Probably you have heard the buzz about ‘growth hack’ as a marketing strategy for B2B tech businesses. Well, it is an exciting term, but it’s not magic. Growth hack marketing is rapid experimentation across different marketing concepts to determine the most efficient way of driving business growth.
Most growth hackers perceive it as more of a mindset or philosophy. In this light, growth hacking is a unique approach to doing business that successfully infuses all the essential elements of a company. Though this approach is particularly crucial in a business’s earlier phases, every B2B tech business – startup or established, small or large – can implement the growth hack marketing strategies. Here are essential dos and don’ts to consider.
Growth hacking: Dos
Replace ‘contact’ with great content
Does your site’s landing page get great traffic but not generating leads? It’s time to replace your ‘contact us’ form with high-quality industry content. In the B2B tech environment, buyers are tech-savvy industry experts who know how to find and compare information about competing technologies and offerings. Vendors are called much later, after the initial shortlisting, so the contact form is most likely left untouched by the potential buyers.
Instead of a contact form, put together a case study, white paper, press release, company capabilities brochure or even a product specs sheet. Gate this unique, exciting content offer on your website’s landing page. The chances are that you will get more leads, and the content might be an excellent starting point for further sales conversions.
Check your linking structure
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the most effective growth hack strategy for B2B tech business. This is because your website is getting more traction from prospects who are already inquiring about your products.
To achieve a long-term SEO improvement, consider creating a series of converting landing pages around key phrases that define your industry. Some of these keywords include ‘IoT platforms’ and ‘5G small cellbase stations.’ Optimize these pages and fill them with ample content that can be crawled by search engines.
Place the most important pages in your site’s top-level navigation (the primary menu in your site header). Finally, link back to one or more of these landing pages to your site’s footer, blog posts, and different pages. This is an effective way of building your SEO via semantic keywords which show search engines such as Google that your site is highly authoritative around a specific topic and other relevant keywords supporting it.
Use microdata for searches
Microdata is a unique coding language that helps search engine crawlers to interpret your website’s content. When used appropriately, microdata can increase a site’s click-through rate and make it stand out in the search.
Use source data to plan and create your next marketing campaign
Perhaps you have a perfect idea for your new content campaign. But where do you expect to publish and promote the content? To be on the safe side, don’t depend on guesswork.
It’s recommended to check source reports to identify the channels associated with high conversion rates. You can organize a new Google Analytics report or use great tools such as HubSpot to track conversions from each source. After all, the conversion rate is an accurate metric of growth.
If you realize that social media is your best converter, invest in promoting your marketing campaign on the relevant platforms. If backlinks (referral traffic) works perfectly for your site, it’s time to set up a public relations (PR) campaign or shoot for guest posts on great tech publications in your industry.
Growth hacking: Don’ts
Don’t release your products before it’s tested
One of the unique values of growth hacking is speed. However, don’t be so excited about getting your product out there before being absolutely sure that it’s prime time when the end users can access it. Focus on discovering the flaws in your product, address them, and then send it to the right consumers.
Don’t wear out your business growth mechanisms
It’s important to understand the limits of your business growth mechanism. Some strategies will work in the short-run or at a particular phase of product development. It is advisable to keep on testing and adjusting your methods accordingly.
Never ignore analytics
The most effective growth hacking strategy is associated with an experimental approach. In a B2B tech business growth hacking scenario, attempting a new growth mechanism is an experiment. Analytics help you to make observations, collect data, and use this data to determine the most viable growth mechanisms.
Conclusion
Always remember that B2B tech business growth hacking is more of a mindset rather than a hard-and-fast rulebook or manual. So, work wisely, test the outcomes, and adopt the best practices to determine the most effective growth hacking strategy for your B2B tech business.
