Hiring your first growth marketer: Key considerations
For a start-up focused on identifying a problem it can solve, the search for the “Aha!” moment is always on. Once you’ve hit the point where you know you have your product down to the T, it is time to prepare how to grow it. Marketing yourself to scalability should be the main objective for which every start-up needs a specialist. These creatures are called growth marketers, competent in zeroing in on the target audience by designing and conducting experiments that optimize metrics for growth.
How do growth marketers function?
Growth marketers are people of processes that include identifying challenges, developing hypotheses by a/b testing, evaluating results, and creating a well-structured procedure. They mature the process of marketing with data-driven and tactical improvement at every stage of the business. They are responsible for creating a blueprint of your product lifecycle with mathematical precision.
To fill this position, you should be clear about your product’s maturity as a founder. Instead of a jack of all trades, you should find someone trustworthy, who won’t look for shortcuts to play the long game.
How to hire your first growth marketer?
As an early-stage start-up, you may be tempted to hire a specialist, but it takes more than that. At every stage your needs will change, narrowing down a growth marketer’s expertise as you scale. Once you have outlined the role and your expectations are set, let’s find you the person who’d deliver the desired business impact.
How robust their plan is with the proposed marketing tactics by poking holes in their logic?
How well do they understand operational ideas?
Is their research up to date with current customer sentiments?
Can look at growth incrementally instead of a grand picture?
Is their study on your operation comprehensive?
Characteristics to look for
Not unlike passionate founders, growth marketers should be
● driven by curiosity to test and adapt as the product and the company evolves
● motivated by economic growth with a balance of creative mind
● willing to work through details without altering the campaign on a tight budget
● able to understand the customers prioritizing data on their experience for retention
● easy to work with across verticals as start-up teams tend to be small and all hands-on deck
● able to create impactful business use cases that are specific and calculated
● able to break down complex ideas with tangible talent and logical thinking
● familiar with analytical tools with a habit of prioritizing the company’s core values
● open to failure and getting to the core of the solution
● aware of the strength of digital, mainline, and paid advertising to locate growth opportunities
Bonus points go to those who have been entrepreneurs themselves, they certainly know where it is possible to fail. Also, if your growth marketer has worked with a start-up of promise, you know they’ve had a hand in that growth.
Making the right choice
Every cent you invest in your business matters. This is something that a marketer should be able to experiment incrementally with, for a higher return on investment. Some gains may remain of short-term value, at the plan’s core must be a vision for the long haul. The founder and the marketer’s thought process should align with a sense of urgency that is relentless in getting outcomes. Working with a growth marketer should help you build a solid track record, ability to leverage insights, and reinforce critical space for execution. It could be said, growth marketers are the architects of your entrepreneurial dreams.
