Starting a business is hard, and it’s even harder when you don’t have any experience. For most people starting their own business, it sometimes feels like an impossible task. Most entrepreneurs are not taught how to start or run a successful company. This leaves the majority of entrepreneurs feeling lost in a sea of information with no clear path forward. This is where growth hacking techniques play a role in kick-starting growth for your business.
In this article, we’ll share our experiences with you when it comes to starting your own profitable business without going broke along the way. Whether you want to start from scratch or build on an existing idea, this article has got you covered.
What are growth hacking techniques?
Growth hacking is often used to define a set of best practices that are employed by companies who want to grow their customer base and increase their revenue without the need for expensive, and often untargeted, advertising campaigns.
It’s an innovative way to think about marketing that focuses on finding creative ways to reach your online audience instead of relying exclusively on paid ads. Growth hackers carefully study the effectiveness of every aspect of their market strategy, including the value proposition, messaging, conversion rates, and more. There are many growth hacks available for use and examining below.
Growth hacking techniques & sales enablement – An essential component for entrepreneurial success
What is Sales Enablement?
Sales enablement is an organization’s use of technological, tactical, and strategic tools to improve the sales process.
The more resources your team has in their sales process, the higher the chances are that they will succeed in achieving the goals that you set for them. Technology plays a huge role in this, allowing your salespeople to align resources when it comes to moving potential clients down the sales funnel process you have in place.
Other benefits of using technology for sales enablement purposes include an improved and engaging customer experience and increased efficiency in the sales process. Furthermore, leveraging technology to provide a better customer experience helps build personal brand and company loyalty which ultimately leads to increased revenue.
Why you need a sales enablement strategy & why is it important
The main purpose of sales enablement is to help salespeople employees be more effective at what they do—selling. There are three main reasons why sales enablement is important to any organization:
Value Generation: Sales enablement aims to augment the value that your company provides, which in turn generates additional revenue for your business. Additionally, enabling employees with the right tools and technology allows them to provide a better customer experience, thereby creating a positive impact on your brand perception.
Sales enablement helps you create an environment where employees can know what’s happening throughout all departments. Furthermore, it also gives them insight into current challenges and opportunities so they can work towards addressing these issues in a manner that meets the needs and expectations of your customers.
Employee Engagement: The best sales enablement strategy helps employees become more engaged with the company’s goals, vision, and mission, leading to a better team and office culture. Also, using technology to communicate with your clients in a personal way while also making them feel that they are important to you will help create a stronger relationship between you and your clients.
This is especially impactful when it comes time for the renewal of services or when the customer is looking at other competitive options. Sales enablement tools can be leveraged as effective incentive programs which provide employees an opportunity to advance their careers – this is very important when implementing a people-first approach in the workplace.. This can be done by having them participate in online training courses or attend conferences held by your organization.
As participation increases, so does employee engagement which ultimately leads to increased revenue.
Revenue Generation: The revenue generation aspect of sales enablement is pretty straightforward. Additional revenue generated by the company equates to increased productivity, profitability, and overall growth. If you look at it this way, then sales enablement is equal to real growth for your company.
Sales Enablement acts as a tool that helps your employees focus on what’s most important in their role, thereby increasing performance while helping them work more efficiently and effectively.
Marketing should be top-of-mind when participating in any kind of sales enablement strategy because if done correctly, this will help generate revenue through customer awareness about your brand. Your customers will know exactly what you have to offer and how they can benefit from doing business with you.
How to translate growth hacking into sales enablement
If you want to translate growth hacking into sales enablement, you must first identify what your goals are. You need to determine exactly what the purpose of sales enablement is within your organization and align it with the overall vision of the company.
If you do this correctly, your sales enablement strategy will be created using a specific methodology based on developing an effective customer experience by improving relationships with clients through better communication. The main goal of sales enablement is to promote growth in revenue as well as efficiency for employees, which translates into a competitive advantage for your company.
3 growth hacking techniques to get more leads and sales
Let’s have a look at three proven growth hacks that have helped countless others get leads, sales, and recognition.
1. Become an Active Participant in an Online Community
If you want to build a business, promote it online. The challenge is that you can’t expect to just show up and have people be interested in your products or services without first building a reputation for yourself as someone worth paying attention to. The truth is that people don’t only value what you say, they also value what other people say about you as well. as how what you say affects them on a personal level.
The process of building a reputation online is not easy. However, there are steps you can take to gain traction. Essentially, you need to:
- answer questions asked by other users
- provide insightful answers
- and share your own experiences as the business owner.
This is a great way to show your expertise in a particular area and get people interested.
