{"id":5630,"date":"2018-02-26T09:10:01","date_gmt":"2018-02-26T08:10:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/?p=5630"},"modified":"2018-11-13T08:25:24","modified_gmt":"2018-11-13T07:25:24","slug":"why-growth-hacking-is-more-than-growth-marketing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/why-growth-hacking-is-more-than-growth-marketing","title":{"rendered":"Why Growth Hacking is more than Growth Marketing?"},"content":{"rendered":"

You can\u00b4t imagine how many times I\u00b4ve got asked, how I came to the term\u00a0\u201cGrowth Hacking\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0the first time. The answer is quite simple and always the same:\u00a0\u201cI read a blogpost on\u00a0<\/strong>techcrunch.com<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0in 2014 from\u00a0Aaron Ginn with the title \u201e<\/strong>Defining A Growth Hacker<\/a><\/strong>\u201c. And immediately the term \u201cGrowth Hacking\u201d caught my attention. Finally, I found my personal job description, so that I can explain my mother after so many years working what I really do the whole day. Unfortunately, I haven\u00b4t made it to a doctor or a lawyer, like my sister. Jobs everybody knows what it is good for, right? But what happens, if I would tell my mom now, that I\u00b4m a Growth Hacker? Probably nothing special, because she would have no clue. If I would explain her that\u00a0I help companies to build better products and to find more satisfied customers<\/strong>, it becomes a little bit better, maybe.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, I have to explain it every month again \u2013 and not only to my mom \u2013 but anyway.\u00a0So what are the goals of a Growth Hacker?<\/strong>\u00a0Something like:\u00a0\u201dMaximizing the number of users for your product or service and providing these users real value, that they are keen on using (and finally paying longterm for) the product.\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0This is exactly what I do for more than 12 years now, after I started my carrier for Trusted Shops \u2013 the ecommerce trust solution provider no.1 across Europe. What a nice job title\u00a0\u201cGrowth Hacker\u201d<\/strong>, right? As mentioned before, it was love at first sight.<\/p>\n

Giving existing things a new idea and claiming it with a new name is something what the US guys are really good in. So much better than we Germans, but we can do it 100% legally correct \u2013 but that is another story.<\/p>\n

Finally, I\u00b4m a Growth Hacker and I haven\u00b4t known before, that my daily job has such a cool job description.<\/strong>\u00a0I like find out what Growth Hacking is all about and\u00a0what the difference between Growth Hacking and Growth Marketing really is.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

What is Growth Hacking?<\/h2>\n

There are so many different definitions and quotes of \u201cGrowth Hacking\u201d out there. So, here is my mine:<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, it\u00b4s never the one and only Growth Hacking idea, that leverages exponential Growth for a startup or a company. Even more, it is a hard process challenge consisting of at least 4 main disciplines: Customer centric product development, positioning of a scaling business model, finding the best scaling marketing channels and finally an agile execution approach. The better you achieve to combine these disciplines, the higher is the chance to win the challenge.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The Growth Hacking Process V2.0<\/h5>\n

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#1 You need an excellent product<\/h3>\n

Don\u00b4t burn money with Growth Marketing, without being sure, that you have a product or service, that suits a validated customer need.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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That means, Growth Hacking begins with customer-centric product \/ service development.<\/a><\/div>\n

Click To Tweet<\/a><\/p>\n

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Try to get as many genuine feedbacks from your potential target group as possible, before you start scaling your marketing efforts.<\/strong><\/p>\n

You have to work on your product positioning and value proposition.<\/strong> What makes your offer special? Where is the difference to the competition? What are the real customer needs and pains you can solve? Best price, best quality, local advantages, unique features, best consulting\/support, best user experience,\u00a0 special interest, etc.?<\/strong> Sounds boring? Sorry. But, these questions are essential for success<\/strong> and the only solution for not burning money and time later on. If you fail, fail fast.<\/p>\n

One more? Repeat the validation process for your customer needs and market positioning regularly, because today everything can change due to technological progress and movements in the markets within weeks (or days).<\/p>\n

#2 You need a scaling Business Model<\/h3>\n

The \u201cBusiness Model Canvas<\/a>\u201d framework should belong to the homework for every startup or new business development teams. It\u00b4s better than writing a 100-pages business plan and consists of 9 most essential questions for your business model. My personal recommendation is to update the canvas once a month or at least once a quarter, in collaboration with your team.<\/strong> Most CEOs or bosses hate it to discuss these important questions with the team, because they fear not getting their own opinion confirmed. But this is exactly the idea of an agile leader, who is open for any feedbacks all the time.<\/p>\n

For example, there are always a lot of options to find the typical customer or the right target group.<\/strong> As a startup in the beginning it is so important to focus on just one target group<\/strong> and to offer them a perfect product experience. Instead of trying to satisfy 3, 4 or 10 different target groups. That implies, that you have to deprioritize ideas and feedbacks from all other target groups.<\/strong> Sounds stupid? Could be, but in the beginning focus is even more important than in a later stage.<\/p>\n

In terms of a scaling business model you have to think about your pricing strategy \u2013 maybe the champions league of all product management disciplines. Cheaper, same price, or more expensive \u2013 how should I position\u00a0the product in the market?<\/strong> Do I offer just one package or bundling? Do we have a free offer? What is it \u2013 Freemium, Free-Trial? Do the customers pay monthly or annually? What about cancellation rates and the holy Growth Hacking grail \u201cMonthly recurring revenue\u201d?<\/strong> As you can see, woow, so many\u00a0questions. Where to start? Ask your customers, which pricing parameters fit their needs best and than give it a try.<\/span><\/p>\n

#3 Focus on the best performing marketing channels<\/h3>\n

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Source \u201c<\/em>Traction: Gabriel Weinberg<\/em><\/a>\u201c<\/em><\/h5>\n

\u201cHendrik, what is the marketing channel we should start with?\u201d or \u201cHendrik, which marketing channel should we focus on?\u201d or \u201cHendrik, we want to automate our marketing channels, can you help us?\u201d Oh my god, so many questions again. My boring answer is \u201cSorry, I have no idea. We have to find out.\u201d A good starting point is to brainstorm around the idea<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Where can we find our typical target group today and how could I talk to them?<\/strong> Is there a special marketing-channel like Google, Facebook ads, Facebook groups, Pinterest, Instagram, Affiliate-Marketing, Guestposting, Content-Marketing, Sales, newspapers, partners, or whatever?<\/p>\n

To find the famous sweat-spot of Growth marketing, the automated marketing channel that brings tons of active users for cheap customer acquisition costs, you have to setup a valid tracking system.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Best customer lifecycle tracking framework is the Pirate-Metrics or\u00a0AARRR-metrics framework from Dave McClure<\/a>. This tracking framework\u00a0seperates the typical customer touchpoints for an app or a Software-as-a-Service business in 5 dimensions.<\/strong><\/p>\n