TL;DR: Enter a handful of numbers about your business — leads per month, conversion rate, average sale, repeat purchase rate, churn, and margin. The tool plots your Growth Map across three axes (Recruitment, Retention, Revenue) and tells you which axis is the real constraint on your growth. Then it surfaces the specific moves that address that constraint. The full results are available free; email unlocks a personalized breakdown you can keep.
Your marketing dashboard shows you what happened. This shows you what to do next.
Most small business owners know their revenue number. Fewer can answer the next question: which part of the business is actually holding that number down?
Is it that you’re not reaching enough new customers? That the ones you get leave too fast? That each one spends less than they should?
Those are three different problems. They need three different moves. Running the wrong play burns time and money and nothing changes.
The interactive Growth Map is built on one idea: before you decide what to do next, you need to know which constraint to fix first.
What you get
Enter a few numbers. The tool does the math.
You get a visual Growth Map — your business plotted across the three operational axes of growth: Recruitment (getting customers), Retention (keeping them), and Revenue (what each one is worth). The map shows you where you are strong, where you are weak, and which axis, if addressed, produces the biggest return on your next marketing dollar.
You also get directional vectors — the two or three specific moves that address your constraint, drawn from the Growth Hacking taxonomy developed by Bohnsack and Liesner at Business Horizons.
This is the Growth Mapping framework made interactive. The full version, bound to your real financial data, runs on the Hiilite platform.
How it works
Step 1 — Enter your numbers. A short form. About 90 seconds. You enter what you already know: how many leads you get per month, what percentage close, what a typical sale is worth, how often customers come back, your churn rate, and your margin. No integration required. No account to create.
Step 2 — See your Growth Map. The tool plots your inputs across the 3R axes and computes your position. The map makes the constraint visible. Most business owners can see the problem immediately once it is drawn this way.
Step 3 — Get your recommended vectors. The tool reads which axis is the binding constraint and surfaces the directional plays that address it. Each one links to a fuller explanation so you can act on it.
Enter your email to get a saved copy of your results, with a plain-language summary you can share with your team or your agency.
[BUILD NOTE — for frontend-eng]
This section is a spec, not landing copy. It is addressed to the developer building the tool. Remove or collapse before publishing.
Inputs (the 3R input set)
All inputs are numeric. Labels should match the plain-language phrasing below. Optional inputs have defaults that allow the tool to function with minimal friction; user can expand for a more precise map.
Required inputs:
– leads_per_month — “How many new leads or inquiries do you get each month?” (integer, min 0)
– conversion_rate — “What percentage of those leads become paying customers?” (%, 0–100, float)
– avg_sale_value — “What is the average value of a first sale?” ($, float)
– repeat_rate — “What share of customers buy from you again within a year?” (%, 0–100, float)
– churn_rate — “What percentage of active customers stop working with you each year?” (%, 0–100, float). Note: repeat_rate and churn_rate are inverses — the form can compute one from the other if the user only enters one.
Optional / expanded inputs (improve precision):
– avg_sale_freq — “How many times per year does a repeat customer buy?” (float, default 2)
– avg_customer_lifespan_years — “How many years does a typical customer stay?” (float, default computed from churn_rate as 1/churn if churn > 0, else 3)
– gross_margin_pct — “What is your typical gross margin?” (%, 0–100, float, default 50). Used for the Revenue axis profitability signal.
Computed Growth Map (the 3R axes)
Each axis outputs a normalized score (0–100) plus a raw computed value. The map is a radar/spider chart with three axes. The scores drive the constraint-detection logic.
Recruitment score — measures the efficiency of the acquisition funnel.
new_customers_per_month = leads_per_month * (conversion_rate / 100)
recruitment_score = normalize(new_customers_per_month, benchmark_low=0, benchmark_high=50)
- Raw signal: new customers per month
- Supporting label: “You are acquiring [N] new customers per month”
Retention score — measures how well the business holds on to customers.
annual_retention_rate = 1 - (churn_rate / 100)
retention_score = normalize(annual_retention_rate, benchmark_low=0.5, benchmark_high=0.95)
- Raw signal: annual retention rate
- Supporting label: “You are retaining [X]% of customers year-over-year”
Revenue score — measures per-customer revenue efficiency (LTV proxy weighted by margin).
avg_customer_lifespan = 1 / (churn_rate / 100) if churn_rate > 0 else avg_customer_lifespan_years
ltv = avg_sale_value * avg_sale_freq * avg_customer_lifespan
ltv_margin_adjusted = ltv * (gross_margin_pct / 100)
revenue_score = normalize(ltv_margin_adjusted, benchmark_low=0, benchmark_high=10000)
- Raw signal: LTV (margin-adjusted)
- Supporting label: “Each customer is worth approximately $[LTV] over their lifetime”
Normalization function: linear clamp, value / benchmark_high * 100, capped at 100.
Benchmarks: these should be revisited post-launch with real data from submissions. Initial values above are conservative SME defaults for a service business.
Constraint detection (which R is the binding constraint)
The tool identifies the lowest-scoring axis as the primary constraint. Where two axes are within 10 points of each other, flag both.
primary_constraint = argmin(recruitment_score, retention_score, revenue_score)
Constraint labels (shown on the map): – Recruitment: “You are not getting enough new customers in the door.” – Retention: “You are getting customers but losing them faster than you should.” – Revenue: “Each customer is not generating enough value over their lifetime.”
Directional vectors (the recommended plays)
Each constraint maps to 2–3 recommended plays drawn from the Growth Hacking taxonomy (Bohnsack & Liesner 2019). Each play card includes: name, one-sentence description, link to a fuller guide or tactic page.
