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What Is Growth Hacking And How Can I Apply It To My Venture?

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Ankit Kharola
What Is Growth Hacking And How Can I Apply It To My Venture?

Big companies like Facebook, Dropbox, Uber or Airbnb did not achieve overnight success. All faced crises that at some point put their businesses in check, but they understood how to recover quickly and with the least possible investment. These companies employ what is known as the Growth Hacking method. 

If you still don't know what this methodology is, don't worry! In this post we explain what it is, we show you some examples of success and we tell you some simple techniques that you can apply in your venture.

What is Growth Hacking?

Let's start with the simplest: its definition. 'Growth' literally means growth. While 'Hacking', a term that can lead to confusion because it is generally associated with the illegal or malicious activity of computer experts, in this case, it refers to the development of software solutions to solve problems or achieve improvements.

So Growth Hacking is nothing more than growing a company using strategies, techniques, methodologies and good practices, relying on new technologies and digital tools.

It is an approach that seeks the rapid growth of business with minimum costs and resources, using technological solutions, analytics, curiosity and above all creativity.

According to Neil Patel, a recognized Growth Hacker, it is a “kind of methodology or series of actions that range from online marketing to strategic knowledge of a startup,” including the sociological part of users and all the data that is They cross with analytics.

The name of this method was coined by Sean Ellis, an American businessman and investor, known for being the first person in charge of the growth of Dropbox, who on July 26, 2010 wrote an article entitled ' Find a Growth Hacking for your startup '. 

For Ellis, Growth Hackers are able to "lead the burden of growth." They are people who combine marketing and programming skills, who are constantly searching for ideas and tactics to achieve business scalability. 

In other words, they are specialists in the growth of startups or startups, since their functions include analyzing products or services, redefining their characteristics to adapt them to the needs of customers and building the actions or strategies to achieve a high number of leads in exchange for the very little budget. 

But there is no better way to understand than through examples, right? That's why here we share three cases of companies that achieved success with Growth Hacking techniques. 

  1. Dropbox: This company began trying to capture users through ads, but discovered that in its case the acquisition cost was very high; so he changed his strategy and opted for the following "growth hack": "If you share, you have more free space." In this way it motivated people to use and recommend Dropbox. In just 15 days the company went from having one hundred thousand to four million users.
  2. Airbnb: In 2010 Airbnb needed to increase its user base, and that was precisely what a very popular online classified ads company called  Craigslist had . The company began offering those who had properties to publish them simultaneously on Airbnb and Craigslist. In the end, users forgot about Craigslist to go directly to visit Airbnb.
  3. Uber: This company used marketing and technology to become an important space in the transport market. Among its strategies is to offer the first free trip to its users and referral discounts every time people share their code. 

As you can see, what are now large and recognized companies not only adopted Growth Hacking when they were just ventures, but continue to implement it. So, if you are an entrepreneur and you want your business to grow, then you need to incorporate this methodology. 

At this point you will be wondering: what skills should I have to be a Growth Hacker? What should I do to implement this method in my business? Then read on ... 

Carlos,  a computer engineer and expert in digital analytics, in an article entitled 'Growth Hacking, what it is and what it is for' , ensures that Growth Hacker must have the following qualities:

  • Analytical: You must analyze everything to see if the techniques work.

  • Creative: You need to look for new formulas for growth different from the traditional ones.

  • Multidisciplinary: Know a little of everything to develop better techniques.

  • Curious: Research all sectors to capture new ideas to use.

  • Agile: Test things fast to see if they work or not.

If you feel identified with these qualities, then get to work! You have everything you need to grow your venture.

5 Growth Hacking tactics

We know that your north is the growth of your venture. So here we share some of the most used Growth Hacking tactics that could be very useful to implement in your business: 

  1. Referral Programs

Offer your customers some kind of benefit or discount when they recommend your brand to their friends and they register on your website or platform. Remember the case of Dropbox!

  1. Free trials

Give your prospects the chance to enjoy your product or service for free for a certain time and convince them to stay with you. Don't forget the example of Uber!

  1. Sense of urgency

Notify your customers or users that there are few units or quotas available for your product or service and that other people can anticipate. This creates a sense of urgency to make the purchase. Hasn't it happened to you when booking a flight or hotel room? 

  1. Attention and details

Offer your users more than they expect and without being asked. Lend them an extra service they hired, give them a gift or discount, send them a thank you email. What would you like to receive if you were the customer? 

  1. Contests

Make contests or raffles of attractive products or services for your customers, with the condition that to participate also invite their friends to do so. This will help you get more people to know your brand and what you offer. 

But remember that among the principles of the Growth Hacking methodology is learning to interpret what your customers want and need, as well as follow up on your strategies to see if they are working for you. 

Gerardo Sandoval, an expert in Cloud Computing and Growth Hacking, says that Latin America is a hotbed of startups that have succeeded thanks to innovative ideas, but a brilliant idea is not enough to succeed, but persistence and constant analysis are necessary From the market. 

Do you want to transform your ideas into successful businesses? Remember that studying at our Entrepreneurship school you can get the tools to take on the challenges of the business world. Go ahead with Cliffex Software Solutions LLP!

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Ankit Kharola
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