Good question. I was wondering the same thing.
Growth hacking is a process of rapid experimentation to identify the most effective, efficient ways to grow a business. The term “growth hack” was coined in 2010 by Sean Ellis to describe the integrated manner in which startups employ analytical, inexpensive, creative and innovative ways to exponentially grow their customer bases.
Examples?
AirBNB
Shortly after AirBNB launched, early adopters were quickly offered an option to cross-post their AirBNB listing on Craigslist. Since Craigslist is a popular website, AirBNB was able to quickly enhance awareness of their brand, search engine ranking and quickly number of active users.
Hotmail
In the late 1990’s, Hotmail launched with the now-famous automated signature line “sent by hotmail.” Curious email recipients clicked on the link, credited for massive growth to 12 million email accounts in short order.
Here are 100 more examples !
So what?
These examples do not involve expensive ad spend or complex product development. Instead, they rely on creatively engaging users, based on a deep understanding of their preferences and behaviours.
While this kind of growth-hacking is now common for most start-ups, it is relatively rare in non-tech middle market or public company circles.
I hope to change that and, with this blog, am seeking to ignite a critical dialogue about how larger more established enterprises can also employ analytical, inexpensive, creative and innovative ways to exponentially grow their customer bases.
The Growth Hack Lab 