Benchmarking and Growth Hacking - The Same, Only Different

While I have never been one to use the latest buzzwords, "growth hacking" is a concept worth adopting and its implementation can be the difference between your company thriving or just surviving. If we look back in history, the closest concept to growth hacking would be "benchmarking", which is the practice of analyzing your competitors to see if you can learn methods of improving your market position. According to businessdictionary.com, the objectives of benchmarking are (1) to determine what and where improvements are called for, (2) to analyze how other organizations achieve their high performance levels, and (3) to use this information to improve your company's performance.
In the digital age, growth hacking does share some of the same attributes of benchmarking, but on a much deeper level. Growth hacking concentrates more on gaining market traction through application of data driven strategies that are tested, retested, and duplicated across as many platforms as possible.
For example, if you have a target audience of 11-17 females, you can use software to examine marketing techniques of a famous artist like Taylor Swift to get a glimpse into how her marketing department best reaches that audience. Using this type of software gives your company insight into an average number of hits on Taylor Swift's website, where the hits originated, key words used in SEO efforts, and samples of ads run over several campaigns.
Armed with this information, your company should A/B test versions of your website pages, splash pages, and information downloads in order to determine which iteration lead to the desired conversion rate. Be sure to chart the results of each change, but be careful in the number of changes you make per iteration. Try not to change more than two elements per session and have the test page be 40% of exposure to ensure you are not losing conversions as a result of trying something new.
The final stage of growth hacking is increasing your company's voice as a thought leader in your discipline. Write a book, preferably in collaboration with a well-known influencer, send articles and blogs to local, regional, and national publications; build relationships with bloggers, who reach your consumer with different products or topics and offer to provide content, and add your company's names to the lists of experts for local television and radio shows. All of these methods will help drive traffic to your new and improved website, significantly improve your SEO rankings, and increase conversions and profitability.
In summary, benchmarking has been a very effective tools for companies to increase market share, but growth hacking represents the next phase of competitive analysis and growth through incorporating proven methods and strategies from many industries globally.

Why Product Demonstrations Make Better Business Sense

Walk into any store or mall today, whether it is a grocery store or a boutique store, a high-end mall or the shopping center next door, and chances are that you will see a product demonstration going on there. This could be to demonstrate an electrical appliance, such as a kitchen appliance, or it could be to demonstrate a new cosmetic or beauty product, or it could be a food demonstration that gives people a chance to sample the food or beverage that is being marketed. No matter what category of shopping center promotions you see, you can rest assured that there will be a beeline of people eagerly waiting to get a sample or try the new product. This could be just the curious among the shoppers or those who are serious shoppers who are ready to actually buy the product.
Even if the product demonstration is given to 10 people, you can rest assured that at least half of those would be willing to buy the product after trying it out. This is why a product demonstration is such an effective form of marketing for companies across different industries as it gives a much better return on investment than other forms of advertising, while also being cost effective. Unlike print, electronic, and digital media or social media marketing which can tend to get very expensive, a product demonstration is more value for money and delivers results, especially when planned, designed, and implemented by a professional company that has considerable experience and expertise in shopping center promotions.
One of the major areas that shopping center promotions are so successful is in the food and beverage industry. This is because a food demonstration gives people the chance to actually taste, smell, and/or see what the food or beverage product is like. This is a totally different experience, one that allows them to enjoy the product using their five senses. Compared to just reading about the product, or seeing it on television, or seeing it on the supermarket shelf, the experience of actually sampling the product, experiencing what it tastes like, smells like, and looks like, is enough to make most people actually buy the product. This is true even if they have been loyal to a certain brand for many years.
A product demonstration is especially effective in households where the children are the decision makers when it comes to buying food and beverages! Children are known to be notoriously loyal and stick to a favorite brand. Parents do not often want to upset this status quo. So the most effective way that companies can get such a demographic to buy their new brand is to give the children a chance to sample the product! And this is something that most children will love to do, as they are naturally curious. Once they are won over, then winning over their parents is a walk in the park! This is something that a television commercial or a print advertisement cannot achieve, no matter how well made or expensive it may be!