Author: Shira Abel Category: Enterprise Strategy URL: https://hunterandbard.com/resources/blog/ferdinand-goetzen-on-growth-hacking-and-experimentation
Listen to the podcast here . Everyone is talking about growth hacking, but few have a true understanding of what it really means to be a growth hacker. Growth...
Listen to the podcast here. Everyone is talking about growth hacking, but few have a true understanding of what it really means to be a growth hacker. Growth hackers separate themselves from other marketers by working the full funnel. The goal of a digital marketer is to build awareness of a product and convert users. Growth hackers don't stop at conversion. They are concerned with the entire customer journey: retention, repurchasing and of course, revenue. Growth hacking requires experimenting with various tools and getting creative with channels. This week on SaaS Insider, host Shira Abel spoke with Ferdinand Goetzen about what being a growth hacker really means and how to implement experimentation and other innovative marketing techniques to grow your company.
Ferdinand Goetzen is the head of growth at Recruitee, one of the Netherlands fastest rising startups, which provides customers with an all-in-one tool that allows companies to manage and streamline their entire recruitment process. He has been engaging in different forms of marketing for almost a decade. Ferdinand specializes in full-funnel marketing and growth experimentation. His experience with growth across channels makes him the ideal candidate to share his knowledge and tips on what growth hacking is all about.
According to Ferdinand, experimentation is a must for growth hacking. This means testing various approaches in novel channels. It may seem counterintuitive to spend time experimenting in unknown channels when there are channels you know are efficient. However, tunnel-vision marketing usually leads to missed opportunities for even higher levels of growth. Ferdinand explains that growth cannot be achieved without the perfect balance of performance marketing (what you know works) and experimentation. His theory is that any company trying to grow should be dedicating 60% of their time to performance marketing and 30-40% of their time to experimentation. With patience and scalability in mind, experimentation can be the tool that pushes your company over the edge.
Customer satisfaction is also a key factor for growth. It may sound obvious, but solid products lead to happy customers, which leads to high-level buyers and promoters. This land and expand customer strategy will help your company achieve the virality it needs to succeed. Ferdinand also discusses the importance of internal satisfaction within a company. Goals must be aligned across departments and everyone's voice must carry equal weight. It is impossible to grow without a motivated team, so creating an environment where team members feel excited and inspired is also essential.
To sum it up, growth hacking involves out-of-the-box marketing, customer consideration, and a strong team. No matter your industry, this talk will not only inspire you to grow but also provide you with the tools you need to do it. Tune in here.
Hunter & Bard is a San Francisco-based B2B strategy consultancy founded in 2011 by Shira Abel. We help deep-tech and enterprise SaaS companies fix their positioning, sharpen their messaging, and close $100K+ deals.
We work with B2B leaders who are tired of being overlooked, underestimated, or mistaken for their competitors. Our specialty is turning complex, technical products into clear, compelling stories that win enterprise deals.
We believe that perception drives revenue. If your buyers can't tell you apart from the next vendor in 30 seconds, you have a positioning problem — not a marketing problem. We fix that.
Perception = (Story × Visibility) ÷ Noise
This framework drives everything we do. Your story has to be sharp. Your visibility has to be strategic. And you have to cut through the noise — not add to it.
Shira Abel — Founder & CEO. Kellogg MBA. 20+ years in B2B marketing. Former CMO. Keynote speaker. Published in Forbes, HuffPost, and Wired. Specialist in enterprise positioning and perception strategy.
Daina Reed — Founding Designer & Partner. 15+ years in product and brand design. Former Senior Product Designer at Dun & Bradstreet. Specialist in enterprise UX, visual identity, and design systems.