Ai Editorial: Is growth hacking meant only for start-ups? Not really

First published on 21^st November, 2016

Ai Editorial: Organizations that aren’t start-ups, and are executing a proven business model, have a lot to learn from growth hacking, writes Ai’s Ritesh Gupta. 

When one reflects upon the story of Airbnb, it is inevitable that their Craigslist integration and the so-called growth hack strategy would surface in the discussion. Could a marketer have ever achieved that? Or was it the sheer brilliance of an engineer to script such a legendary story?

Stories such as these have set a new benchmark in the arena of growth hacking. What can trigger “virality” of a campaign? How to master the art of A/B testing and landing pages? How to deliver personalised content? These posers aren’t really new, but cracking them isn’t a solution that has stayed the same for years. And if any marketing initiative/ campaign proves to be a successful and that too at relatively “lower” cost, then it’s worth an applause. 

In today’s digital era where ecosystems such as Google, Facebook, Alibaba, Tencent etc. can be home to massive volume of traffic, optimizing a product or message requires a new skill set. Not too long ago, Pokemon Go became a rage, and there was a rush to make the most of the associated users/ traffic. Here only the blend of content, data, analytics, algorithms etc. can do the magic, and it is clear that lines between marketing, product, and engineering are diminishing.

This is what “growth hackers” have achieved over the years, especially when we talk of scaling businesses. They excel in crafting sensational success stories that have marked success of brands such as Airbnb. They can be described as experts in several disciplines - partly marketing, partly product development, partly engineering.

Airbnb rallied on their strong Craigslist integration. Dropbox quadrupled its users in 15 months by redefining an old door-to-door salesman trick of recommending an unsuspecting neighbour who might be interested in the product. In complete transparency, Dropbox incentivised referrals so both the referral and the referee were rewarded. Amongst users it became a race to see who could refer their entire network first.  

“There is plenty of opportunity for airlines to take a similar approach by reimagining strategy around the traveller’s needs,” says Matt Walker, Chief Storyteller, LikeWhere.com.

Overlap between marketing and growth hacking

The background of growth hackers makes for an interesting read on the web. There is plenty to learn from growth hackers, even though what marketers set out to achieve is different (trying to find a balance between awareness, reach and conversion). Growth hackers stand out for their ability to reap results from repeated testing, and proficient at being precise with return on investment. In a recent article on rockboost.com, it was highlighted that with apt blend of user testing, data mining etc., growth hackers focus on crafting a product or refine it to attain product/market fit or PMF. It also stated when at least 40% of your users have strong affiliation with a product/ service (about using it), PMF has been achieved. So the growth hacker’s goal is to create a product their customers cannot live without.

A marketer in a bigger sense has to create an aura around a brand. It just goes beyond virality or finding a PMF.

“It certainly (growth hacker becoming a VP marketing) could fit the bill, but there are other factors to consider industry by industry. Making a growth hacker VP could entrench your marketing efforts in that approach alone,” says an executive. “I wonder does a VP need a broader, more nuanced approach - of which growth hacking could play a considerable role.” 

Unearthing something new

What about the need for growth hacking in a mature industry like air travel?

“I do think airlines could take a growth hacking approach to long tail inventory: new and underperforming routes. Currently, cutting prices has been the predominant solution, and limited at best. Hacking is about identifying or creating opportunities. Increasing the perceived value of lesser known and underperforming routes through context and story is a fresh strategy, and one that is proven in other industries,” pointed out Walker.

Being disruptive as a non start-up  

A mature sector such as air travel needs to embrace change, and be more agile.

·          First, specialists point out that for relatively mature companies to make the most of capabilities of growth hackers there is a need to re-look at the goal of a marketer. Go beyond awareness and acquisition. Departments operating in silos doesn’t work today, and there is a need to evaluate the whole funnel in a holistic manner. So evaluate activation tactics and metrics such as customer segmentation/ behavioural analysis, cohort analysis etc.

·          Second, problem doesn’t lie in understanding innovation, rather it’s about how to pave way for innovation and embrace in an organization’s culture. So look at the design. Dig about innovation KPI’s, policies, processes and incentives. So JetBlue Technology Ventures comes across as a visionary move. The entity is focusing on investing, incubating and partnerning with early stage start-ups at the intersection of technology, travel and hospitality. Objectives include customer experience and operational efficiency.

·          Third, look at data and platforms. Even as we talk about owning the entire customer lifecycle – from awareness and engagement to conversion and loyalty, one can’t ignore the fact that the landscape is fragmented. “We are sort of locked in a data ecosystem, which is not transferable. So what we call is a “walled garden” – you can’t get data out of it,” says a marketer, referring to Tencent and Alibaba ecosystems. Find ways to have a unified view, and do away with data silos that can create inaccurate customer profiles and duplicate information.

·          Fourth, focus on what can go viral or facilitate virality. For instance, gamification is spoken highly of in terms of experience and engagement; freemium - offering simple and basic services for free for the user to try and more advanced or additional features at a premium, and this can be used for expanding social media base; target low-hanging opportunity such as page load time, focus on link building and spread your content; memes are considered to be very attractive.

Establishing a huge user base, quick publicity, massive sharing of your post, etc… this is what growth hacking is all about. It is exciting. When all of it happens at virtually no expenditure or at best “low-cost”, it’s like winning over a battle without even letting your opponent know when it started and got over!

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