Now, when you share your own experiences, others with similar interests will pay attention if you have something valuable to say. The real key to being noticed by others is contributing knowledge to these communities (which can be social media groups, forums, websites, etc.) through detailed answers; the truth is that at the beginning, people are more interested in your content than they are in you.
When you contribute helpful answers to others’ questions, that’s the time when visitors will begin to notice you and pay attention to what it is that you have to say. Slowly, they will start noticing you until eventually, they will be interested in the product you have to offer, that may solve their needs.become customers of yours.
Let’s get into a specific example: If you are the owner of software that helps companies make more sales, find questions that you can help answer. These questions, which are being asked by people who have a problem with making sales, could lead to a conversation that is worth having. Chances are, if you offer a helpful response in the thread, people will notice.
Potential sales-related answers could include :
- How to get more sales when selling on eBay when you’re an online merchant
- Why word-of-mouth marketing does not work in this situation
- Is there such a thing as good salesmanship?
- What are the qualities of successful salespeople?
- What is a good strategy for pursuing new leads in this situation?
Then, when you’ve answered one or two questions, you can invite people to talk with you directly via private message to see if you can genuinely help them further. This way, it’s easy to develop long-lasting relationships that will lead to sales down the line.
2. Take Advantage of the Right Press Coverage
You don’t need to have lots of money to get press coverage. You just need to know what it is that makes the media want to do a story about you (and get people to pay attention while they’re doing it).
Here are some insider tips on finding, getting, and keeping the right press coverage:
Get the right coverage by having an intriguing story to tell: This is not about trying to directly sell anything, it’s simply about telling people something that they think is interesting.
Get your business featured on the website of a big news site: The best way to get this sort of coverage is by building relationships with people who work for these sites. You can do this by actively participating in the comments section of such sites.
Get some press coverage for your business: These days, it’s very affordable to hire a public relations firm or an agency that can get you mentioned on top news and media sites, such as CNN, Huffington Post, Forbes, Bloomberg Businessweek Radio, and many others.
Press releases are also effective if they come from large agencies. Like other forms of advertising, PR comes with its own unique set of pros and cons that are often overlooked by entrepreneurs. It’s not a magic bullet solution but it will get you noticed by others.
To keep on going with the previous example, if you offer software that helps people make more sales, the right press coverage could be a story on how your product or service can help businesses achieve more than they thought was possible.
Moreover, you’ll want to make sure that the announcement of your new product is written in a way that gives reporters what they need to write their story while also giving you the opportunity to plug your product and business.
How can I do this? Here’s an example from a fictitious press release:
“A leading sales marketing agency, “Expert Sales Marketing”, has developed new software that offers a simple two-step process that will increase sales for online merchants. The software has been developed by sales specialists who spent years working inside the retail industry. The software, which is available both online and as a mobile app, offers businesses with limited resources the opportunity to reach out to customers and create features that will improve client retention .”
Next is where you share your experience about the problem.
- What motivated you?
- Why did this annoy you so much?
Share your pain point in detail. This has to be absolutely engaging! Also, you need to give a call to action.
This is the most important step in convincing others about your idea, product, or service. Show people how they can benefit from using what you offer.
3. Use A Unique Twist to Showcase Your Product on Social Media
Nothing gets attention like a unique twist (bonus points if it includes a good laugh) where people are engaged. That’s why social media sites, such as Twitter and Facebook, have become powerful tools for getting noticed online.
Nowadays if you use these platforms to promote your business or product by bringing a twist to an older concept, people are more likely to pay attention. This will make them more inclined to share what you say with their friends. Studies have shown that such posts get shared almost twice as often as those that are bland and normal.
This means that not only will the content gain traction through your social media platforms, it will also spread out into different networks where people will see what is being said about your business or product. They may decide to share what they find with their friends and colleagues as well. You never know who might see your post and become a customer of yours later on.
Such posts can include:
1. Run a contest or giveaway
Contests and giveaways are a great way to get people talking about your business. The best thing about running contests or giveaways is that they don’t require you to put out that much money. All you need to do is set up the rules and then ask everyone else to follow them!
Keeping your followers engaged might seem like an impossible task, but it’s not if you get creative. Don’t be afraid to try things out and see what works best for your business. The more active you are on social media the better chance you’ll have at getting people talking about your product or service offline!
Image credit: https://www.instagram.com/birchbox
This is one of the best ways to grow as an entrepreneur.
2. Create easy to consume videos about your brand
We live in the age of video content . Countless brands are using this to their advantage by creating short videos about themselves. This growth hacking technique is a great way to get your audience interested and engaged in what you have to say. It also allows them to discover more about you and what your business has to offer.
