Product Led Growth the Four-Step Business Strategy
There are 4 Steps to Product Led Growth as a Business Growth Strategy.
Product-led growth (PLG) is defined as instances where product usage serves as the primary driver of user acquisition, retention, and expansion. Openview Partners originally coined the term (and came up with this definition) but it has since been used as a growth strategy by many others trying to grow their companies.
The concept of product-led growth is not new. You probably already know and use it all the time. Synonyms for PLG include:
Starting to ring a bell? To boil the term down even further, product-led growth leans on a beautiful product experience in order to grow a customer base. Win customers by delivering value first before asking them to make a purchase.
Product-led growth is an entire go-to-market strategy, impacting marketing, sales, and pricing.
Step 1
Show prospects the value
The goal for marketers is to show prospects the value offered and put their product at every step of the customer journey. The idea is to earn the trust of customers by allowing them to use the product, obtain value from that product, and fall in love with the product so they can’t wait to unlock more.
Step 2
Get them to actively use the product
Marketing works to get people to use the product. Once people are in the product and are actively using it, the marketing becomes about providing a seamless experience that customers can have instantly, without friction or assistance. Marketers work to build excitement about the opportunities the product creates for the customer and earn trust by delivering value at every step.
Step 3
Provide a friction-free path to purchasing
One of the key parts to product-led growth is providing users with the ability to demonstrate whether the product addresses their needs. The user has control over the upgrades they choose to purchase and can easily make those purchases whenever they want on their own. Product-led growth has the ability to increase conversion rates by informing the customer and offering them the opportunity to make purchases immediately.
Step 4
Make customers rave about it
An extremely exciting thing for marketers is that product-led growth boosts virality – the ability for a product to go viral. When people love your product, they will share it and become RAVING FANS. Product-led growth enables word-of-mouth marketing by delivering delightful experiences.
The Salesperson
One of the most important things to know is product-led growth does not remove the need for salespeople. In fact, quite the opposite. This business strategy accelerates sales. The Informed Consultant The salesperson’s role changes. Instead of focusing so much on information dumping and pushing products, the salesperson’s role becomes about being a consultant to the individual needs of the customer.
Since the customer has the ability to try the product on their own, a salesperson can help connect the dots between what the product does, how others are using it, and how it can immediately address their needs. Salespeople identify what barriers are in front of the customer and how to remove them. Sales becomes about customer success rather than product pushing.
Product Evangelists Salespeople position themselves as product experts. The customer already knows what they like and do not like about what they’ve already seen. The salespeople are there to work with the information they have collected about the customer and use it to promote customer success with the best advice they can. This concept is the epitome of consultative selling.
Pricing
The pricing is about removing barriers. It is about how you can give the customer the experience they need to engage, see the value, and be motivated to see more. If they love it, they’ll buy it As product-led growth is synonymous with ‘freemium’, it is important to note the customer must have an opportunity to experience the product without making a purchase. Once they are in the product that’s where information about upgrades and paid features should be marketed.
Building trust
This pricing model is great for customers because it reduces the chance of buyer’s remorse. They know what they will be getting and they already trust you to deliver delightful results.
