Growth Hacking is a methodology whose objective is to optimize the business model in general and each of the elements that compose it in particular.

The Growth Hacker, on the other hand, is a professional who observes the business globally and is able to identify the parts whose profitability will bring greater growth. In other words, the growth hacker is a person whose ultimate goal is the continuous optimization of the business.

This discipline was born within startups in the face of a very clear need on their part: Being companies with minimal resources, startups need to look for creative ways to achieve profits and therefore the maximum profitability of the business is always a fundamental pillar.

In addition, entrepreneurs also began to devise creative ways to achieve growth without the need for large investments, which would soon attract the attention of other companies.

Is it possible to apply this practice to grow an IT service industry business? Definitely; The methodology is explained step by step below.

The first thing to do is set a growth goal. This must always be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and temporary. To make sure you set a successful growth goal, it is enough that it is related to the most critical part of the funnel; the one in which we lose the most customers.

• Where is the critical part?
• In acquisition?
• In retention and loyalty?
• In conversion?

Once we have identified the most critical part, we can establish an objective that is consistent with its optimization. An example objective could be the following:

"We want to increase the loyalty rate by 15% in a period of 2 months." Of course, we will also have to establish by means of which KPIs or metrics we will verify the success of this objective. In the exemplary case, the metric would clearly be the Churn Rate. Therefore, we could also set the same goal in the same way:

"We want to reduce the churn rate by 15% in a period of 2 months."

Once the objective is established, we must select the growth driver by which we will try to achieve it. 

• The driver is that element on which we will act. How can we increase loyalty?
• Through customer treatment?
• Through a better shopping experience?
• Through better management of breakdowns? 
• Through better customer service?
• Through offers and discounts?
• Through personalized offers?Once the driver is selected, we will arrive at the execution phase of experiments. The experiments are those actions that we will carry out to activate the driver. If, for example, we obtain by optimizing customer service, we must carry out actions with this objective. 
• How can we improve customer service?
• Through faster responses?
• Can you contact us by all means (email, chat, call ...)?
• Do we reply fast enough?
• Do we solve the user´s doubts?
• Do we give a clear explanation of what you do in a situation of certain doubts or faults?
• Could we put up a forum where people can ask us and ask for assistance? 
• Could we carry out an audiovisual campaign in which we give answers to the main doubts of the clients and in the process reinforce our branding? 
• Can we proactively call or email users and ask them if everything is okay?

All those experiments that we carry out must be recorded together with the data that we obtain in each one and the learning that we extract. This is the most important step since we will be creating a database that we can consult in the future and begin to detect patterns that show which drivers and experiments work best for us.

For more information on how to grow an IT services business, all you need to do is register with Hypertry. Ideas for each sector are posted there and you can also request personalized consulting.