In this presentation, Sean Ellis from GrowthHackers, breaks the myths of growth hacking and defines what really matters for moving your north star metric.

1. Breaking the Myths of Growth
Hacking - What Really Matters for
Moving Your North Star Metric
Sean Ellis, GrowthHackers

2. Breaking the Myths of
Growth Hacking -
What Really Matters
for Moving Your North
Star Metric
May 24th, 2017
GrowthHackers Conference

3. Overview
• What is growth hacking (really)?
• Busting the common myths
• Keys to driving sustainable growth

4. Growth Hacking is…
• Rapid experimentation across full customer journey
• Scrutinize everything by its impact on driving sustainable
customer and revenue growth

5. Five Most Common Myths
• Myth 1: Growth hacking is tricks and spamming
• Myth 2: Growth hacking is same thing as marketing
• Myth 3: Growth hacking is clever marketing
• Myth 4: Growth hacking is silver bullets
• Myth 5: GH is a cross between marketing and coding

6. Myth 1: Tricks and Spamming
The Truth: Tricks and spamming lead to fleeting growth

7. Myth 2: Same Thing as Marketing
The Truth
• Marketing generally limited to external
channels, landing pages and email
• Growth Hacking is cross functional effort

8. Myth 3: Clever Marketing
The Truth
• Often requires resourceful,
creative problem solving
• But test levers across the full
customer journey

9. Myth 4: Silver Bullets
The Truth
• Everything must be tested
with clear hypothesis
• Tests often fail but always
lead to learning
http://i.imgur.com/FmRlA.jpg

10. Myth 5: Cross between Marketing/Coding
The Truth
• Dev skills helpful but not critical
• Useful for rolling out rapid
prototypes
• Growth teams should include
rapid prototype developer

11. What Really Matters for Sustainable Growth?
Principles Process
Platform
knowledge
Tactics
Start by learning principles and process first, then platforms

12. Principles Are Evergreen (Never Change)
• PM Fit Must have product required for sustainable growth
• North Star Metric (NSM) Aggregate value delivered
• Growth Model Relationship of variables that move NSM
• Leverage Best opportunities to accelerate growth
• Testing Drive discovery & optimization of growth drivers
Principles Process
Platform
knowledge
Tactics

13. Process Largely Remains Unchanged
• Testing process for discovering
better ways to grow
• Based on scientific method
(around since 1600s)
Principles Process
Platform
knowledge
Tactics

14. Platform Knowledge
• Platforms are often very important for
growth
• Deep platform understanding is huge
competitive advantage
• Platforms are constantly changing,
require continuous relearning
Principles Process
Platform
knowledge
Tactics

15. Tactics
• Focus on delivering more value to more customers (NSM)
• Use testing process to discover and optimize tactics
• More testing = more discovery (test at high tempo)
Principles Process
Platform
knowledge
Tactics

16. Remember to Start with Principles
Principles Process
Platform
knowledge
Tactics

17. Key Takeaways
• Growth hacking is testing across full customer journey to
accelerate sustainable growth
• Use a North Star Metric to track expansion of value over time
(true sustainable growth)
• Principles, process and platform knowledge are critical to
uncovering effective growth tactics

18. Want video access
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This
could
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