Growth Marketing: Concepts and Frameworks

Frameworks

McClure's five startup metric stages: Acquisition, Activation, Retention, Referral, Revenue.

Ellis's term for rapid, cross-functional experimentation whose only true north is scalable growth.

Reforge's model replacing funnels: closed systems whose output reinvests as input, compounding growth.

The single metric expressing the value customers receive, which the whole team aligns to grow.

Scoring growth ideas on Impact, Confidence, and Ease to sequence a high-velocity testing backlog.

Average new users each existing user generates; above 1.0 the product spreads by itself.

Engineered word of mouth: incentives for users to invite others, powering the referral loop.

The go-to-market motion where the product itself (via free use) is the main driver of acquisition and expansion.

Zero-price entry offers that convert usage into paid demand, the fuel of most PLG loops.

Getting new users to first value fast, the step most predictive of long-term retention.

Reading retention by signup cohort to see whether the product truly holds users over time.

Designing trigger–action–reward–investment cycles that turn usage into routine.

HubSpot's replacement for the funnel: delighted customers become the force that attracts the next ones.