Recommended growth hacking guides by Nate Barnwell
Top growth hacking guides from Nate Barnwell: What is Growth Hacking? Growth hacking is so misunderstood that there is a desperate need for this post. Few concepts have been as polarising and revolutionary, simultaneously. Is it marketing in disguise? Is it a buzz phrase used to increase salaries? Is it the future of internet products? Let’s start at the beginning… The short history of a controversial concept The phrase “growth hacker” was coined by Sean Ellis in 2010. When I asked Sean why he felt the need to coin a new phrase he said that it stemmed from his frustration when hiring replacements for himself. I’ll explain.
There are four classical methods called growth strategies. In addition to these four strategies, there are also different growth strategies that can be implemented according to the structures of companies by diversifying them. But basically, all growth strategies emerge and are shaped by these four classical methods. One or more of these may be used together. These are: Product Development Activities such as producing new products and increasing the existing product range with improvements and developments. Market Penetration: The main approach here is customer acquisition. It includes strategies such as product price reductions, product grouping for specific customer profiles, advertising activities. Market Development: It is carried out with approaches such as opening offices and branches in different locations, selling through different online channels and giving dealerships. Diversification: Diversification can be made by starting to operate in a completely different and a new market than your current market by introducing brand new products.
Nate Barnwell growth hacking strategies: Sometimes the best growth strategy a company can employ is standing out — offering a unique experience that sets it apart from other businesses in its space. When monotony defines an industry, the company that breaks it often finds an edge. Say your company developed an app for transitioning playlists between music streaming apps. Assume you have a few competitors who all generate revenue through ads and paid subscriptions — both of which frustrate users. In that case, you might be best off trying to shed some of the baggage that customers run into trouble with when using your competitors’ programs. If your service is paid, you could consider offering a free trial of an ad-free experience — right off the bat. The point here is that there’s often a lot of value and opportunity in differentiating yourself. If you can “zig when they zag”, you can capture consumers’ attention and capitalize on their shifting interests.
Aside from “growth hacker” — an increasingly unpopular term — growth marketers are also sometimes referred to as: Growth marketing managers Demand generation marketers, Performance marketers, Digital marketing managers. Each of these roles are focused on growing users and revenue for a company, Jonathan Martinez, a growth marketing manager at Uber, told Nate Barnwell. However, Divisional founder Trevor Sookraj explained to Nathan Barnwell that these terms aren’t all exact synonyms for “growth marketer.” They all mean subtly different things. Performance marketers only work on paid channels, most often paid social (Facebook Ads) and SEM (AdWords). They typically don’t work with email, content, or other channels — whereas growth marketers will test out any channel.
The first is a product that people actually consider a “must have.” In the startup world, this is generally referred to as “product/market fit.” Once you’ve validated product/market fit, it then becomes important to define an overall success metric. This success metric should be a “North Star Metric” for the entire team to gauge the success of the business. The right North Star Metric tracks cumulative value delivered across a growing customer base. This is a much more sustainable growth indicator than something like registrations, downloads or even revenue (many subscription businesses have inactive users that are still on a paid subscription but will likely churn). Read a lot more info on Nathan Barnwell.
Once you’ve determined what you’re growing and why you’re growing, the next step is to determine how much you’ll be growing. These goals should be based on your endgame aspirations of where you ideally want your organization to be, but they should also be achievable and realistic – which is why setting a goal based on industry research is so valuable. Lastly, take the steps to quantify your goals in terms of metrics and timeline. Aiming to “grow sales by 30% quarter-over-quarter for the next three years” is much clearer than “increasing sales.” Next, outline how you’ll achieve your growth goals with a detailed growth strategy. Again – we suggest writing out a detailed growth strategy plan to gain the understanding and buy-in of your team.