Image credit: https://twitter.com/krispykreme
Such videos can include:
Video #1: Your own personal story of why you started your business ( This video can include interviews with other entrepreneurs who are currently in the same boat)
Video #2 : How someone benefits from using your product or service. Why would they want to use what it is that you offer? What could it do for them? What problems would it solve?
Video #3 : A review of the top products in your industry. This will not only showcase what you have to offer, but it will also help you get a leg up on your competition!
3. Use the power of memes to spread your message.
If you want to get people talking about your brand on social media on social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, memes are highly effective at getting people talking about your brand. You’ll be able to engage with other users and get them asking questions, which are more than likely going to lead them to your site where they can learn more about your business or product!
Image credit: https://www.instagram.com/chubbies/
Make sure that the memes you create are relevant to your company and industry or you won’t be able to attract people’s attention. Once you have users engaging with your page and asking questions, make sure that you are a) answering their questions and b) providing useful information that will help them out with their concerns. This way they’ll see how kind and helpful you are to others and may be inclined to follow what it is that you do.
3 growth hacking platforms that entrepreneurs can explore
A growth platform is something that can help you expand your business quickly and effectively. That’s why entrepreneurs who want to get noticed without having to spend tons of money need to find the right growth platform.
The truth is that there is still a lot of confusion about what exactly such platforms are all about. Believe it or not, even some experts don’t know how to properly define this concept.
For now, just remember that it simply refers to a platform that helps you increase your sales or customer base with a systematic approach or set of methods. Here are some examples:
1. Marketing Automation Platforms
A marketing automation platform is a software that helps entrepreneurs bring in more clients and manage their entire customer base. This kind of platform puts your business on autopilot, which means you’ll be able to reach out to current and potential clients with ease. The best thing about using a marketing automation platform is that it will help you become much more efficient when it comes to running your business.
When it comes to growth hacking, marketing automation is a go-to option because it makes your life much easier over the long haul. Due to the huge amount of information and messages that are being delivered at any given time, it can be hard for entrepreneurs to remember everything they need to do. Thus, this type of platform is a lifesaver.
If you’re planning on using marketing automation software in your business, make sure that you consider the following details:
- Make sure that it’s an industry leader – There are a lot of platforms who claim they can help you grow your business with their platforms. However, not all of them offer similar levels of service or have the right experience in online marketing to make a difference for your company. Choose one that has been around for years and has helped businesses just like yours skyrocket in growth over time.
- Check out reviews – In today’s day and age, it’s easy to find reviews of just about anything online so be sure to check the rating of any platform you’re planning on using before signing up with them. This way you’ll know if people are generally happy or not with the support they get from their growth platform.
- What is included in the price? Some marketing automation platforms have additional features that come at an extra cost while others have everything included in one package. Be sure to consider this when comparing different platforms as it will help you pick one that has all the services you need and nothing more.
2. Social Media Platforms
With the recent boom of social media, more and more business owners are relying on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to get them noticed. This is because it makes sense compared to other traditional marketing methods that can be very expensive in the long run.
For example, when you post new content on Facebook or Tweet about your latest product, thousands of people will see it right away. Not only that but they’ll also be able to comment on it as well which could help you receive much-needed feedback from consumers all around the world.
By tapping into these types of platforms as part of your growth hacking efforts, you’ll have an opportunity to connect with millions of potential customers – for free (if you choose so). Make sure to follow these tips if you plan on using social media to grow your business:
- Create a schedule – If you want to be successful with social media, then you need to create a plan of attack that outlines exactly when and how much time you’ll spend on each platform every day. Remember that setting up social media accounts is not enough; if no one ever sees your posts or tweets then it’s all pointless.
- Be realistic – When planning out your strategy, don’t overthink things because this will increase the chances of failure dramatically. Instead, opt for something simple and easy so that you can deliver results right away without a lot of headaches along the way. Just remember to keep it interesting and fun.
- Be consistent – Once you set up your social media accounts, don’t forget to use them consistently over time. The reason behind this is that if you post one or two updates per week on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram then the majority of people won’t see it unless they follow you regularly. Consistency is key in any type of marketing campaign so be sure not to give up at the first sign of difficulty.
3. Review Sites Platforms
Online reviews can make or break the success of any product or business so most entrepreneurs are working hard to get a great reputation online. One of the easiest ways for newbie entrepreneurs to increase their reach is by getting their products and services reviewed on popular review sites that specialize in covering different industries.
For example, there are millions of people who visit Amazon.com every day looking for information about specific products. For you to rank well, then you need to have plenty of real user reviews posted on your page. If not enough positive feedback is present then consumers will be more likely to go with someone else.
