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{{Short description|Subfield of marketing}}

'''Growth hacking''' is a process of rapid experimentation across a range of marketing channels to identify the most effective ways to grow a business. The term is typically applied to customer acquisition, retention and monetization strategies used by newly-formed companies, which don’t have the resources to employ standard corporate marketing strategies. Growth hackers are marketers, engineers and product managers that are trained to specifically focus on building and engaging the user base of a business.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mltcreative.com/blog/b2b-marketing-buzzwords-growth-hacking-vs-inbound-marketing/|title=B2B Marketing Buzzwords: Growth Hacking Vs. Inbound Marketing - MLT Creative|website=MLT Creative|language=en-US|access-date=2016-03-26}}</ref> Growth hackers often focus on low-cost alternatives to traditional marketing, e.g. using [[social media]] and [[viral marketing]] instead of buying advertising through more traditional [[media (communication)|media]] such as [[radio]], [[newspaper]], and [[television]].<ref name="tnw">{{cite web |url=http://thenextweb.com/insider/2013/05/05/the-actual-difference-between-growth-hacking-and-marketing-explained/ |title=Explained: The actual difference between growth hacking and marketing |author=Biyani, Gagan |publisher=The Next Web |date=May 5, 2013}}</ref>

{{multiple issues|{{Original research|date=April 2017}}

{{coi|date=November 2018}}}}

'''Growth hacking''' is a subfield of [[marketing]] focused on the rapid growth of a company. It is referred to as both a process and a set of cross-disciplinary (digital) skills. The goal is to regularly conduct experiments, which can include [[A/B testing]], that will lead to improving the [[customer experience|customer journey]], and replicate and scale the ideas that work and modify or abandon the ones that do not, before investing a lot of resources. It started in relation to early-stage startups that need rapid growth within a short time on tight budgets, and also reached bigger corporate companies.

A growth hacking team is made up of marketers, developers, engineers and product managers that specifically focus on building and engaging the user base of a business. Growth hacking is not just a process for marketers. It can be applied to [[product development]] and to the [[continuous improvement]] of products as well as to growing an existing customer base. As such, it is equally useful to everyone from product developers, to engineers, to designers, to salespeople, to managers.

Those people who specialize in growth hacking use various types of marketing and product iterations — rapidly testing persuasive copy, email marketing, SEO and viral strategies, among others, with a purpose to increase the conversion rate and achieve rapid growth of the user base. It can also involve on-line community management and social media outreach, driving brand experiences on social media outlets to improve [[performance metric]]s such as driving customer acquisition and selling products.<ref name="fastco1">{{cite news |url=http://www.fastcompany.com/3003888/everything-marketing-how-growth-hackers-redefine-game |title=Everything is Marketing: How Growth Hackers Redefine the Game |author=Holiday, Ryan |publisher=''Fast Company'' |date=December 17, 2012}}</ref><ref name="tc1">{{cite news |url=http://techcrunch.com/2012/09/02/defining-a-growth-hacker-three-common-characteristics/ |title=Defining a Growth Hacker: Three Common Characteristics |author=Ginn, Aaron |publisher=''TechCrunch'' |date=September 2, 2012}}</ref> It can be seen as part of the online marketing ecosystem, as in many cases growth hackers are using techniques such as search engine optimization, website analytics, [[content marketing]] and [[A/B testing]].

== Competences ==

Growth hacking is particularly important for startups, as it allows for at the early-stage launch face, when they focus on lowering cost per customer acquisition, whereas aiming to facilitate word-of-mouth advertising and increase customer life-time value <ref name="mashable">{{cite web |url=http://mashable.com/2013/05/18/growth-hacker-buzzwords/ |title=Growth Hacker: A Buzzword Surrounded by Buzzwords |author=Hockenson, Lauren |publisher=Mashable |date=May 18, 2013}}</ref><ref name="tc2">{{cite news |url=http://techcrunch.com/2012/09/07/defining-a-growth-hacker-5-ways-growth-hackers-changed-marketing/ |title=Defining a Growth Hacker: 5 Ways Growth Hackers Changed Marketing |author=Ginn, Aaron |publisher=''TechCrunch'' |date=September 7, 2012}}</ref><!-- This sentence does not make sense due to missing words and Improper structure. -->

Those who specialise in growth hacking use various types of marketing and product iterations to rapidly test persuasive copy, [[email marketing]], [[search engine optimization]] and viral strategies, among other tools and techniques, with a goal of increasing conversion rates and achieving rapid growth of the user base. Some consider growth hacking a part of the online marketing ecosystem, as in many cases growth hackers are using techniques such as search engine optimization, website analytics, [[content marketing]] and [[A/B testing]]. On the other hand, not all marketers have the data or technical skills of a growth hacker; therefore, it is appropriate to use a distinct name for this specialty.

