Imagine your product was so compelling that it practically sold itself. That’s the power of product-led growth (PLG). Rather than relying on traditional sales tactics, a product-led growth strategy focuses on crafting seamless user experiences that convert consumers into loyal brand advocates.
When executed effectively, product-led growth eliminates the need for costly advertising by providing immediate value that attracts, retains, and expands your customer base.
Are you interested in adopting a strategy where your product fuels its own success? Here’s an overview of what a product-led growth strategy is, how to implement it, and real-world examples in action.
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Product-led growth (PLG) is a strategy where a product drives its customer acquisition, conversion, and expansion by allowing users to experience its value freely and easily.
“Using a PLG strategy requires designing your product in a way that its usage results in actions that drive growth,” says Harvard Business School Professor Christina Wallace, who teaches the online course Entrepreneurial Marketing.
Businesses with a PLG strategy design their products to provide immediate value, enabling users to explore and experience them with little to no friction.
For example, a company may offer a free version of its product to let users test key features. Or it might build an intuitive design that requires no onboarding, simplifying the buying journey. As users engage with the product independently, they often share their positive experiences, fueling organic growth.
To get started, incorporate these four key elements into your business model to achieve a successful product-led growth strategy.
4 Essential Elements to Achieve Product-Led Growth
1. Self-Service Features
Customers gravitate toward accessible and user-friendly products. To boost sales and drive business growth, ensure your product is readily available, simple to use, and universally appealing.
As Wallace emphasizes in Entrepreneurial Marketing, the goal is to lead customers toward discovering and using the product on their own. This shift toward self-service has surged in recent years, with 81 percent of customers seeking more self-service features.
Web hosting company Squarespace exemplifies this approach by transforming the once-daunting task of building a website into an obtainable, straightforward experience. Users can easily create and customize their own websites with Squarespace’s library of pre-designed content tools.
Squarespace also enhances the user experience with a robust online support system, including step-by-step tutorials and a forum where users can exchange tips and learn together.
This strategy not only strengthens brand value but develops a dynamic community where users help educate future customers, driving engagement and brand recognition.
Related: Listen to Professor Wallace discuss the intersection of marketing and entrepreneurship on The Parlor Room podcast, or watch the episode on YouTube.
2. A “Eureka!” Moment
Winning over customers quickly is the key to converting and retaining business. While a strong value proposition sets expectations, the real question is: How do customers experience that value?
Recognizing the key moment customers realize your product’s value is essential for fostering brand loyalty and lasting customer relationships, turning occasional users into committed ones.
Online women’s retailer Bow & Drape, featured in Entrepreneurial Marketing, discovered this firsthand by observing customers personalize their products in person. With limited resources to open a storefront, the company identified an opportunity to collaborate with major department stores, launching in-store design stations where customers could create their own viral “sparkly sweatshirt.”
“That process just created such an incredible moment of conversion and excitement and love for the brand that it became a core part of our strategy,” says former founder and CEO Aubrie Pagano in Entrepreneurial Marketing.
By tapping into customer needs, Bow & Drape pinpointed the exact moment when users emotionally resonated with their product. This insight allowed them to amplify that experience—inspiring one-time buyers to share their excitement with others to expand customer acquisition and company revenue.
3. Creating Value Before Extracting Value
A tactical strategy in product-led growth is giving customers a chance to try before they buy.
In Entrepreneurial Marketing, Wallace emphasizes that providing a free sample or freemium pricing model—where users can access basic features at no cost and pay for advanced options—reduces risk and allows the product to demonstrate its value on its own.
Once customers directly interact with the product, they’re more likely to convert, fueling organic growth while enhancing the company’s marketing effectiveness.
Take Slack, for example. Instead of leaning on traditional advertising, the team communication and work management platform leveraged a freemium model, encouraging individuals and startups to explore its free features. As delighted users shared their experiences, businesses were drawn to upgrade to paid plans, creating a ripple effect of subscriptions.
Today, Slack has over 12 million active users and more than 156,000 business subscribers, proving that product-led growth builds lasting momentum for scalable growth when applied strategically.
Related: How to Measure Marketing Effectiveness: 6 Key Strategies for Success
4. Leverage Network Effects
Networking plays a major role in a customer’s decision to purchase a product. When people see their friends, colleagues, or community engaging with a brand, they’re far more likely to join.
“Design the offering so that its usage naturally encourages your existing customers to pull in new customers, creating value for them as much as you,” Wallace says in Entrepreneurial Marketing.
For Bow & Drape, personalization wasn’t just about style—it was about creating shared experiences. Designing a custom product for a special occasion, like a bachelorette party or graduation, transformed the purchase into a memorable, social experience. Customers weren’t just buying a sweatshirt; they were celebrating milestones with friends and family.
This community-driven strategy fostered customer growth by harnessing the power of organic word-of-mouth, effortlessly bringing in new customers through shared experiences and recommendations.
The Importance of Achieving a Product-Led Growth Strategy
Achieving a product-led growth strategy is a game-changer for businesses of all sizes. By prioritizing user experience and self-sustaining engagement, companies can scale efficiently without relying on aggressive sales tactics.
A strong product-led growth strategy shifts the focus from traditional sales-driven marketing to building a culture and community centered around customer value. When a product speaks for itself, marketing teams can prioritize organic growth efforts, such as brand storytelling and nurturing two-way customer relationships.
By embracing a product-led growth strategy, companies can turn their product into their most powerful marketing tool, driving sustained success with every user interaction.
To adopt a product-led growth strategy for your business, consider taking an online course, such as Entrepreneurial Marketing. Through immersive case studies and interactive exercises, you’ll learn how to develop the entrepreneurial mindset and toolkit to create a scalable business.
Are you ready to implement a strategy where your product practically sells itself? Explore Entrepreneurial Marketing—one of our online marketing courses—and download our interactive online learning success guide to discover the benefits of online programs and how to prepare for one.
