Last month, we published information on the ecommerce industry's most in-demand skills and roles. UX designers, digital analysts and search professionals topped the list, just as in 2014... but this year, two new arrivals - the growth hacker and the non-executive director - made a surprise appearance.
Don't be sidetracked by the term hackers here. A growth hacker won't try to steal secrets from government agencies. He or she is tasked with one goal: growth.You'll most commonly find them working in startups - Dropbox and AirBnB, for example.
Oftentimes, startups demand fast growth and have little resource to spare, so growth hackers need to be able to look beyond traditional, long-term or costly methods of growth to make an impact. Quickly.
There are two main reasons; the first being that they're usually a little more tech-focussed than the traditional marketer, and the second: they have growth as their only goal.
Ideally, a growth hacker must be able to show experience of driving growth at a rapid rate. Typical qualities include a creative yet analytical mind, an unquenchable desire to learn, an entrepreneurial spirit, and an ability to truly understand a target market's online and product experience.
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