== History ==

[[Sean Ellis (entrepreneur)|Sean Ellis]] coined the term "''growth hacker''" in 2010,.<ref name=sellis>{{cite web |url=http://www.startup-marketing.com/where-are-all-the-growth-hackers/ |title=Find a Growth Hacker for Your Startup |author=Ellis, Sean |publisher=Startup-Marketing.com |date=June 26, 2010}}</ref><ref name=fastco2>{{cite news |url=http://www.fastcompany.com/3013859/the-secret-that-defines-marketing-now |title=The Secret That Defines Marketing Now |author=Holiday, Ryan |publisher=''Fast Company'' |date=July 8, 2013}}</ref>In the [[blog]] post, he defined a growth hacker as "''a person whose true north is growth. Everything they do is scrutinized by its potential impact on scalable growth.''"<ref name=sellis/> Andrew Chen introduced the term to a wider audience in a blog post titled, "Growth Hacker is the new VP Marketing"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://andrewchen.co/how-to-be-a-growth-hacker-an-airbnbcraigslist-case-study/|title=Growth Hacker is the new growth hackers|last=Chen|first=Andrew|date=2012|website=andrewchen|access-date=29 March 2019}}</ref> in which he defined the term and used the short term vacation rental platform Airbnb's integration of [[Craigslist]] as an example.<ref name="tc1">{{cite news|url=https://techcrunch.com/2012/09/02/defining-a-growth-hacker-three-common-characteristics/|title=Defining a Growth Hacker: Three Common Characteristics|author=Ginn, Aaron|date=September 2, 2012|work=TechCrunch}}</ref><ref name=chen1>{{cite web |url=http://andrewchen.co/how-to-be-a-growth-hacker-an-airbnbcraigslist-case-study/ |title=Growth Hacker is the new VP Marketing |author=Chen, Andrew |publisher=AndrewChen.co}}</ref> He wrote that growth hackers "''are a hybrid of marketer and coder, one who looks at the traditional question of 'How do I get customers for my product?' and answers with A/B tests, landing pages, viral factor, email deliverability, and Open Graph.''"<ref name="fastco1">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.fastcompany.com/3003888/everything-marketing-how-growth-hackers-redefine-game|title=Everything is Marketing: How Growth Hackers Redefine the Game|author=Holiday, Ryan|author-link=Ryan Holiday|date=December 17, 2012|magazine=Fast Company}}</ref><ref name=chen1/> In 2012the book "Growth Hacking", [[AaronChad Ginn]]Riddersen definedand aRaymond growthFong hackerdefine ona ''[[TechCrunch]]''Growth Hacker as "a "mindsethighly ofresourceful data,and creativity,creative andmarketer singularly focused on high leverage curiosity.growth"<ref name=tc1/><ref name=aginntghbook>{{cite webbook |urllast1=http://www.aginnt.com/growth-hacker/Riddersen |titlefirst1=WhatChad is|last2=Fong a|first2=Raymond growth|date= hacker?2017 |authortitle=Ginn,Growth AaronHacking: Silicon Valley's Best Kept Secret |___location=US |publisher=Aginnt.comLioncrest Publishing |dateisbn=n.d.978-1619616004 }}</ref>

In 2013, theThe second annual (2013) "Growth Hackers Conference" was held in [[San Francisco]] set up by [[Gagan Biyani]].<ref name=vbcon>{{cite web |url=httphttps://venturebeat.com/2013/05/10/6-important-lessons-from-this-years-growth-hacker-conference/ |title=6 important lessons from this year’syear's Growth Hacker Conference |author=Griggs, William |publisher=Venture Beat |date=May 10, 2013}}</ref> It featured growth hackers from [[LinkedIn]], [[Twitter]], and [[YouTube]] among others.<ref name=vbcon/>

