Growth Hacking: how to transform CRM into a growth tool

To grow with Growth Hacking you must have a creative mind and know how to take advantage of traditional marketing tools in an unconventional way. CRMs, for example, can be a key element of the experimentation process behind the search for the growth hack. How? We find out in this article.

Growth Hacking is the method that startups use to grow rapidly and exponentially. The limited time and low budget approach is what motivates entrepreneurs to use this methodology proposed by Sean Ellis in 2010 and today widely used by small and large companies.

The growth hack methodology is based on experimentation and performance analysis : it is in this way that a business manages to limit the budget needed to start the activity and accelerate the growth time of the company.

Another fundamental element of this method is the unconventional use of classic digital marketing techniques ( email marketing , content marketing , social media marketing , etc.) and its tools (erp, crm, cdp, etc.).

But what does “unconventional” mean? Basically, to become a growth hacker your perspective must change: if the traditional marketer puts the product at the center of his strategies, for you the point of reference must be the consumer. 

Therefore, the experience you have accumulated with web marketing tools will be useful to you, but to do Growth Hacking you will have to change the way you relate to users.

What is a CRM

CRM is the acronym for Customer Relationship Management. A CRM is software that allows a business to efficiently record and manage customer information such as order history and contact information.

The CRM allows you to segment the contacts in your database based on their characteristics, interests or purchasing behavior.

This guarantees you a much more effective management of your marketing campaigns , which can be customized for the client, and of the lead nurturing strategy . Thanks to a lead scoring system , the CRM allows you to know at what point of the customer journey each lead in the database is and what marketing strategies can be more effective to stimulate conversion.

The main advantages of using a CRM are:

• Have all the information about prospects and customers in one place,
• Segment an entire database by related characteristics,
• Track all leads over time, automatically,
• Classify, personalize and automate all marketing actions,
• Plan the agenda of actions individually or in groups,
• The information is never lost and everyone on your team can access it at any time and from any device.

Growth Hacking and CRM: how to act in the relationship with the client to stimulate growth

CRM is what allows a company to create a personalized and solid relationship with its customers, stimulating business growth through loyalty and customer value management.

Here are some ideas to use the CRM from the point of view of Growth Hacking:

1. Differentiate hot leads from cold ones

Not all the contacts in your database are at the same point in the customer journey: some are closer to conversion, others are definitely far from the goal. You can automatically distinguish the first ones ( hot leads ) from the second ones ( cold leads ) with the filters of your CRM to focus on the potential customers that have the highest chance of conversion.

The key here is to personalize your strategy , ignoring the cold leads and targeting the hot ones.

2. Segment the database by leveraging multiple data sources

If your CRM is connected to other platforms ( Email marketing or Marketing automation tools, Google Analytics, etc.) you can carry out a deeper segmentation, which goes beyond a single channel or data source .

This approach allows you to better understand the needs of each potential client and meet them with personalized Growth Hacking strategies.

3. Identify the most effective communication channel

Some users respond better to email marketing, others to social media advertising. Your CRM provides you with performance data for each channel and allows you to communicate with each potential client through the platform they prefer.

The result? With Growth Hacking techniques you will reach a wider audience and show your contacts that you really care.

4. Experiment, measure and optimize based on performance

In the Growth Hacking method, the experimentation phase is a fundamental stage.

Your CRM helps you carry out the tests you need, either by presenting different variants of a message to the same audience segment, or evaluating the performance of different channels.

The results of the tests will allow you to identify the combination of message, trigger, channel and segment that generates the highest engagement and the best results in terms of conversion.

5. Create personalized campaigns to reactivate cold leads

Surely there is a group of inactive potential customers in your database, who no longer respond to your messages and do not seem interested in what you offer.

Ignoring them is not the best way to deal with the situation: remember that you have invested resources to acquire these contacts.

A CRM software offers you various features to help you win back leads that have gone cold. For example, you can create a retargeting campaign that targets only this segment of the database, or offer a special discount for the purchase of one of your products.

6. Take advantage of Machine Learning

For your next campaign to work, you need to know what has worked best in the past. Your CRM can tell you which input combinations have given the best results in your latest marketing activities: feed this information into Machine Learning software to automate your next activities.

In this way, you will always send the most appropriate and effective message to each segment of your database.

7. Do not ignore current customers: it is an opportunity to upsell and cross-sell

Customers who just converted might still be hot and willing to integrate their purchase with other products or services. Do not ignore them and dedicate upselling and cross-selling campaigns to them . 

Your CRM provides you with the filters and tools to reach these contacts with personalized messages (for example, by setting up an email sequence at regular intervals, with specific offers).

Relations with users and growth of a business: the 3 fundamental principles

The combination of Growth Hacking and CRM can become the key to your success, but to grow, a business must above all establish a valuable relationship with its user base. 

For this to happen, 3 principles must be respected:

1. Understand where each of your potential customers is in the customer journey . An automated system will help you intercept every lead with the right offer at the right time.
2. Don’t sell, build trust. Many of your potential clients are not ready to close a sale with your company: your Growth Hacking strategy must therefore be based on building a relationship of trust with the user.
3. Constantly evaluate the response of consumers , take advantage of the information that your CRM can record and organize to test new relational approaches and combinations of messages, channels and triggers, and constantly improve your Growth Hacking techniques.