Growth hacking is no longer a buzzword. Considering the ever-growing start-up scene, more and more professionals who really know their stuff are in demand. We present the ideal profile of a Growth Hacker.
“Job profile Growth Hacker“: If you enter this term on various job platforms, you will hardly find anything in Austria at the moment. However, there are various job offers, such as Growth Manager or Growth Expert, which have similar or congruent requirements. The desired qualifications are soft skills such as proactivity, start-up mentality and creativity; but also hard skills in online marketing, such as know-how about digital sales channels, social media (content and ads) and SEM/SEO/SEA are in demand. In general, a high affinity for numbers and data is required, as well as sufficient IT skills. Knowledge of business administration and/or communications science in the form of a degree is usually a prerequisite for the job advertisements mentioned.
All in one? – Interdisciplinarity as a success factor
The scientific community has already given thought to the optimal profile of a Growth Hacker. One model that has proven itself here is the so-called “T-shaped profile”. The T-shape here reflects the optimal mix of generalist and specialist knowledge. Ideally, a candidate should have a broader knowledge in different, predominantly digital areas. This should be paired with a deeper specialization: Thus, all-rounders are wanted, who can contribute to every topic, but implement their knowledge in a subject-specific manner. In practice, growth hackers are not loners, but part of a growth team that is characterized by interdisciplinarity. Therefore, a growth hacking team should have at least three members, according to experience to date.
Growth culture is a prerequisite
The growth and scalability-oriented way of working requires a certain mindset (as described in part 1), which manifests itself through systematic thinking, a willingness to experiment and to take risks as well as creativity. The clear focus on growth also requires a familiarity with numbers and data from a business and entrepreneurial perspective in order to be able to evaluate tests, assess results with the help of KPIs and drive progress in the sense of deriving courses of action. This mindset ideally manifests itself in a growth culture that permeates the entire company, not just the growth hackers.
Growth Hacking: Can anyone manage it themselves?
Can a small start-up manage the growth hacking requirements itself? Ideally, a team must be placed in the own company that can master the basics of online marketing, i.e. is generally familiar with analytics, with the website, the online store tool and understands the basics of SEO. Furthermore, a familiarity with social media channels and their forms of advertising is necessary. Basics of behavioral psychology should also be known. However, if the team is too small and competencies are lacking, then professionals must be called in. The access to external service providers is a question of costs that needs to be thought through. The basics of online marketing should therefore ideally be handled by the start-up itself, so that specialists only have to take over in special cases.
These specialists then ensure that one core question in particular reflects all activities and actions in the company: How can we grow faster, perform even better? Practically every company has to cope with that. In our view, it is therefore only a question of time before growth hacking also becomes a topic for established, large companies.
You might also be interested in:
>> Part 1: Growth Hacking: Large Growth at a Small Price
>> Part 2: Growth Hacking is (not) a science
>> Part 3: Which channels to Use in Growth Hacking?
Contact:
Dr. Georg Feldmann
Head of Competence Team
City of Vienna Competence Team for the Digitalization of Communication
Phone: +43 690 40 476 118
georg.feldmann@fh-wien.ac.at
Images: © Annie Spratt I Unsplash and FHWien der WKW