==Methods==

To combat this lack of money and experience, growth hackers approach marketing with a focus on innovation, scalability, and user connectivity.<ref name="tc3">{{cite news |url=httphttps://techcrunch.com/2012/10/21/defining-a-growth-hacker-building-growth-into-your-team/ |title=Defining a Growth Hacker: Building Growth Into Your Team |author=Ginn, Aaron |publisherwork=''TechCrunch'' |date=October 21, 2012}}</ref><ref name="tnw2">{{cite web |url=httphttps://thenextweb.com/entrepreneur/2012/10/28/build-it-and-they-wont-come-how-and-why-growth-hacking-came-to-be/ |title=Build it and they won’twon't come: How and why growth hacking came to be |author=Ginn, Aaron |publisher=The Next Web |date=October 28, 2012}}</ref> Growth hacking does not, however, separate product design and product effectiveness from marketing.<ref name="med">{{cite web |url=https://medium.com/i-m-h-o/68b4a602def6 |title=Here’sHere's Some Marketing Advice: Your Product Is Terrible |author=Holiday, Ryan |author-link=Ryan Holiday|publisher=Medium.com |date=June 11, 2013}}</ref><ref name="tc4">{{cite news |url=httphttps://techcrunch.com/2012/10/20/defining-a-growth-hacker-growth-is-not-a-marketing-strategy/ |title=Defining A Growth Hacker: Growth Is Not A Marketing Strategy |author=Ginn, Aaron |publisherwork=''TechCrunch'' |date=October 20, 2012}}</ref> Growth hackers build the product's potential growth, including user acquisition, on-boarding, monetization, retention, and virality, into the product itself.<ref name="chasejarvisint">{{cite web |url=http://blog.chasejarvis.com/blog/2013/02/from-obscurity-to-internet-sensation-how-creatives-can-win-the-pr-game-interview-with-ryan-holiday/ |title=From Obscurity to Internet Sensation —– How Creatives Can Win the PR Game with Ryan Holiday |author=Jarvis, Chase |publisher=ChaseJarvis.com |date=February 22, 2013}}</ref> Growth hacking is all about intention and efficiency. So there is always a chance you'll hit on something huge and have a viral campaign.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Jantsch|first=Ellen|date=2019-09-27|title=What The Hack Is Growth Hacking?|url=https://tuffgrowth.com/growth-hacking/|access-date=2022-01-25|website=Tuff|language=en-US}}</ref> ''Fast Company'' used Twitter's "''Suggested Users List''" as example: "This was Twitter's real secret: It built marketing into the product rather than building infrastructure to do a lot of marketing."<ref name="fastco2">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.fastcompany.com/3013859/the-secret-that-defines-marketing-now|title=The Secret That Defines Marketing Now|author=Holiday, Ryan|author-link=Ryan Holiday|date=July 8, 2013|magazine=Fast Company}}</ref> However growth hacking isn't always free. [[TechCrunch]] shared several nearly free growth hacks<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2016/02/04/three-nearly-free-growth-hacks/|title=3 Nearly Free Growth Hacks|last=Pelt|first=Mason|website=TechCrunch|date=4 February 2016 |access-date=2016-05-18}}</ref> explaining that growth hacking is effective marketing and not mythical marketing pixie dust.

''[[Fast Company (magazine)|Fast Company]]''<ref name=fastco1/> defined the marketing problems facing many startups as:

# don't have budget allocated for "marketing", and

# don't have a traditional marketing background.<ref name=fastco1/>

To combat this lack of money and experience, growth hackers approach marketing with a focus on innovation, scalability, and user connectivity.<ref name=tc3>{{cite news |url=http://techcrunch.com/2012/10/21/defining-a-growth-hacker-building-growth-into-your-team/ |title=Defining a Growth Hacker: Building Growth Into Your Team |author=Ginn, Aaron |publisher=''TechCrunch'' |date=October 21, 2012}}</ref><ref name=tnw2>{{cite web |url=http://thenextweb.com/entrepreneur/2012/10/28/build-it-and-they-wont-come-how-and-why-growth-hacking-came-to-be/ |title=Build it and they won’t come: How and why growth hacking came to be |author=Ginn, Aaron |publisher=The Next Web |date=October 28, 2012}}</ref> Growth hacking does not, however, separate product design and product effectiveness from marketing.<ref name=med>{{cite web |url=https://medium.com/i-m-h-o/68b4a602def6 |title=Here’s Some Marketing Advice: Your Product Is Terrible |author=Holiday, Ryan |publisher=Medium.com |date=June 11, 2013}}</ref><ref name=tc4>{{cite news |url=http://techcrunch.com/2012/10/20/defining-a-growth-hacker-growth-is-not-a-marketing-strategy/ |title=Defining A Growth Hacker: Growth Is Not A Marketing Strategy |author=Ginn, Aaron |publisher=''TechCrunch'' |date=October 20, 2012}}</ref> Growth hackers build the product's potential growth, including user acquisition, on-boarding, monetization, retention, and virality, into the product itself.<ref name=chasejarvisint>{{cite web |url=http://blog.chasejarvis.com/blog/2013/02/from-obscurity-to-internet-sensation-how-creatives-can-win-the-pr-game-interview-with-ryan-holiday/ |title=From Obscurity to Internet Sensation — How Creatives Can Win the PR Game with Ryan Holiday |author=Jarvis, Chase |publisher=ChaseJarvis.com |date=February 22, 2013}}</ref> ''Fast Company'' used Twitter "''Suggested Users List''" as example: "This was Twitter's real secret: It built marketing into the product rather than building infrastructure to do a lot of marketing."<ref name=fastco2/>

