First used by Sean Ellis in 2010, the term “Growth Hacking” refers to an unconventional marketing approach. It combines the technique of market analysis with innovation and creativity to ensure the rapid growth of a company. What does Growth Hacking mean for your start-up?

How Growth Hacking works

Compared to traditional marketing, growth hacking requires more research and planning. This concept is made up of two words, namely “growth”, literally translated as “growth”, and “hacking” meaning “hacking” in computer science. This combination of words indicates that all possible means are used to achieve the set lead generation objective.

Indeed, Growth Hacking allows start-ups to grow rapidly and at a controlled cost. This approach is often based on the principles of the famous AARRR conversion tunnel:

• Acquisition (acquiring new leads);
• Activation (getting leads to buy);
• Retention (take actions to keep satisfied customers);
• Referral (encourage customers to tell others about the product);
• Revenues (record the gains and costs generated).

Note that Growth Hacking is still less widespread in France, but its effectiveness is already proven in the United States.

The advantages of Growth Hacking for your start-up

A good growth hacking strategy brings significant benefits to your start-up.

Rapid acquisition of leads and customers

In growth hacking, all strategies used are aimed at acquiring new customers in a short period of time. You can use the Kaspr tool to collect as many contact details as possible from your prospects in a short period of time. This lead generation tool can also automate the process of approaching your leads or strengthening your relationship with them (sending automatic messages on LinkedIn).

Possibility to combine several marketing techniques

The main advantage of this concept is that it gives you unlimited possibilities to test different innovative techniques. It’s all about finding the marketing approaches that give you the most information about your potential customers. This way, your start-up can open the door to new opportunities.

Cost control and ROI optimization

Using Growth Hacking allows your company to significantly reduce the cost of your acquisition campaign. Now you can limit the use of conventional marketing tools, which are often too expensive. You have the possibility to use modern and daring techniques (even unconventional for some).

Better competitiveness in the market

Some tools allow your start-up to increase its market share by improving the quality of your products or services. By analyzing certain indicators (weak and strong points of other companies for example), you can compete more effectively with your competitors.

Some of the most common strategies used by Growth Hackers

Growth Hackers use a number of strategies to make start-ups grow quickly. Discover some of them below.

Creating mailing lists

In advance of your product or service launch, create lists of relevant contacts to which your advertisement will be distributed. This is a great way to reach your target audience and get your message across as effectively as possible.

Implementing a referral marketing strategy

Referral marketing helps to quickly increase your brand awareness. It is about allowing your users or influencers to recommend your product or service (via sponsorship for example).

Automating the sending of invitations on LinkedIn

This automation technique aims to make your offer known to your new contacts. It will save you time and make it easier to build relationships with a good number of leads.

The adoption of co-marketing (partnership between different brands)

The co-marketing strategy allows you to send qualified traffic to your site and/or create a buzz around your company. This operation consists in concluding partnerships with other reputable brands. They agree, for example, to publish content about your start-up or your product on their site.

Gamification marketing or gamification

The objective is to get new users and to keep the acquired customers. It is about making some of your services fun that are not necessarily related to games. You can, for example, organize a contest that will be accessible via a form to fill out.

Integrating your product or service with other known solutions

This technique can give you access to a large number of targeted potential customers. To do this, your start-up must partner with a well-known brand. The latter will give you the authorization to advertise your new product or service on its web platform.

In a nutshell

A good growth hacking strategy is the ideal solution to accelerate the development of your start-up. It is recommended to choose the best tools to attract maximum leads and increase your sales.