Elena's Growth Scoop

Elena's Growth Scoop

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Elena's Growth Scoop
Product-led growth is many things. But here is what it's NOT.
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Product-led growth is many things. But here is what it's NOT.

Seven misconceptions about PLG.

Elena Verna's avatar
Elena Verna
Mar 14, 2023
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Elena's Growth Scoop
Elena's Growth Scoop
Product-led growth is many things. But here is what it's NOT.
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Product-led growth (PLG) is many things, but here are SEVEN things it is not:

  1. Not a substitute for Sales-led growth (SLG)

  2. Not a cheap way to generate a pipeline

  3. Not a fast way to make revenue

  4. Not a viable growth motion for every business

  5. Not powerful without marketing and sales

  6. Not a growth motion without connection to monetization 

  7. Not successful without Product ownership

Let’s dive in!

Not a substitute for the Sales-Led Growth

Product-led and Sales-led growth motions are successful across different segments, personas, and use cases and should be set up to complement each other, not compete or replace.

  • PLG cannot succeed in the enterprise segment with enterprise buyers like SLG: hard to communicate enterprise value prop in a product, have to have the right group of decision makers onboard, end users <> buyer, sales can more effectively increase perceived value, etc.

  • SLG cannot succeed in SMB: it may not be the preferred way to transact, ACVs cannot justify human involvement, etc.

So choose PLG a…

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