9. A Virtuous Growth Cycle Flashcards
What is the primary role of breakout companies that sustain their success?
Constantly push for more, leverage success, capitalize on new opportunities, and create a virtuous cycle of growth.
What significant milestone did the Facebook growth team celebrate in 2017?
10-year anniversary.
What was the initial size of the Facebook growth team tasked with reversing slowing adoption?
Five people.
How many people does Facebook serve per day?
More than one billion.
What are two long-term initiatives Facebook has pursued for innovation?
- Purchase of Oculus
- Internet Everywhere initiative.
What is a growth stall?
A slowdown in growth often unforeseen, sneaking up on companies.
Which companies are cited as having suffered from growth stalls?
- Skype
- Levi Strauss
- 3M
- Apple
- Banc One
- Caterpillar
- Daimler-Benz
- Toys ‘R’ Us
- Volvo.
What often causes growth stalls according to the study by Olson and colleagues?
Chronic failures to monitor customer satisfaction and look for early warning signs of disaffection.
True or False: Growth stalls are typically caused by dramatic disruptions in the market.
False.
What are two common pitfalls that can lead to growth stalls?
- Overconfidence in market position
- Loss of focus on core products or services.
What can happen when companies become overreliant on particular marketing channels?
They may experience a massive slowdown in growth.
What happened to the video app Viddy due to changes in Facebook’s News Feed algorithm?
Rapid drop in users from 50 million to less than 500,000.
What is growth hacking?
A process where companies experiment and innovate continuously to drive growth.
What is a key characteristic of growth teams?
Proactive in acquiring, activating, retaining, and monetizing customers.
In what way can growth teams become complacent?
By getting distracted from the growth mission or blindsided by market forces.
What happened to GrowthHackers.com at the end of 2014?
The community hit a plateau in traffic.
What strategy did GrowthHackers implement to overcome their growth stall?
Running a minimum of three experiments per week.
What was the result of GrowthHackers’ renewed focus on growth experimentation?
Increased site traffic by 76 percent in that quarter.
What should growth teams do before moving on to new initiatives?
Push themselves to maximize existing successful channels and tactics.
What analogy do Brian Balfour and Andrew Chen use to describe pursuing successful growth levers?
Like a strategy for playing the board game Battleship.
Fill in the blank: Teams can leave lots of growth on the table by not _______.
[doubling down on successes].
What was one early success for GrowthHackers in driving readership?
The launch of their email newsletter.
What was an important early success for GrowthHackers in driving readership?
The launch of their email newsletter highlighting the top posts each week
This increased user return to the site significantly.
What change led to a 700 percent increase in newsletter sign-ups?
Moving the sign-up form from the bottom to the top of the landing page
This demonstrates the impact of strategic placement in user engagement.
What additional step was added to the user account creation process?
An opt-in option for the email newsletter
This contributed to a further 22 percent increase in email sign-ups.
What principle was applied to enhance the newsletter sign-up process?
The principle of social proof
This was done by indicating the popularity of the newsletter among growth professionals.
What was the result of redesigning the sign-up bar with a more prominent call to action?
An additional 44 percent increase in sign-ups
This emphasizes the effectiveness of persuasive design in marketing.
What should growth teams do when they find something that works?
Invest in getting the most out of it rather than moving on
This approach is referred to as ‘doubling down’ on successful strategies.
What should teams consider if they think they’ve tapped out their growth potential?
Investing time and money into creating a more comprehensive data bank
This includes ramping up analytics capabilities.
What did the Facebook growth team do in January 2009 to improve their results?
They ceased all experimentation to improve their analytics tracking
This allowed for more refined data analyses leading to new growth experiments.
What should growth teams review to identify where to dig deeper for data?
The major tasks and pathways customers take to reach the ‘aha’ moment of the product
This helps in identifying gaps in data and areas needing more granularity.
Fill in the blank: A growth team for a fashion brand might analyze how many ______ of a clothing piece a visitor looks at before adding it to the cart.
images
What is a potential outcome of enhancing data systems for detailed queries?
Discovering that customers who view more images are more likely to add items to their cart
This can lead to new growth experiments like adding more product images.
What should growth teams consider if they lack analysis skills?
Hiring or moving a dedicated data analyst or data scientist to work with them full-time
This enhances the team’s ability to leverage existing data effectively.
What is the recommended strategy for teams regarding channels for acquiring customers?
Experiment with adding new channels over time
This helps avoid growth stalls and diversifies customer acquisition strategies.
Why might teams overlook organic channels of growth?
Paid marketing is easier to implement and generates quicker results
Organic channels take longer but can be crucial long-term growth drivers.
What was a critical component of growth for companies like TripAdvisor and Yelp?
Search engine optimization
These companies achieved their current success through intensive experimentation.
What can help a growth team that is struggling to generate new ideas?
Bringing in fresh perspectives from other departments or individuals
This cross-fertilization of ideas can lead to new growth strategies.
What approach did GrowthHackers take to ideation?
Opened the ideation process to the entire company and community
This led to successful experiments suggested by outside advisers.
What is a ‘moonshot’ in the context of growth teams?
A significant redesign or innovative idea that challenges the status quo
These are essential for breaking out of the ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ mentality.
What is a local maximum?
The highest value in a current set of points, but not the highest point overall
Growth teams should push beyond local maximums to unlock new growth.
What should a growth team regularly schedule to foster innovation?
Experiments that go beyond optimizing to innovating bigger changes
These ‘moonshot bets’ can lead to significant advancements.
What example illustrates a significant leap in growth experimentation?
Pinterest’s Copytune machine learning optimization software
This was a substantial improvement over simple A/B testing.
What does the authors believe growth hacking represents?
A philosophy and way of thinking that can be adopted in any team or company
It extends beyond just a business strategy.
What is the primary purpose of the acknowledgments section in a book?
To express gratitude to those who contributed to the author’s journey and work.
Who is recognized for providing guidance on confidence and leadership?
Mark Affleck
What impact did Laura Goldberg have on the author’s operation and leadership style?
Her standard of excellence and insistence on being data driven.
According to the author, what is the key to success?
Waking up hungry to run down the next opportunity.
How does the author describe their family in relation to their writing?
Without them, there isn’t a me to write this book.
What role did the author’s mother play in their life?
An unfailing champion providing never-ending love.
What lesson did the author’s father impart?
To expect more of oneself and do the best one can.
Who is Graeme in relation to the author?
The author’s brother and best friend.
Fill in the blank: The author expresses gratitude to _______ for a lifetime of friendship and memories.
Graeme
True or False: The author feels that their family has had no impact on their ability to write the book.
False
