You don't pay the plumber for banging on the pipe. You pay him for knowing where to bang.

In fear of economic uncertainty, buyers aren’t around to shop for new software/products without going through layers of quantification. 

And shift from selling products that create a need to products that solves THE need becomes the new normal. This is what Product-Led Growth(PLG) is about.

If you're a product manager, a marketer or a business owner, you need to know what this word means to your organization, sooner rather than later.

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What is Product-Led Growth (PLG)

Product-Led Growth (PLG) is where customer acquisition, retention, and expansion and development are driven mostly by product. It's a business methodology where all teams in an organization work together towards a common goal - to build and market a product that understands that users' needs.

In a Product-Led approach, sales and marketing efforts are focused on solving known customer pain points and showcasing how the product can solve it in the most effective way. 

Knowing what Product-Led Growth means is your first step to driving sustainable growth for your business. Putting effort into implementing this approach could be revolutionary and therefore crucial in defining your company’s direction.

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Cross team effort to drive Product-Led Growth

History reminds us that revolutions are not so much events as they processes - John Green

If you’re new to this business methodology, it’s important to keep in mind that it’s an all hands on deck mission and everyone in your organization should be aligned and understand the role they play. A process should be put in place to instil the mission and keep interdependencies running smoothly. 

To help you, let’s define the role of each core function in your organization in driving Product-Led Growth.

Product

Let’s start at the core. Product team – they’re the heroes behind product growth. They lead your roadmap and define the direction of your product growth. Product managers are key to making the mission a success by creating products that come from a pain point. Product managers should have the confidence to establish, communicate and instil the problem the product is meant to solve and leave no stones unturned. 

The product roadmap they build will determine the direction and strategy of your growth. 

Product Marketing 

Product marketing is a relatively new team function but crucial nonetheless. They act as the mediator between product and the front-facing teams making sure products are well communicated through the right messaging to the right persona at the right time. PMM and PM work together to deliver product led growth by gathering market and customer segment insights on pain points. Product Marketers challenge the user experience and help define the product’s commercial viability. 

Marketing

Marketing plays an important role in being the market spy who knows where the target persona and decision makers often hangout. This is key to driving awareness and adoption of the product. Marketing and other front-facing teams should provide insights to the product team. Analytics from marketing activities and strategic pages should be guided by the metrics that come from a Product-Led approach.

Sales 

A sales call brought by a Product-Led strategy could become a lot more interesting. If you’ve ever been a sales rep, you’ve probably heard of ‘create a need’ strategy where companies sell through emotions and create reasons for customers to buy their products. In product-led sales, prospects are aware of their pain point and will engage with you. You need to be able to display expertise in the matter and showcase that you know that in and out of the product and how it solves their pain-points.

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How to Implement Product-Led Growth

Implementing a PLG approach requires a shift in mindset and a new way of thinking about the customer journey. Here are some steps to follow to implement a PLG approach:

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Build a Great Product

The first step in implementing a PLG approach is to build a product that solves a specific problem for the customer and provides a great user experience.

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Optimize User Onboarding

‍User onboarding is a critical part of the PLG approach, as it sets the stage for a great product experience. A well-designed onboarding process can help users understand the value of the product and get them up and running quickly.

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Encourage User Engagement

In a PLG model, user engagement is key to driving growth. Encourage users to share their experiences, refer their friends, and provide feedback on the product.

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Analyze User Behavior

‍Analyzing user behavior can help businesses understand how users are interacting with the product, identify areas for improvement, and optimize the product experience.

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Iterate and Improve

‍The PLG approach requires constant iteration and improvement. By analyzing user behavior and feedback, businesses can make changes to the product that improve the user experience and drive growth.

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The role of content marketing in Product-Led strategy

Content marketing is one of the most effective channels to drive Product-Led Growth. In the modern day, every pain-point starts with a quick google search. In a marketing funnel, the user's buying intent goes through stages from learning about the pain-points to finding the solution. Buyers of technical products rely on resources provided by experts in the industry to learn and make a decision about a software. 

This is where content marketing comes in. Big brands leveraging free content to funnel their target audience to buying their products. They produce guides, compare different products and anchor buyer’s decision making. 

The challenge is, producing content that resonates well with your audience requires time and expertise in the matter. Not a lot of experts in the field go on to become content writers which makes it a difficult position to fill.

If Product-Led Growth is in your radar, you’d need a strong content creator that can translate your initiatives into effective messaging and content that moves the needle.

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Conclusion

Product-Led Growth is a powerful approach to product development and marketing that focuses on building a great product experience that drives customer acquisition and retention. By shifting the focus to the product, businesses can create a more efficient and cost-effective growth engine that results in higher customer lifetime value and a more stable revenue stream. By following the steps outlined in this article, businesses can implement a PLG approach that drives growth and delivers a great product experience to their customers.

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