The overview of growth hacking: The evaluation of implementations on Uber

Growth hacking, which has its unique characteristics, emerged when startups were struggling with challenges in the competitive startup ecosystem for achieving the rapid growth, customer acquisition, and product market fit. This study gave general information about the growth hacking term that is created in 2010 and focused on the examples of technology giants that have applied growth hacking strategies and achieved great success by applying its methods. At the same time, this study describes the characteristics of growth hackers, which have emerged in this area with their specific features and implement growth hacking strategies in an expert manner. The approach and mentality differences between growth hacking and traditional marketing were examined. As the transportation network company, Uber pioneered the rapid growth and determined product development. Uber has been handled as a case study as it is an enormous example of growth hacking implementations. The qualitative research was conducted and the strategies that have been applied by Uber are evaluated through marketing channels and product development, which forms the basis of growth hacking. The implementation of Uber's potential growth hacking strategies that are referred to as "growth accelerators" are analyzed and the applied disciplines are evaluated. The methods such as customer acquisition, product market fit (PMF), referral marketing, surge pricing, market expansion strategy, word of mouth marketing (WOMM), early adopter advocacy, reputation system, disruptive innovation are demonstrated. It is aimed to embody the subject in the minds by giving the successful examples from the world economy and create an information bridge between the world of economics and the academic world.