Should Your Small Business Hire a Growth Hacker?
You own a startup and you want to see it grow. Do you hire a growth hacker? Or should you outsource to a growth hacker consultant? There are several questions to consider when it comes to making a decision about growth. Can you afford to hire a growth hacker or can you afford to learn growth hacking techniques on your own?
Over the years, marketing professionals have shifted their focus to more analytical testing and data crunching. This has led to more specific testing and quantitative data to help a company determine the direction they should take with their marketing campaign. As this role continues to develop, more marketing professionals have rolled into data scientists — a.k.a. growth hackers. A growth hacker requires a combination of marketing and developer techniques.
To determine what is best for your company’s growth, consider the following reasons to hire, and ways you can hire, a growth hacker.
Not the norm
Growth hacking strategies are not satisfied with the norm and strive to try things a new way. Growth hackers use a combination of analytics and creative thought to think outside of the box and increase business growth. The combination requires technical understanding of basic coding, analytics, SEO, and paid advertising with communication skills drawn from content production, PR, and customer service.
Customer acquisition
A main theme for growth hackers is to develop customer acquisition, retention, and growth. Finding a professional who has a passion to focus on these functions is ideal for a startup. This may be through an internal employee or consulting firm.
Look inside
When you hire a growth hacker, start by looking at your current employees. Someone internally knows your company and products. They have spent time with your team and want to see the business grow. Give your internal employees an opportunity to get involved in company growth. If you can’t find a current employee that holds the traits to be a growth hacker, look for an external candidate who has worked with growth, data-driven optimization, and direct acquisition marketing campaigns.
Find a consultant
Some growth hackers work as consultants to temporarily come into a company and train employees on becoming more data driven with making growth decisions. Make sure that your growth hacking consultant has an entrepreneurial mindset and does more than SEO/SEM consulting. You need someone who has a background in customer acquisition, data driven, and a lead developer.
Bottom line
Hiring a growth hacker can improve your business potential as you seek out a candidate who understands your company and all of the growth hacking strategies. A great place to start looking is from within your current employee base. Yet, if you can’t find an internal candidate, look for a professional that has a proven track record. Make sure you have clear goals in mind for your business and develop a marketing framework that can best guide a growth hacker in determining the right analyses to move business forward. Don’t expect a growth hacker to change your business overnight, but do recruit a professional who is passionate about growth and has the patience to hang in there as adjustments are made to increase your business success.
