Growth Hacking Definitions – Glossary of Terms

As Growth Hackers, we use uber-cool, sometimes confusing, sometimes buzzword-y terminology while hustling with their growth experiments, speaking in technical marketing events, and running innovative campaigns.

To ensure the ecosystem and budding growth hackers speak the same language, here’s a glossary of terms and definitions related to the growth hacking ecosphere. I will keep updating this list on the go. Meanwhile, feel free to suggest new terms to be added on it by dropping a mail to [email protected].

List of Growth Hacking Terms:

1. PMF (Product Market Fit): Foundation of growth. When offerings and audience are in sync.
2. Growth Experiment: A potential growth hack, currently in the experimental stage.
3. Growth Hack: A growth experiment which has a good OMTM.
4. Scalable Growth Hack: A growth hack with a YES output from the ESS which can also be automated using tech (bots, scripts, etc).
5. Unicorn Growth Hacks: Exceptionally successful hacks (Not the financial unicorn). Example: Airbnb-Craigslist.
6. OMTM (One Metric That Matters): One goal defined by a single metric which the entire startup should be working towards.
7. NSM (North Star Metric): Same as OMTM.
8. ESR or ESS: Sigma equation as a next step after OMTM to make it easier for us to make a YES or NO decision.
9. User Personas: Detailed definitions of how your target audience looks.
10. Channel Personas: Detailed definition of how your target channels look.
11. Growth Triangle: Relationship between Patience, Budgets and Growth explaining the need for growth hacking.
12. A3R3: The growth hacking funnel (A modification of the AARRR Pirate Metrics).
13. Triple Peak Effect: Describes the lifetime of any channel potentially used for growth hacking in 3 phases – Early Adopters (Hacks), Early Majority (Organic), Late Majority (Paid).
14. OPN (Other People’s Networks): Leveraging other people’s network.
15. OPA: Leveraging other people’s audience (Similar to above).
16. OPP: Leveraging other people’s platforms. Usually by reverse engineering APIs.
17. O2I Hacking: Growth hacking by converting a process from Outbound to Inbound.
18. Influence Hacking: Leveraging influence using hacks.
19. Lean Analytics: Bare minimum tracking, reporting and analysis.
20. A/B Testing: Comparing 2 versions to check which performs better, usually by changing one element at a time.
21. AHA Moment: The time it “clicks”.
22. Churn Rate: Lost customers over time, opposite of retention rate.

Click to get the complete PDF with the entire list of 44 growth hacking definitions.