How Growth Hacking Can Help Transform Your Business
Written by Adi Young @ Eight Zero
When you hear the words “Growth Hacking”, you might wonder what I’m talking about or how the two are related to the commercial world. Well, this is the savvy jargon that is the new fashionable face of the online business world. If you know how to do it, you can become an expert in high demand – so whilst understanding it can be tricky, it can transform your business.
Popping up in 2010, growth hacking was used to differentiate between a ‘traditional marketer’ and those marketers driven by revenue or customer growth. Traditional marketing encompasses the most familiar styles of cross-media marketing; the adverts we see on a daily basis whether it be via print, tv, post or telephone. It is a broad, cover all bases approach. On the other hand, Growth Hacking is a concentrated, focused and dedicated method of marketing. Motivated purely by growing their business, the rest can be put to one side and allows a focused approach to reign supreme. This encourages commitment and devotion to the single focus – all of your time is spent with the aim of growth in mind.
So, as a business owner, whilst you might have to juggle your busy schedules around, I believe that prioritising some time for growth hacking can be very advantageous and profitable for your business. Starting up your own business? Even more important! You need the growth to kick start a successful venture, as without growth you can be left flailing and failing. Have a well-established business? Who wouldn’t want it to be even more successful?
So I hear you asking, how does it work? It is flexible, dependent on whom you talk to, but the core principle is the same: growth is the priority. One of the most successful companies is Uber – the hugely successful international multi-million-pound company began as a complete newbie in their market.
Getting the job done
You create a desired product or service - those that solve a problem. It may be a fair and approachable service that the target audience seek, such as Ubers cheap lift service, an added value service, or a way to reward customers. You have to be pioneering and unique as “the problem solver”. All of this requires time to look into your existing business model and find ways to grow online by diversification – which is best done by an outsider expert. They are trained to look critically at your business to see where the opportunities lie that you may have missed.

Take the feedback
Your customers are everything – they will let you know the truth and you should listen! You’d never think that Instagram, who began as an app for whiskey drinkers to discuss drinks, actually found that the photo sharing element of the app was so popular that Instagram was born!
Make sure you are aiming for the right audience. Knowing you target market is fundamental. Who are they? What do they want? Where are they located? You have to know this before you begin advertising, else it will waste time. Plus, being more specific is better – you can always branch out afterwards if it’s going well! Have a thought about incentivising your audience – prime examples are referral schemes, badges, freebies and trophies! Those “bring a friend” advertisements are good for both getting your brand talked about, and bringing more people in.
Lastly, always improve. Small changes and improvements are vital – no changes at all mean your business can become dormant. Innovation and improvement is paramount, and if you are willing to be flexible and explore areas of growth hacking, you will succeed. Following the steps is crucial, with growth hacking comprising a marriage between common sense and learning. For budding entrepreneurs if it is done well, growth hacking can very quickly transform your business by rapidly generating new customers or heightening productivity.
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