The 4 pillars of Growth Hacking

At Growth Room, we meet a lot of startups whose acquisition techniques vary according to their sector of activity, their type and their target. However, all have in common that they follow this same framework of Growth Hacking : 1) Segmentation and testing, 2) Tracking, 3) Optimization, 4) Saturation.

1. Segmentation and Testing

Testing as many relevant hypotheses as possible is extremely important for a Growth Hacker. The idea is above all to answer the question “What type of user do I want to bring to my page”. Or you already have a base of regular customers, so you can determine a profile based on that. Or you are targeting several niches that seem relevant. When it comes to testing, sometimes it's not enough to stay on the most well-known channels (Facebook ads, Adwords, etc.).

YouShould example

Let's take the example of Youshould, a startup that allows its users to privatize the bar of their choice. Prioritizing, it targets 18—25 year olds who party, but people who go to bar showcase sites are also a potential target, except that it's complicated to redirect them cheaply.

So they had the idea of setting up an API that allows you to book a bar directly via the bar's site, without any friction (without going through the Youshould site).

Creating your own acquisition channel can be a risky and costly practice. On the other hand, it can bring you regular leads for a low cost.

2. Tracking

Testing is good, but it is also very important to assess how well the experience worked and to find ways to optimize them if there are any. This is why tracking is an integral part of the testing process of a Growth Hacker for whom knowing how to use the tools, implement them and determine significant results is essential.

Zilia example

Take the case of Zilia, whose main online channel is Facebook Ads.

We were simply interested in the statistics of the previous ads they had made. We detected that the ads that had the highest CTR (ratio between the number of clicks and the number of displays) were the ones that referenced An apartment in particular with photos and purchase prices. So we repeated and optimized this specific type of ads and we succeeded in halving the acquisition cost with a CTR greater than all the others.

You would have every interest in giving importance to tracking and making sure that it is well implemented before doing your experiment.
There is no shortage of tools: Google Analytics, Hotjar, Amplitude, Mixpanel...

3. Optimization

If the results of an experiment are convincing, the idea will be to stay focused on them and find a way to optimize the results. How? Thanks to tracking, which gives clues about what could be improved. For example, if it is a paid acquisition technique, maybe it is possible to lower the acquisition cost or even increase the reach for the same amount.

SoShape example

The founders of SoShape very quickly perceived that the commitment on their posts instagram was much higher than that on Facebook or other social networks. By engagement, we mean followers and people who tag in comments). So they focused on posting the content that was most liked on Instagram. They have optimized thanks to relevant hashtags or robots that allow targeted accounts to be automatically liked/comment/follow/unfollow.

Many startups like SoShape have 1 or even 2 preferred acquisition channels, even if it is always very difficult to become an expert in a particular channel. Brian Balfour explains it in a great article on Growth Marketing :

“Every time I've hired for a role I inevitably get a swarm of applications with a couple years of experience that say they “know” CRO, Facebook Ads, Content Marketing and some other combinations of 5+ things. The applicants claim they are generalists, and they're proud of it. Sounds great on paper, but as soon as I dig in I typically find they are ok at a lot of things, but amazing at nothing.”

Clearly, it is no longer necessary to simply “know”. You have to “excel” in mastering these tools to make a difference!

4. Saturation

After testing and optimizing, all that's left is to use the channel until saturation is reached.

Leo example

Take Leo as an example. A lot of people have wondered how we managed to get so many applications in such a short period of time. When you think about acquisition, you mainly think about targeting. For example, this is something that we defined very well before starting the acquisition for Lion.

We targeted large companies, consulting firms and scrapped in order to create a cold mailing campaign that worked. So we repeated and did another campaign, then another, then another, until the channel was saturated.

Only, a cold mailing campaign is not as simple as that.
First, you have to test on small, different samples. types of content, titles, layouts, etc. And keep in mind that personalized email in plain text is the best way to have good click rates.

Mailing is like an apprentice driver behind the wheel of a Ferrari: it is a tool with enormous potential but often poorly controlled.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/YtoLgi7y7hQ

Being a Growth Hacker requires being extremely imaginative and taking responsibility very quickly. The idea is to be as active as possible: to test and test all relevant hypotheses and to learn accordingly.

But it's also important to keep in mind that automation is not necessarily the obvious answer. Spending $500 on Facebook ads is not at all the right solution to win over a first pool of users.

Take care of onboarding yourself

Often, the best way to acquire and retain them is to take care of onboarding yourself. Many very classic tools, but no less interesting, exist to get in touch directly with your users. Among them: Messenger, Direct Message on Instagram to contact your followers, or Crisp a Chatbox that is placed directly on your site.

If you do everything possible to make the user experience incredible, you are promised that users will return it to you a hundredfold and that they will come organically.

Many startups have made customer experience a strength, like Trainline (formerly Captain Train), Menu Next Door or Heetch.
To understand their secret sauce, the Lion course is reopening registrations for the January session on www.joinlion.co.