Growth Hacking is a combination of marketing, data analytics, product development and technology to accelerate the growth of a business or brand in a short period of time. The main objective of Growth Hacking is to develop innovative strategies and techniques to increase customer acquisition, retention and conversion.
How did growth hacking come about?
The term growth hacking was coined in 2010 by Sean Ellis, a successful marketing expert who has worked at companies including Dropbox and LogMeIn. Ellis found that traditional marketing methods were not enough to enable rapid growth in the digital world. So he developed the concept of growth hacking to scale faster and more cost-effectively.
Basic principles of growth hacking
- Agility: growth hackers work in rapid iteration loops to continuously optimize their strategies and tactics to respond to new market or product introductions.
- Experimentation: By continuously testing and experimenting with new ideas and approaches, innovative ways to acquire and retain customers are identified and implemented.
- Data orientation: Growth hackers use data to optimize their strategies and tactics. They measure success using key performance indicators (KPIs) and use tools to analyze and interpret the results obtained.
- Scalability: Above all, the growth hacking strategies applied should be scalable and thus enable long-term growth.
Examples of growth hacking methods
Growth hacking methods can vary by company and industry. The following are some well-known examples:
- Dropbox offered free storage for users who recommended the product to friends. This had a huge impact on the user base and led to strong growth for the company.
- Airbnb used the Craigslist platform to bring their offerings to a wider audience in the early days. By automating the posting of listings on both platforms, they quickly gained awareness and market share.
When implementing growth hacking, collaboration between marketing, developers, designers and product management is essential to develop and implement effective and sustainable growth strategies.
