Recruiting a Growth Hacker or a Growth Hacker Company: Which One is Better for a Startup?
To kick off this discussion, let us begin with the basics.
Concept of Growth Hacking
A growth hacker is a hybrid of marketer and coder who has the capability to come up with a new growth strategy to improve the product, service, brand awareness, or conversion rate.
He does this by devising strategies for a company’s marketing campaigns, which in turn will help increase sales.
He makes sure that the product or service of the company will be visible in various places and even if there is no advertisement involved, he works towards making people aware of it.
How Growth Hacking Process Works
Growth hackers create a positive effect on the startup they are working for and they also have the ability to assess what is missing in their strategies. This will help them devise strategies that can lead to better results than those done previously, focusing on product-market fit.
A good growth hacker has a clear vision and focuses on what he wants to achieve and he knows how to achieve it by putting his plans into action effectively.
On the other hand, growth hacker companies have started rising in number because of their effective working methods as well as their low price tags as compared to conventional growth marketers agencies.
Using growth hacking tactics by growth hackers charge around 10% of what traditional marketing agencies charge, but they are much more effective.
Growth hacker companies will not only help you with strategies and will devise strategies for your product or service, but they will also keep a track of the strategies to make sure that it is working out the way it should be.
Growth hacker companies usually work in different ways to improve the performance of their clients.
They do this by bringing together a team of experts, who all have a wide variety of skills and they can provide assistance with both branding and growth hacking.
This growth process uses social media to attract customers and is capable of increasing the number of customers a startup has in a short period of time.
Benefits That Come with Hiring a Growth Hacker Company
Time efficiency — A good growth hacker company will be able to assess what needs to be done to grow your business much faster than an individual who is handling this task on his own.
There are times when it may take months for an individual to reach scalable growth, but for an experienced growth hacker company, it would take only a couple of weeks at most.
Their main focus is on getting results and hence they will focus on what works well instead of wasting time on what does not work.
Cost-effectiveness — Hiring a growth hacker company will be cost-effective as compared to hiring an individual, as the former will be able to come up with effective strategies which can increase the sales of your business.
They are also efficient in their work and you will not have to pay them too much as compared to what you would have paid if you had hired an individual.
However, it is always advisable that you compare prices before deciding so that you do not end up paying more than what is required.
The Pros and Cons of Hiring a Growth Hacker
Just like every other person, there are both pros and cons of hiring a growth hacker for your startup or business. Let us look at both of them below:
Pros:
The main benefit of hiring a growth hacker for your startup is that he will help improve the visibility of your brand or product in the market by using innovative methods to market it and by making sure that potential customers know about it even if there is no advertisement involved.
He does this through digital marketing using various social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc, and also creates websites that are compatible with mobile devices.
Another benefit of hiring a growth hacker is that he will be able to use the data that is available to figure out what works and what does not work. This will help him devise strategies that can get you better results than before.
This can also lead to lesser costs as compared to those of traditional marketing agencies, as they usually charge a hefty amount.
Cons:
There are some drawbacks of hiring a growth hacker for your startup or business as well. A growth hacker is someone who knows his job very well and hence if you are not careful, he might end up taking control of your business instead of helping you out with it.
He has the capability to take over everything, which means that there is no room for your own creativity in case you have any ideas about how to improve your business.
Also, he will work on his own methods and will not pay attention to what you want him to do for your business, which can create problems in the future if things do not go according to plan.
He may also make decisions on his own without keeping in mind what the owner wants him to do for his or her business. In such cases, conflicts may arise between the two and this will make it difficult for the business, especially for startups, to grow.
Here Are Some Tips on Choosing a Growth Hacker Companies
To get the best results out of hiring a growth hacker company, you must hire one which is well known and has the right growth hacking techniques. Here are some tips on how to choose a growth hacker company:
Try and get referrals — You can ask around and try to find out about good growth hacker companies which have worked for other startups or businesses.
You can also get recommendations from friends or colleagues who have used the services of such companies before. This will help you find out about the services they provide as well as the pricing, which will help you make an informed decision.
Check their portfolio — A good growth hacker company will be able to show you what they have done for their previous clients. They will be able to show you pictures of their previous work as well as any other proofs that can assure you that they know what they are doing.
This will also help you assess whether their strategies have worked in the past or not so that if they did work, you know what it takes to get similar results with your business. It will also help you figure out whether they charge too much or not.
The more effective their strategies are, the less they will charge you.
Check their previous experience — Another thing that you should look into before hiring a growth hacker company is their previous experience.
This will help you assess whether they have worked with startups or businesses similar to yours and if they have, it will give you an idea of what they can do for your business.
Ask for references — If possible, try and talk to the people who have used the services of the growth hacker company before. Ask them about their experience with them and what kind of results they got from them.
This will help you figure out whether they are capable of delivering similar results as well as give you an idea about how easy it is to work with them or not.
Conclusion:
When it comes to growth hacking for startups, the ideal way is to hire a growth hacker company instead of an individual, as they have the knowledge and experience required to devise strategies that can improve your business’ performance.
They also have the ability to do everything required for growth hacking by themselves and you will not have to spend too much on them. They also make sure that your business is well promoted and advertised, which in turn will lead to better results than before.
You just need to be careful about choosing a company which has a good reputation and can help you with everything that you need.
About the Author
I hope that my post has helped you know more about Startups. Feel free to leave a comment and tag me and I will answer them. Follow my profile to get the latest content I post to stay ahead of the curve.
I am the Founder of Cudy Technologies, a full-stack EdTech startup helping teachers and students learn better. I am also a mentor and angel investor in other Startups of my other interests (Proptech, Fintech, HRtech, Ride-hailing, C2C marketplaces, and SaaS). You can also find me on Cudy for early-stage Startup Founder mentorship and advice.
Connect with me on LinkedIn if you have further questions. Let me know that you are a reader of my Medium posts in your invitation message.