The heart of growth hacking is the relentless focus on growth as the only metric that truly matters.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Ellis|first1=Sean|title=Sean Ellis On Growth|url=https://medium.com/growth-hacker/sean-ellis-on-growth-7d620cf4875f|website=medium.com|date=8 May 2014|publisher=Medium|accessdateaccess-date=16 August 2014}}</ref> [[Mark Zuckerberg]] had this mindset while growing Facebook.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Kagan|first1=Noah|title=How My Blog Homepage Redesign Increased Email Signups By 300%|url=http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/homepage-redesign-increase-email-signups|website=blog.hubspot.com|publisher=Hubspot|accessdateaccess-date=16 August 2014}}</ref> While the exact methods vary from company to company and from one industry to the next, the common denominator is always growth. Companies that have successfully "growth hacked" usually have a viral loop naturally built into their onboarding process.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Chen|first1=Andrew|title=What's Your Viral Loop? Understanding The Engine Of Adoption|url=http://andrewchen.co/2007/07/11/whats-your-viral-loop-understanding-the-engine-of-adoption/|website=andrewchen.co|accessdateaccess-date=16 August 2014}}</ref> New customers typically hear about the product or service through their network and by using the product or service, share it with their connections in turn. This loop of awareness, use, and sharing can result in exponential growth for the company.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ellis|first1=Sean|title=Startup Growth Engines: Case Studies of How Today's Most Successful Startups Unlock Extraordinary Growth|date=June 24, 2014|publisher=Sean Ellis and Morgan Brown|url=httphttps://www.amazon.com/Startup-Growth-Engines-Successful-Extraordinary-ebook/dp/B00LA95B68|accessdateaccess-date=16 August 2014}}</ref>

[[Twitter]], [[Facebook]], [[Dropbox (service)|Dropbox]], [[Pinterest]], [[YouTube]], [[Groupon]], [[Udemy]], [[Instagram]] and [[Google]] are all companies that used and still use growth hacking techniques to build brands and improve profits.<ref name=chen1/><ref name=tc5>{{cite news |url=httphttps://techcrunch.com/2012/12/08/defining-a-growth-hacker-6-myths-about-growth-hackers/ |title=Defining A Growth Hacker: Debunking The 6 Most Common Myths About Growth Hacking |author=Ginn, Aaron |publisherwork=''TechCrunch'' |date=December 8, 2012}}</ref><ref name=quora1>{{cite web |url=http://www.quora.com/Facebook-Growth-and-Traction/What-are-some-decisions-taken-by-the-Growth-team-at-Facebook-that-helped-Facebook-reach-500-million-users |title=Facebook Growth and Traction: What are some decisions taken by the "Growth team" at Facebook that helped Facebook reach 500 million users? |author=Johns, Andy |publisher=Quora |date=May 11, 2012}}</ref><ref name=quora2>{{cite web |url=http://www.quora.com/What-is-Facebooks-User-Growth-team-responsible-for-and-what-have-they-launched |title=What is Facebook's User Growth team responsible for and what have they launched? |author=Johns, Andy |publisher=Quora |date=April 30, 2012}}</ref>

===Examples of growth hacks===

Below are the examples of growth hacks and are the most well-known acts of growth hacking. Often people see growth hacking as merely repeating these growth hacks, but one should know that the 'hacks' are only the result of a repeatable growth hacking process,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://growwithward.com/grows-process-growth-tribe/|title=Growth Hacking Process explanation|last=van Gasteren|first=Ward|date=March 12, 2019}}</ref> which all growth hackers use a way of working. Below are some of the most famous growth hacking examples:

