All the start-ups that see themselves as potential Airbnb, Facebook and Instagram users, the Growth Hacking is now very fashionable: everyone is talking about it, without really knowing what this rather barbaric term means.
Wikipedia mentions a "growth fiddling But we should certainly be talking about "hacking" it: computer hackers aren't always very reputable characters!
Still according to the online encyclopaedia, it could be defined as a "A set of marketing techniques used to rapidly and significantly accelerate the growth (=growth) of a start-up.
This is a " test and learn " taken to its extreme: we try something to see if it works, if it does, we amplify it, if it doesn't, we move on to something else - and so on.
As with the hacker, all means are good: the hacker has nothing to lose, and above all, everything to gain; all the more so as he is running out of time: Uber, Blablacar and Airbnb were neither the first, nor even the best in their markets - but they were the first to break through, to reach the critical mass that enabled them to bury the competition.
Growth hacking is therefore an emergency strategy aimed at start-ups whose business model appears easily replicable - and who, once again, have nothing to lose: can it be applied to established companies?
Nothing less certain...
On the one hand, even if it breaks down its silos, a large company will never have the responsiveness of a start-up: it's better to generate its own spin-offs, with the resources needed to set them up... and the pressure needed for them to attack their markets with a boarding axe.
What's more, established companies don't have "nothing to lose" - quite the contrary! As for the urgency, it's not the same: their competitors also have their burdens.
By trying to move too fast, Samsung has burnt its wings with its latest Galaxy Note... and there, it had a lot to lose - and less to gain by showing itself to be faster than Apple!
Are large companies condemned to do nothing? Certainly not!
What is Growth Hacking if not a subtle blend of intuition and realism?
Intuition + realism, the cocktail has been around for a long time, marketers call it... Design Thinking: to each his own methods and tools.
Please note: Adwise is presenting a Design Thinking case study at the Lab (Adetem) on Wednesday 11 January 2017 at 8.30am!
