Product-Led Growth (PLG)
Let the product drive acquisition, activation, and expansion.
Explanation
In product-led growth, the product itself drives customer acquisition, activation, and expansion rather than traditional sales teams. Users can discover value, try the product, purchase, and expand their usage all through self-service. This dramatically reduces customer acquisition costs because satisfied users become your sales force through word-of-mouth and viral features.
Real-World Example
Zoom: Free tier that just works. Meeting link = viral loop. Participants become users. Users become buyers. No sales needed until enterprise. Grew to $1B with minimal sales team. Compare to traditional video conferencing: months of sales cycles.
How to Apply
Requirements: 1) Self-serve onboarding 2) Time to value <10 minutes 3) Built-in viral loops 4) Usage-based value metric 5) Clear upgrade triggers. Start with free tier or trial. Instrument everything. Let usage data trigger sales outreach. Product team owns growth metrics.