Recruitment constraint → Recruitment plays:
1. Referral loop — Turn existing customers into a lead source with a structured referral program. (Link: /plays/referral-loop or /guides/recruitment)
2. Search visibility — Get found when buyers are actively looking. SEO and AI-SEO compound over time. (Link: /guides/recruitment)
3. Conversion audit — Before spending more on leads, fix the conversion rate you already have. (Link: /tools/ltv-calculator)
Retention constraint → Retention plays:
1. Onboarding sequence — The first 30 days determine whether a customer stays or leaves. (Link: /guides/retention)
2. Reactivation campaign — Win back lapsed customers; they already know you. (Link: /guides/retention)
3. Feedback loop — Short check-ins after delivery prevent quiet churn. (Link: /guides/retention)
Revenue constraint → Revenue plays:
1. Upsell path — Customers who trust you will buy more if you make it easy. (Link: /guides/revenue)
2. Pricing review — Margin problems are often a pricing problem in disguise. (Link: /guides/revenue)
3. LTV expansion — Extend the lifespan of the relationship before the customer naturally exits. (Link: /tools/ltv-calculator)
If two constraints are within 10 points, show two play-sets and label them “Primary: [R]” and “Secondary: [R].”
Free vs gated output
Free (no email required): – The full radar chart (all three axis scores) – The constraint identification and label – All three recommended play titles and one-sentence descriptions
Gated (email to unlock): – A PDF-ready summary card: Growth Map + scores + your raw inputs + all play descriptions – A plain-language paragraph written to their specific constraint (use a simple template fill with the computed values) – A prompt to book a call: “Want to see this map run on your real data? That’s the platform.”
Lead capture copy:
Enter your email to get your Growth Map saved.
You will get a copy of your results plus a plain-language summary.
No spam. Unsubscribe any time.
Post-submission CTA (shown after email entry): “The full version of this analysis — bound to your actual QuickBooks, CRM, and marketing data — runs on the Hiilite platform. [Book a call to see it live.]”
Platform upsell bridge
The tool is a deliberate preview of the platform. The constraint the tool identifies from manual inputs is exactly what the platform’s Diagnose (Sense) agent would identify automatically from live data. Make this explicit in the results:
“This analysis was built from the numbers you entered. The Hiilite platform runs the same logic automatically, every week, against your real QuickBooks revenue, CRM pipeline, and marketing data. See the platform →“
This is the framework, made interactive
The Growth Map is not a metaphor. It is a specific analytical model drawn from doctoral research in progress at UBC-Okanagan on how small businesses grow.
The three axes — Recruitment, Retention, Revenue — are the operational domains every business growth strategy operates within. The directional vectors are drawn from the academic growth-hacking taxonomy developed by Bohnsack and Liesner, which classifies growth tactics by the domain they address and the mechanism they use.
The platform makes this loop continuous and data-bound. The Sense agent reads your live numbers and plots the map automatically. The Seize agent recommends the plays. The Transform agent measures what moved after you run them.
Frequently asked questions
How is this different from a standard business calculator? A calculator tells you a number. This tool plots your position across all three growth domains simultaneously and identifies which one is the constraint. The output is a prioritized direction, not just a metric.
Do I need to connect my accounts or share sensitive data? No. The tool runs entirely on the numbers you type in. Nothing is pulled from your systems. The email gate is optional and only used to send you your results.
What if I do not know my exact churn rate or repeat rate? Use your best estimate. The tool defaults gracefully. A rough input still produces a useful directional map — you are looking for which axis is clearly weakest, and that signal holds even when individual inputs are approximate.
How is this connected to the Hiilite platform? The platform is the full version of this tool, running automatically on your live data. The Growth Map tool shows you the model. The platform runs it continuously so you always know where you are and what to do next.
Who built this and why? William Walczak, CEO of Hiilite and a PhD candidate in Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies at UBC-Okanagan. The 3R/3P framework and Growth Mapping model come from his doctoral research on growth hacking and dynamic capabilities. The tool is the interactive, public-facing version of that research instrument.
The math behind the map
The model is grounded in two bodies of work.
The 3R axes — Recruitment, Retention, Revenue — are the operational taxonomy drawn from the academic growth-hacking literature. Bohnsack and Liesner’s 2019 taxonomy in Business Horizons (doi:10.1016/j.bushor.2019.09.001) classifies growth-hacking plays by the domain they address, the mechanism they use, and the data requirements. That taxonomy is the backbone of the plays catalog.
The analytical approach is grounded in predictive analytics research — specifically the principle, developed by Davenport and Harris in Competing on Analytics (hbr.org/2006/01/competing-on-analytics), that decisions bound to real data outperform decisions made from intuition alone. The constraint-detection logic is a small-N application of that principle: find the binding variable, address it first.
The Sense-Seize-Transform loop that the platform runs is the commercial embodiment of Teece’s dynamic capabilities framework (doi:10.1002/smj.640) — the idea that a firm’s competitive advantage comes not from a fixed resource, but from its capacity to sense change, seize the right response, and reconfigure itself in light of what it learns.
The tool gives you the first two steps. The platform closes the loop.
Get your Growth Map
Enter your numbers. See where you stand. Know your next move.
[Get your Growth Map →] (CTA button — links to the tool embed or /tools/growth-map)
Not ready for the tool yet?
Read the framework behind it → or book a call to see it run on your real data →.
By William Walczak, CEO at Hiilite Creative Group, MBA (UBC), PhD candidate in Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies at UBC-Okanagan. Research interests: consumer behavior, machine learning, predictive analytics, marketing strategy.
hiilite.com/team/william-walczak · linkedin.com/in/williamwalczak · Google Scholar