Our exponential formula towards growth
It takes a simple Google search to find tons of information about hacks in business growth. You’ll probably find stories that follow a similar narrative:
While this gives you a generally good idea, it is way too simplistic.
As a growing business, we feel obliged to join the conversation and challenge the way case studies are presented. We believe the process to be less linear and more exponential.
How we think the formula really looks like
We are challenging the narrative formula and shifting its values. This is how we think it should be:
Breakthroughs are the combination of small and medium steps, dependent on the number of resources allocated to them.
After realizing this, we took some steps back and analyzed what were those steps we took that lead us to our current growth and success.
Lesson learned #1: Assumptions are a no-go.
Repeat after us: I will not assume.
Last year we challenged all assumptions we had regarding our market and industry and conducted persistent research. We were determined to look at things from all angles. Our understanding felt fresh and our confidence in why we do business the way we do, grew. We had the facts to back things up.
How did we do it?
1- We researched and asked questions (almost daily) on platforms like Quora, Twitter, Facebook pages/groups, Reddit, and websites like Answer the Public.
2- Instead of assuming we knew, we asked our clients exactly which pain points we helped them with and why did they go for us. (You might think you know this one, but be ready to get a few surprises.)
Lesson learned #2: Conduct elevated brainstorming sessions.
Don’t host them just because you think you “should”. Take them (extremely) seriously, get intentional about them, and find ways to make them better every time. Take upon the challenge to bring them always to the next level.
At our office, one of the most creative moments we have is during lunch debates. As silly or as serious as the topic can be, we take them so tremendously seriously, it’s ridiculous (in a good way). This got us thinking, are we leveraging our creativity correctly when it comes to finding solutions to our work? We started digging deep into planning innovation-boosting exercises, choosing more enhancing spaces, watching TedTalks about creativity, and even broadened our knowledge on the human brain to understand better where creative moments and problem resolutions come from. Suddenly, our brainstorming session was abundantly waking our creative spark and, more than ever, getting us out of boxed ideas.
Lesson learned #3: Get dead serious about presenting your ideas.
If your team is not freaking excited, engaged, or don’t immediately “get it”, what makes you think people outside of your organization will?
We went from having casual presentations to seizing them as moments to deliver high-quality pitches.
Our ideas were refined. A pitch approached forced us to get rid of unnecessary elements in our plans. We were now inspired to think about anything that our strategy was missing in the most critical way possible. Meetings became shorter, conversations more forthright, and communication more effective.
Lesson learned #4: Leverage what makes you, you.
Just like you can’t be friends with everyone, you shouldn’t work with every client that comes knocking.
We learned that the key to successful marketing is in being specific, rather than trying to appeal to everyone. We believe that managing social media and marketing is not a numbers game. Rather, it’s a matching game. Leverage your uniqueness, identify compelling ways to show it off, and connect with those clients who identify themselves with it. Find the clients who are missing exactly what you have to offer, and who wouldn’t find it anywhere else.
You’ll move from just having a satisfied client, to having a rabid advocate for your brand.
Being true to ourselves freed us up to choose things that align with who we are and gave us permission to say “no” to the wrong ideas. We ended up saving tons of time and money.
#5: Prioritize
Keep your goals inspiring, but be realistic — especially when you’re a small business, resources are limited.
If you have more than 2–3 priorities, then you do not have priorities
Let that sink in.
We totally get the “so many things, so little time” feeling. But to help us stay motivated without losing focus, we decided to identify three scenarios (in terms of marketing goals and campaigns):
1- What we need to accomplish within the next year
2- What would be nice to accomplish within the next year
3- What would be really nice to accomplish within the next year
You can be focused and know your priorities. It doesn’t have to stop you from being ambitious.
If you are still not fully sold on our approach, we will let Brian Balfour, VP of Growth at HubSpot, back us up: https://www.heavybit.com/library/video/building-a-growth-machine/ (see minute 6:15)
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