Product-Led Growth (PLG)(PLG)
Quick definition
A go-to-market strategy where your product itself is the primary driver for acquisition, conversion, and expansion - with minimal sales intervention.
Detailed explanation
Product-Led Growth revolves around one principle: let your product do the work. Instead of starting with a weeks-long sales cycle, prospects get direct access to your product via a trial or freemium model. They experience the value, get hooked, and upgrade themselves. Think Slack, Dropbox, Calendly. PLG companies grow 2-3x faster than traditional sales-led companies and have 30-50% lower customer acquisition costs. But PLG isn't for everyone: your product must be intuitive, deliver value quickly (within minutes, not months), and have viral potential. For complex B2B solutions above €50k, you often combine PLG with a sales-assisted motion: the product generates and qualifies leads, while sales closes the larger deals.
Synonyms
Examples
Slack grew from 0 to 15,000 customers in 2 years without a sales team. Users tried it for free, invited colleagues (viral), and teams automatically upgraded to paid when they hit the 10,000 message limit. Sales only came into play for enterprise deals above $100k.
Calendly lets you schedule a meeting immediately without a demo or conversation. 10M+ users started free, 35% upgraded within 60 days to paid because they booked so many meetings. Sales only calls accounts with €5k+ potential.
When to use this?
Consider PLG if your product is simple enough to try yourself, delivers value quickly (time-to-value under 1 hour), and your target market is large enough for volume. Not suitable for highly complex enterprise software or consultancy services requiring customization.
Match-day approach
Match-day helps B2B companies evaluate whether PLG motion fits their business. We analyze your product, identify which features work best as self-serve, and design a hybrid model where the product generates and qualifies leads while sales closes larger deals. We also build the processes to hand over PQLs (Product Qualified Leads) to sales at the right moment.
Related terms
Freemium Model
A pricing strategy where you offer a free basic version and make money by having users upgrade to premium features.
Touchless Sales
A sales process where customers convert themselves from prospect to paying customer without direct contact with a sales representative.
Learn more
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