Growth hackers fling that stuff out the window and mashing the gas pedal to the floor, pursuing radical growth with a single-minded focus.
This may sound irresponsible, but in fact, for many startups, rapid growth is necessary for their survival, so growth is the only metric that matters. Growth hackers measure it obsessively and work to drive it as high as they can, as quickly as possible.
And they try and do it as cheaply as possible because startups aren’t always flush with cash. That means growth hackers have to be supremely creative in the growth strategies they employ. This is why they call themselves hackers.
That and because it sounds cool.
Examples of Growth Hacking Strategies
Remember that growth hackers frequently eschew standard wisdom. Niel Patel does a nice job summarizing how this happens in practice.
If you’re developing a product, it’s common to lock your development process under layers of secrecy in order to prevent word of your idea from being leaked.
But if you need rapid growth, this just wastes time. Instead of spending months trying to achieve perfection before presenting your product for feedback, get SOMETHING out as quickly as possible.
It doesn’t have to be complete. It doesn’t have to look beautiful. Just make it functional so that you can start testing it with your target market.
Then iterate and revise your product based on the feedback you get. Then ask for more feedback and iterate again. This process allows you to develop a product quickly because you don’t waste time going in the wrong direction.
You know throughout development that you’re building something your target audience wants because, in essence, they’re designing it with you. And you’re adding new users throughout the entire process.
Identify the Users That Will Get the Most Out of Your Product
If you want rapid user growth it might seem reasonable to target everyone with your promotional efforts. But that accomplishes nothing but burning through your limited marketing dollars.
Instead, you need to find the users that REALLY want what you’re selling.
These are the early adopters, people so interested in what the service might do for them that they’re willing to buy in even though it’s unproven. For a service to achieve massive growth it has to first catch fire with this group. They will then help spread the word to everyone else.
To hack your growth then, you need to identify the people that don’t know your product or service is the answer they’ve been searching for. But once they find out, they’d give up pumpkin spice lattes and all their streaming subscriptions in order to get it. Those are the people that will drive your expansion.
Discover More Growth Hacking Strategies
There are several great podcasts that are focused on growth hacking and can help anyone, marketers and non-marketers alike, to develop the mindset necessary to put growth ahead of every other consideration.
The Growth Hacking Podcast with Lauren Moreno
Lauren Moreno is a Senior Product Growth Manager that interviews luminaries in the growth hacking field to share their successes and failures and learn how they managed phenomenal growth. Former guests have included Andrew Chan, Maria Sipka, Rand Fishkin, and many more.
The Growth Show by Hubspot
The Growth Show also interviews leading minds in the business of growth, with a focus on how these startup strategies can be harnessed for use by businesses in general.
Scale or Die
This show delves into the techniques used by leading founders and growth strategists to drive massive growth in the real world. Some of the companies they’ve profiled include Zapier, ConvertKit, Wistia, Drift, and Meet Edgar.
Could Growth Hacking Strategies Help You?
If you’re curious about how growth hacking might benefit you, contact us today. We can help determine the right strategies you need to grow your business. And you won’t have to give you your lattes or your favorite shows 😉.
