Growth hacking enables a start-up company to rapidly increase the number of visitors to its site and multiply its subscribers and followers on social networks. In this article, we'll explain what growth hacking is, what techniques you need to know and how to get started.
What is growth hacking?
Growth hacking can be translated as "growth hacking". It's a specialty coined by Sean Ellis in 2010 to define the position he held at Dropbox, which he was about to leave. It's a combination of marketing techniques designed to boost a company's growth while keeping costs to a minimum.
A growth hacker is above all a creative person who likes to try out different methods. Although there is no school for this profession, growth hackers are skilled in a variety of areas (website creation, SEO, statistics, emailing, A/B testing, CRM...).
To achieve his goal of rapid growth, the growth hacker can rely on a matrix called AARRR.
The AARRR matrix
It's a 5-stage model of the customer lifecycle (Acquisition, Activation, Retention, Recommendation, Revenue). It was developed by Dave McClure, an American entrepreneur and investor. This proven tool is widely used by the entire growth hacker community in the start-up world.
Step 1: lead acquisition
Its main aim is torapidly increase the number of new leads, i.e. contacts with potential customers or prospects. To achieve this, your company needs to be visible on the Web through :
- SEO and SEA;
- to inbound marketing, which involves attracting prospects with high-quality content, reliable information and personalized experiences;
- a presence on social networks and media to create a link with your visitors through interaction ;
- regular emailing of your digital marketing campaigns.
Step 2: Activate your prospects
Thanks to the quality of your home page and your call-to-actions, you've captured the interest of your visitors. Now it's time for them to take the next step and become active on your site. This is a very important moment, because you need to offer them a user experience that perfectly meets their needs. This can take the form of registering for a newsletter or webinar, downloading a free ebook... This step will enable you to check that your prospects are well targeted and that your product or service is perfectly in line with their expectations.
Step 3: Retaining prospects
Since you started, you've succeeded in convincing many visitors, and they're showing an interest in what you have to offer. They've left their e-mail address to receive your newsletter or download a bonus. Now it's time to make sure they keep coming back.
The next step is to retain your prospects by offering them more and more content that interests them. It's important to engage them in a dialogue with you through their comments, and even better, by encouraging them to ask questions.
Step 4: Visitor referrals
Some may have stopped at the regular visit stage, but others have already ordered your product or service. They'll be your best ambassadors. Indeed, having satisfied customers expressing themselves on your site is proof of your expertise and the quality of your products. It's a mark of trust that you can use to persuade those who are still hesitating.
To multiply your chances of getting positive feedback, set up a referral system, ask for testimonials and continue, relentlessly, to feed your site with content that reinforces your credibility as an expert in your field.
5th and final step: revenues
So far, you've been concentrating on the visibility of your site and the growing number of leads, then customers. At this point, you need to think about how best to increase your conversion rate, which is vital to your company's profitability. If some visitors keep coming back, but don't buy, you need to understand what's holding them back from taking action. It's at this stage that you'll try out several experiments to identify the one that will increase your customer base. It could be a promotion, the possibility of paying in instalments, a time-limited offer...
Final tips for successful growth hacking
To get as many prospects as possible, and then turn them into buyers, you need to take into account the different psychological phases a future customer goes through. To do this, use the AIDA method: you need to attract your visitor's attention (A), arouse their interest (I), awaken their desire (D) and be sufficiently persuasive to lead them to action, in this case the purchase of your product or service (A).