What is Growth Hacking, and Why You Should Learn

There’s this new term floating around the marketing industry: growth
hacking. I don’t know about you, but when we first heard someone describe
themselves as a “growth hacker”, we had no idea what a growth hacker even
was. Turns out that while “growth hacking” isn’t the most intuitive term,
it’s an essential practice for any business that hopes to improve
conversions and thrive. In other words, you should probably read through
this post and develop a working understanding of what growth hackers are,
what they do, and how to weed out the best from the rest. Just sayin’.

WTF is a Growth Hacker?

Okay, so obviously when we’re talking about “growth”, we’re referring to
the expansion of your customer base and an increase in sales, but what
about “hacking”? Where does that fit into marketing? Take any Hollywood
ideas you have about hackers in dark rooms clacking away at their keyboards
in order to take down the security system at The Louvre and throw ’em out.
In this case, hacking refers to unique, clever, or creative solutions to
everyday problems. Therefore, we can now conclude that growth hacking has
to do with finding clever ways to grow your business, and a growth hacker
is a person who dedicates themselves to accomplishing just that.

This means more than just trying to continuously bring in new leads,
though. An awesome growth hacker will focus on all-around growth, including
the conversion of existing leads and obtaining the repeat business of past
and present customers.

To better illustrate this point, I’m asking you to think of your business
as a bucket and your leads as water. You don’t want to be pouring water
into a leaky bucket. When this happens, you’re only retaining a fraction of
the water, even when more is being constantly added. If your growth hacker
is any good, he or she will not only want to make sure that you have a
constant flow of water, but that your bucket is repaired and in good
condition. Get it?

Finding a solution that will help you grow your business isn’t always an
easy task, but with a kick-ass growth hacker on your team, you’ll find what
works for you. He or she will get a kick out of playing around with
different creative ideas in order to positively influence and sway your
customers and prospects, thus motivating them to change their behaviors in
a way that works to your benefit. The end result is that your customers
have a better image of your brand and you get more business. Everyone wins!

Don’t Hire a “Hack” as Your Growth Hacker

Guess what? Not all growth hackers are as awesome as you deserve. I’m here
to tell you that there are real hacks out there who want to cut corners
like buying backlinks and social likes instead of putting in the elbow
grease required to really grow your customer base. Avoid these guys like
the plague. Know what you expect from your growth hacker and hold them to
the highest standard — you’re worth it.