If used correctly, online reviews can help skyrocket your growth quickly so it’s worth the time and effort to make this kind of marketing strategy a major part of your overall plan!
- Identify the platform best suited for your business – It’s worth mentioning that not all online review sites are created equal so it’s important to identify one or two platforms that work well with your products and services. You may want to stick with popular platforms in your industry, but don’t be afraid to branch out and try something different if you feel it makes sense.
- Make sure you’re getting the reviews you need – When planning out what approach you’ll take for online reviews, it’s very important to figure out how many positive reviews per day will help give off a good impression on consumers who visit the page. If not enough reviews are present then this can be a major red flag and may lead to people looking for alternative products.
By following these tips closely, you’ll have an easier time getting started with growing your business and ensuring maximum visibility for all of the products and services offered through it. Just remember that reviews should always come from customers who have used your products.
Tips for measuring your strategy
Now that we’ve gone over the importance of sales enablement (SE) and how to create an effective sales enablement strategy, let’s talk about things you can measure to ensure your strategy is successful.
The first thing you’ll want to look at is ROI (return on investment). You can measure ROI by calculating the net return generated by using your SE strategy, divided by what it cost you to implement it. To illustrate this, if $2 million worth of additional revenue has been generated from adding a new employee incentive program, and it only costs you $1 million in incentives for these employees to participate, then the ROI would be 2.0 which is considered a very high return.
Source: Return on Sales
Monitor and control the messaging being delivered to clients as well as employees. By keeping a close eye on what’s being said, you will be able to find gaps in communication – this may cause confusion which could lead to loss of revenue. Track key performance indicators such as customer satisfaction, employee engagement levels, and how many people have participated in your incentive programs or webinars.
Keep an open line of communication between departments when it comes to sales enablement so that everyone is on the same page concerning goals, vision, and mission for growth hacking.
Investing time into training new or existing staff members can be very effective because they can bring new business ideas and fresh perspectives. Instead of delegating the responsibility of sales enablement to one person, it’s a good idea to assign different employees different tasks as part of your SE strategy. Doing this allows you to spread the workload out evenly which will ultimately lead to more successful results.
If you want to see real growth as a result of sales enablement, then make sure all messages are being reviewed, communicated clearly on an individual level, and that your internal communication is clear between departments. If you do this correctly, you’ll build up momentum with potential clients while building employee loyalty within your company.
This will help increase revenue and promote increased efficiency for employees – which in turn builds a competitive advantage for your company.
4 factors to consider before growth hacking your business
Here are some considerations you should make before implementing growth hacking techniques for your business:
1. Figure out what you offer that other companies don’t
Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of your product or service will help when planning how to advertise it online. If you’re a digital marketing agency, for example, then you’ll want to emphasize that in all of your messaging. You should also focus on the unique benefits that are offered by your business so clients can become repeat customers down the road.
2. Know if your idea is viable
You need to make sure that whatever service or product you have to offer is something people want to buy from you.
Even though this sounds silly and obvious, many entrepreneurs don’t get this right and wind up spending a ton of money on advertising without generating any sales. If you want to establish a successful company, you must have the right idea and product before you start investing your money in marketing tactics.
Getting traffic will only do so much if nobody buys what you’re selling. Take time to figure out if your idea is viable so that you can avoid wasting any of your hard-earned dollars on leads who are likely to churn.
If something sounds too good to be true, then it probably isn’t worth pursuing unless you’re really sure that it’s a viable idea.
3. Know how growth hacking techniques will benefit your business
The best part about growth hacking is that there are so many ways for companies to advertise their products online and grow exponentially.
Anyone willing to put in the work can find a growth hacking strategy that will help them increase their presence on social media, get more people talking about their brand on the internet, and quickly identify ways to turn traffic into money-making customers.
4. Decide if growth hacking is right for your business
All of these aspects are important to consider before you go ahead and try to grow your company using growth hacking strategies. If you are a 100% remote sales team and you’re trying to focus on growth hacking tactics that require people to be in the same location, then chances are that this will fail.
Keep in mind that it will take time, work, and new things to get things going, but the payoff is usually worth it if you’re willing to put in the effort as well as having the right conditions in place.
Before putting together growth hacking techniques for your own company, make sure that you have a solid foundation.
Conclusion
In business, one is always striving to get to the next level. Understanding how growth hacking techniques can help you get better results with currently available resources is a great way to accelerate your growth in the right direction.
When you combine growth hacking techniques with sales enablement, you will be able to get the most out of your sales team, while ensuring that you are serving customers to the best of your abilities.