An early example of "''growth hacking''" was [[Hotmail]]'s inclusion of "''PS I Love You''" with a link for others to get the free online mail service.<ref name=b>{{cite web|last=Holiday|first=Ryan|title=Don Draper Is Dead: Why Growth Hack Marketing Is Advertising’s Last Hope|url=http://betabeat.com/2013/09/don-draper-is-dead-why-growth-hack-marketing-is-advertisings-last-hope/|publisher=BetaBeat}}</ref> Another example was the offer of more storage by Dropbox to users who referred their friends.<ref name=b/><ref>{{cite book|last1=Kehr|first1=Alex|title=Hacking Growth: The Modern Marketing Mindset to Create Fast Growing Companies|date=October 13, 2015|publisher=Wander Press|isbn=1515090019|pages=122|edition=First|url=http://www.amazon.com/Hacking-Growth-Marketing-Mindset-Companies/dp/1515090019/}}</ref>

* An early example of "''growth hacking''" was [[Hotmail]]'s inclusion of "''PS I Love You''" with a link for others to get the free online mail service.<ref name="b">{{cite web|last=Holiday|first=Ryan|author-link=Ryan Holiday|title=Don Draper Is Dead: Why Growth Hack Marketing Is Advertising’sAdvertising's Last Hope|url=http://betabeat.com/2013/09/don-draper-is-dead-why-growth-hack-marketing-is-advertisings-last-hope/|publisher=BetaBeat}}</ref> Another example was the offer of more storage by Dropbox to users who referred their friends.<ref name="b" /><ref>{{cite book|last1=Kehr|first1=Alex|title=Hacking Growth: The Modern Marketing Mindset to Create Fast Growing Companies|date=October 13, 2015|publisher=Wander Press|isbn=1515090019978-1515090014|pagespage=122|edition=First|url=http://www.amazon.com/Hacking-Growth-Marketing-Mindset-Companies/dp/1515090019/}}</ref>

* Online worldwide independent lodging company, [[Airbnb]], is an example of growth hacking; by coupling technology and ingenuity. Airbnbthey realized they could essentially hack the Craiglist.org scale and tap both into their user base as well as their website by adding automated listing generators from Airbnb with the feature called "Post to Craigslist". The company's growth was a combination of clever thinking and technical know-how.<ref name="AirBnB">{{cite webnews|last=Needleman|first=Sarah|title=Growth Hacking' Helps Startups Boost Their Users|url=httphttps://www.wsj.com/articles/growth-hacking-helps-startups-boost-their-users-1401320789|publishernewspaper=The Wall Street Journal}}</ref>

One of the easiest examples of "''growth hacking''" is to add “?sub_confirmation=1” at the end of your [[YouTube|Youtube]] channel URL. Everybody will see a [[Pop-up ad|popup]] “Confirm Channel Subscription” (works only on desktops). This growth hacking tactic increases [[YouTube]] subscribers by 400%.<ref>{{Cite web|title = TOP 3 simple growth hacker marketing ideas on the internet, that you can put into practice right…|url = https://medium.com/@happyaladdin/top-3-simple-growth-hacker-marketing-ideas-on-the-internet-that-you-can-put-into-practice-right-7777a0901c6b|website = Medium|accessdate = 2015-11-18}}</ref>

[[Noah Kagan]]'s submission form had four fields: Name, Email, URL, Revenue. He decided to remove the “revenue” field altogether, leaving only three fields — Name, Email and URL. This small change meant an improvement in his conversion rate of 26%.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title = TOP 10 proven growth hacks for 2016 [examples, case studies]|url = https://medium.com/@happyaladdin/top-10-proven-growth-hacking-ideas-for-2016-bcd3c126de63|website = Medium|accessdate = 2016-01-08}}</ref>

[[University of Alberta|The University of Alberta]] increased email subscribers by 500% using a [[Pop-up ad|popup]] survey by [[Qualaroo]] that asked anyone who spent more than ''10 seconds'' on the site: “You seem interested in UAlberta news. Would you like to sign up for the Daily News email?”.<ref name=":0" />

==References==

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[[Category:Marketing by medium]]

[[Category:Neologisms]]

[[Category:Promotion and marketing communications]]

[[Category:BuzzwordsDigital marketing]]

[[Category:Internet marketing]]