As a business owner, the primary thing we are all looking for, every single day in our business is GROWTH. Growth in sales, growth in team, growth in brand identity, growth in customer base. But how can this growth be achieved? Where to start? All these questions are answered in Growth Hacking. In technical terms, ‘Growth hacking is the term used to describe experiments and processes aimed at building and scaling a company’s customer base and revenue through creative, innovative, and low-cost strategies.’ In other words, growth hacking is the process of expanding through data. Data is king and data never lies. So it’s best to base your company’s growth plan on data. But what is this data and how can small businesses and startups churn it? That is what the process of growth hacking is all about and where growth consultants like us come in.

At its core, there are five stages in the framework of growth hacking:-

1. Define Objectives

Growth cannot occur until we evaluate our current position and set goals based upon that. Hence, step one is to start from the ground up. Detailed research of the market, competitors, trends, your business position, evaluation of products/ services and value propositions. Understanding the consumer, their preferences and their purchase behaviour. Based on the findings and learnings of the research defining goals. This includes long-term and short-term targets for the business. Know what you are seeking to accomplish through growth hacking. Then, tailor your approach toward those specific objectives.

2. Foster New Ideas

Purpose of this research is to get inspired and build on what you find. To create something new, we need to learn from the past – past successes, past failures, past learnings. With detailed research & past data analysis, one must keep innovating and planning for the future as well. Use as much information as possible to help brainstorm the best way for your business to use growth hacking. Foster ideas that are out of the box and that will differentiate you from your competitors.

3. Determine Priorities

Create a timeline of growth and what needs to be done when. Decide which goals are more important and urgent for your business.  These are things to consider as you narrow down your growth hacking strategy. But, be realistic while setting your targets. Growth hacking isn’t magic and isn’t guaranteed to work overnight, so set achievable goals.

4. Implement the New Strategy

Put your idea through the grind. Execute it using platforms and tools available to you. Resolve minor setbacks along the way, optimize the strategy and keep moving forward. Continue running experiments and new tests as you go, to gather the most information. Monitoring the success of your ideas would help you further build a strong strategy for your growth.

5. Measure and Analyze Results

This is the final, most important, step that we tend to skip because we think the process ends at execution. In growth hacking, we have to revisit our strategies and their implementation and the key learnings from them. What were the gaps in execution? How effective was the strategy? Was the goal achieved? What are the next steps to capitalize on this? And all this analysis is done through data. Because data never lies. Take that information and use it to inform your next strategy. We live in a fast-paced world and everyone is looking for instant gratification, even businesses. While growth is a long process and the key is consistency, growth hacking gives the process direction and measurable results. At StartInc, we are growth hackers who are in this for the long haul to accelerate the growth in your businesses.