(Marketing 3.0?)

Formulating the Idea…

Why UK Tech Start Ups?

• London is Europe’s largest hub of technology start-ups (Smith, 2014) and in the first three-quarters of 2014, $1.02 billion in funding for fledging technology companies in London has been raised from venture capital firms (Murad, 2014)

• Google Ventures launched a $100 million fund in July 2014, dedicated to European businesses and based in East London’s ‘Silicon Roundabout Start-Up District’ (BBC, 2014)

• The Government’s TechCity UK Report (TechCity UK, 2013) also states that this growth is predicted to expand by 11% every year until 2016, creating a digital economy worth £221 billion

Technological Change (in Context)

To make $1 billion…46 years Oil Tycoon John D Rockefeller14 years Michael Dell12 years Bill Gates4 years Founder of Yahoo3 years Founder of eBay2 years Founder of Groupon

‘Old’ Product Marketing Approach

‘Old’ Digital Marketing Approach

What is Growth Hacking?• Sean Ellis devised the term ‘Growth Hacking’ in 2010

• Ellis (2014) says “Startups live and die by their ability to drive customer acquisition growth. Of course many startups are doomed to failure and can’t grow because they never reach product/market fit. But even with product/market fit, traction is tough. Startups are under extreme resource constraints and need to figure out how to break through the noise to let their target customers know they have a superior solution for a critical problem…the best growth hacks take advantage of the unique opportunities available in a connected world where digital experiences can spread rapidly.”

• Chen (2011) expands this view to describe growth hacking as 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. On top of this, they layer the discipline of direct marketing, with its emphasis on quantitative measurement, scenario modelling via spreadsheets, and a lot of database queries. If a startup is pre-product/market fit, growth hackers can make sure virality is embedded at the core of a product.”

What is Growth Hacking?

Source: Econsultancy (2014)

BUT….

Key Concepts (Strategic Level)• Lean start-ups• Marketing technology• Agile marketing

Lean Start Ups

Source: Blank (2013)

Marketing Technology

Ten Commandments of Agile Marketing1. Immerse yourself in the customer experience2. Know the fitness landscape you are competing in3. Develop rules of thumb for how to compete in your fitness landscape4. Make extensive use of pilots and prototypes5. Conduct smart experiments using new technologies6. Focus on asking the right questions7. Use behavioural qualitative market research and econometrics to

sharpen selection8. Use qualitative research to improve your intuition9. Define and communicate the intent of new offers clearly, with a

process of briefing and back briefing10. Give individuals in marketing and other functions freedom to adjust

their actions in line with the intentSource: Freeling (2011)

Key Concepts (Tactical Level)• Product/ Market Fit• User Data Analysis• Conversion Rate Optimisation• Viral Growth• Retention scalable Growth

First Conceptual Framework

Research Methods• Sampling• Qualitative approach: 11 face-to-face

interviews• Semi-structured (7 open-ended questions)• 2 questions used dimension cards with key

growth hacking terms on them (Rowley et al, 2012)

• Average length: 41 minutes• Thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006)

Interviewees

Thematic Analysis

Findings

Definitions of Growth Hacking:

• It’s become a buzz word (6 participants)• Mind-set is extremely important – focus on

accelerated growth on a minimum budget• Being curious is key• Internal culture: being open to experimentation• Needs a good (T-shaped) team

Findings

Definitions of Growth Hacking:

• It’s become a buzz word (6 participants)• Mind-set is extremely important – focus on

accelerated growth on a minimum budget• Being curious is key• Internal culture: being open to experimentation• Needs a good (T-shaped) team

Findings

• MVP• Viral growth• Effective offline channels• Agile Marketing: TEST, LEARN & COMMIT’

loops

Findings

Michael Birch, Co-founder of Bebo:

“Budgets make people lazy. They begin to think in traditional terms and don’t innovate.”

Social Media

New Framework(s)

Technologist

Coder/ Developer

Marketer

Data Analyst

Growth Hacker

Ideal role of a growth hacker

New Framework(s)

Processes• Rapid A/B experiments to

test hypotheses• Use 19 traction channels

(Weinberg & Mares, 2014) to test, measure, learn and iterate

• Continuous focus on conversion improvement

 

Skills• Focus on growth• Curiosity & understanding of

technology• Understanding of branding• Know what data to collect & ability

to interpret it• Pi-Shaped people (Mortimer, 2012)

 

Tools• Google Analytics• Mixpanel• Kissmetrics• Optimizely• Gekoboard• Adjust• Qualaroo

  

Metrics• Tailored to business-type• KPIs per channel• Prioritise a few metrics

(e.g.Gekoboard have two per year)• Use pirate metrics framework –

AARRR (McClure, 2007) 

Growth Hacking Operating System

New Framework(s)

Conclusions• Growth hacking can only be done with a good product

that has achieved product market fit

• Growth hacking is most effective when it’s implemented by a multi-disciplined team

• The core principle behind growth hacking is to quickly and cheaply test a marketing idea, use data to analyse the outcomes and to: iterate, optimise, implement or change the experiment

• Running A/B tests and using analytical software such as Google Analytics, Mixpanel and Optimizely are essential to this process

Conclusions• Despite the high data analysis element of growth

hacking, it’s a extremely creative process that requires people to “swim against the flow” and spot emerging opportunities before anyone else does

• Although digital marketing is a key element of growth hacking it is also important to use traditional marketing methods to bridge the gap between the physical and digital world

@DigitalTanya