At the risk of resembling the wearer of bad news, “growth hacking” is a mirage that will crumble your business before your eyes.
Investing in growth hacking is like spending your money, time and winding resources when you should do a real job to help your business develop.
Cultivating a business in the right way can be slow and difficult, but it will be worth it in the long term. Just as a pregnant woman cannot give birth to a 90 -year -old man, no one can hack the growth process of sustainable companies. There are rules for these things.
Remove the “piracy” in “Growth-Hack” and grow!
What is growth of growth? Piracy means cutting the corners or obtaining unauthorized access. From this definition, hacking of growth is more or less a scam. If you cut the corners and your access is not allowed, your growth will probably be a mirage.
Instead of connecting the growth of your startup, do them:
# 1 → Invest in solving a real problem:
If you have not seen the program entitled “Undercover billionaire”, you must see it as soon as you can. This show will teach you big lessons on how to start and manage a business successfully with limited resources.
With a mobile phone, a bag, $ 100, a simple car, no credit cards, no contacts, no accommodation and no internet access, the billionaire under cover sets in search to create a million dollars in 90 days, in a city where no one can recognize it. Better yet, it must be a city where he does not know anyone.
There are so many things that the entrepreneur can learn from this show to help create a sustainable business from zero. One of the first lessons is the need to create real value.
The first season From the billionaire in cimence presented Glenn Stearns. His first mission was to generate fast money to cover basic expenses and generate capital to start your business.
Glenn asked this question; “What value can I offer to earn money, even with limited resources at my disposal?”
After thinking hard, he decided to start a barbecue business by being in demand for HIGH. But to remove the capital for a standard barbecue company, he did a few odd jobs. He…
- Sold of scrap metals
- Articles used
- Did work for wages
Lateral note: where there is a will, there is a means! Do everything you can if you have to; Do everything you need to grow. No hacking, no cutting corners, just grain and hard work.
In record time, Glenn collected enough money to start his main business and continued to create a prosperous business from this.
So, put your reflection ceiling, determine the value that is missing in your industry, then find a product or service to respond to this point of pain.
Do not hack the growth of your business when there is no real value to offer. It is a recipe for disaster.
# 2 → Invest in the markets badly served:
Napoleon Hill, the famous American writer who wrote “Think and Deveil Rich” said once …
“Your great opportunity can be right where you are now.”
More often than not, you don't need to appear too far to find an opportunity. If only you can just take a break and look around, you will realize that you are standing on a gold mine.
Do you know the story of Zynga and King?
These are mobile game companies that have made history in the world of technology, but not without precious lessons.
Zynga, a unique leader in social games (Facebook), has experienced major hits like Farmville, among others. The problem was that this company completely depended on Facebook for traffic; What we are later a serious mistake when Facebook decided to change their algorithm.
This change of algorithm made Zynga tremble, as expected. The problem was that Zynga did nothing about this change of algorithm!
Maybe they were too confident in their business or something, but anyway, they regretted it so much. Because, why didn't Zynga adapt to the change in algorithm fairly quickly? Why did they not find other ways to serve their customers outside of Facebook? This is a clear case of excessive confidence (as I mentioned earlier) and the negligence of the customer!
Negligence of customers because, at this stage, the clientele of Zynga was poorly served. It was then that King, another mobile games company, decked to jump and save the day.
And save the day they did it!
So, what did King do Zynga differently?
First of all, they focused on autonomous game applications that can work on mobile devices without going through Facebook or any other platform.
Then King has controlled free monetization and distributed his games on Facebook and other platforms.
King has also implemented non -invasive social integration. This means that their users can link the application to their social media platforms, which allows them to connect with other players, share updates, get comments or build a community around a game.
Thus, instead of strengthening the growth of your business, performs in -depth research to find out what value is missing in your industry and take advantage of it.
# 3 → Search for your competitors:
Do you know why Sun Tzu said we should keep our enemies closer than our friends? This is because the understanding of your enemies (or competitors) gives us power.
How do you keep your competitors “closer”?
By looking for them. No; It is not hunt, it is 100% legal, and it is a standard practice in business.
Let's take a look at the case of Netflix vs Bluckbuster (once again!).
First, blockbuster. Here are some statistics.
- More than 9,000 host stores worldwide
- Millions of loyal customers on a weekly basis
- Is worth nearly $ 6 billion
- Hired more than 84,000 employees
Blockbuster was the in-all at the time!
As Blockbuster was everywhere, Netflix was somewhere at the corner of the street and took notes. Netflix may not be the best at the time, but they were innovative and ready to do the work.
Just as a comparison, in 2003
- Netflix was worth 300 million to $ 500 million
- Blockbuster was worth $ 5 billion
Again, Netflix did not hurt, but they were innovative and at work hard to search for their biggest competitor – blockbuster.
In addition to looking for their greatest competitor, Netflix also used technology, which was just starting to explode at the time.
These are the changes they made to move forward.
I) – DVD DOOR -TO DOOR by mail:
With blockbuster, you have to make a trip to one of their brick and mortar stores to hire a film – nothing wrong with that. But what's going on if you can have the movies at your steps? No trips, saves time and money, more convenience!
Cool, right?
Well, Netflix began to deliver DVD by mail and people loved it!
II) – Plit rate subscription:
When you hire a blockbuster film and you don't return it in time, you are charged “late costs” that customers hated so much.
To cope with this point of pain, Netflix introduced a lump sum subscription. This is a single cost for a period of time that allows you to have unlimited access to DVDs. No delay fees.
III) – Streaming Films Online:
Biggest conquest!
People like everything that can make their lives easier, and streaming online movies in the comfort of their own house is not bad at all.
In addition, the use of the Internet was starting to explode. Talk about perfect timing.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how Netflix was able to develop (and not growth) its path to become the main Creat Creata at this age, worth around 417 billion dollars (when writing this, 2025).
In addition, Netflix set an ambitious objective to achieve an estimate value of $ 1 Billion by 2030!
So where is blockbuster in all these elements? Left with the wind!
Also, did I mention that Bluckbuster rejected a nave purchase offer for $ 50 million in the year 2000?
(Yeah; do with that you want!)
CONCLUSION:
It's one thing to start a business, but it's another to perform it successfully.
In addition to perfecting your skills set, you also need discretion to identify the best practices in the industry you need or should not implement.
I know it's not easy; I have already been there, I failed, cried, married, learned some lessons, and now I know better.
Piracy of growth, no matter how you see it, is not a good strategy for your business.
Regarding business growth, you develop your business for real (by putting work), you are growing too fast and fail (by growth hacking).
