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Five elements of viral growth

Why is growth important for any business?

The cool thing about growth is that it leads to… more growth!

Here’s how:

1. Growing companies more easily gain access to capital. Everyone wants to invest in a growing business, but few are interested in a stagnating one. With more capital, these companies can expand even further.

2. Growing companies attract top talent more easily. Employees are drawn to growing businesses, and having the best team accelerates growth.

3. Growing companies often reach a viral state where their visibility snowballs. The more people use their product, the more it’s seen and talked about, leading to even more users.

Here are the five elements help the best businesses grow:

  1. Engagement that became a habit

Clients need to establish a habit of using your product or service. If your product or service is something that people use less frequently than once a month, consider additional use cases or products that encourage more frequent usage to stay top of mind.

2. Meaningful reward

An action becomes a habit when it's rewarding. These rewards can be practical (e.g. saving time, earning money), personal (e.g. feeling accomplished or happy), or social (e.g. recognition or competition with others). Make sure that all interactions with your product or service are rewarding for the client

3. Activation - the ‘aha’ moment for the first time users

An effective activation or onboarding experience is what transforms a first-time user into a regular, engaged user. Make your clients see the real value instantly

4. Acquisition through multipliers

These are either inherent features of a product that gain more value as the number of users increases (more members of a community enhance the experience for everyone, naturally encouraging friend invitations),

....or they can be deliberately engineered strategies, such as referral programs, user-generated content, etc.

The is no better way to grow than make your customers recruit other customers

5. Monetisation through the right model

This involves more than just setting prices. It's about what you're charging for, how often, and the amount.

Are customers finding value in your premium offerings? Is the free trial period converting trial users into paying customers? Is your pricing competitive while still sustainable for your business?

The most important thing to understand is that successful businesses didn’t just get lucky or ride a wave of fast growth. They reached their state through deliberate and strategic efforts focused on growth.