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What the hack? A growth hacking taxonomy and practical applications for firms

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  • Bohnsack, René
  • Liesner, Meike Malena

Abstract

As companies become increasingly digital, growth hacking emerged as a new way of scaling businesses. While the term is fashionable in business, many executives remain confused about the concept. Even if firms have an idea of what growth hacking is, they may still be puzzled as to how to do it, creating a strategy-execution gap. Our article assists firms by bridging the growth hacking strategy-execution gap. First, we provide a growth hacking framework and deconstruct its building blocks: marketing, data analysis, coding, and the lean startup philosophy. We then present a taxonomy of 34 growth hacking patterns along the customer lifecycle of acquisition, activation, revenue, retention, and referral; categorize them on the two dimensions of resource intensity and time lag; and provide an example of how to apply the taxonomy in the case of a fitness application. Finally, we discuss seven opportunities and challenges of growth hacking that firms should keep in mind.

Suggested Citation

  • Bohnsack, René & Liesner, Meike Malena, 2019. "What the hack? A growth hacking taxonomy and practical applications for firms," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 62(6), pages 799-818.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:bushor:v:62:y:2019:i:6:p:799-818
    DOI: 10.1016/j.bushor.2019.09.001
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Kannan, P.K. & Li, Hongshuang “Alice”, 2017. "Digital marketing: A framework, review and research agenda," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 22-45.
    2. Kaplan, Andreas M. & Haenlein, Michael, 2010. "Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 59-68, January.
    3. Hendrik Lennarz, 2017. "Growth Hacking mit Strategie," Springer Books, Springer, number 978-3-658-16231-3, January.
    4. Lee, In, 2017. "Big data: Dimensions, evolution, impacts, and challenges," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 60(3), pages 293-303.
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    Cited by:

    1. Bargoni, Augusto & Santoro, Gabriele & Messeni Petruzzelli, Antonio & Ferraris, Alberto, 2024. "Growth hacking: A critical review to clarify its meaning and guide its practical application," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    2. Marco Cioppi & Ilaria Curina & Barbara Francioni & Elisabetta Savelli, 2023. "Digital transformation and marketing: a systematic and thematic literature review," Italian Journal of Marketing, Springer, vol. 2023(2), pages 207-288, June.
    3. Sanasi, Silvia & Ghezzi, Antonio & Cavallo, Angelo, 2023. "What happens after market validation? Experimentation for scaling in technology-based startups," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    4. Rizvanović, Belma & Zutshi, Aneesh & Grilo, Antonio & Nodehi, Tahereh, 2023. "Linking the potentials of extended digital marketing impact and start-up growth: Developing a macro-dynamic framework of start-up growth drivers supported by digital marketing," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 186(PA).

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