PLG is almost universally applied (or desired) by every B2B product company. And while there are a lot of PLG success stories written up, the nuances of actually implementing and operationalizing such a motion are best learned through deep conversations with folks who have lived the journey. Which is why I’m really excited to share my recent conversation with
, who leads the Growth Pillar at Asana (and also writes the Reflections of a PM newsletter).We covered quite a bit of ground in this session, including:
the differences between moving upmarket vs downmarket utilizing PLG
the need to think of PLG as a mindset shift requiring change management
the market dynamics that make a PLG motion appealing…and necessary
the importance of understanding your end user and buyer before PLG-ing
audience questions on when, where, how, and why to apply PLG methods
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I found the discussion around user expectations of B2B software changing very telling - end users now expect to try out features beyond a basic demo, which is part of the broader consumerization of enterprise software. It’s a less cited but equally important part of the PLG push we’ve seen in the industry (most of the focus seems to be on the efficiency of product-led vs sales-led revenue). Building on that, Shahzad highlights how being product-led is a counter-balance to the feature factory mindset.
Shahzad also had great insights into why most PLG efforts start with acquisition or monetization rather than other aspects of the user / buyer journey; it fundamentally comes down to your depth of understanding of your motion, and where the low-hanging fruit is for PLG to have an impact. Given the culture and mindset shift required to execute PLG properly across product and GTM teams, having these types of prioritization and trade-off discussions is critical.
As readers of this newsletter know, I love delving into data and metrics - that is definitely a major dimension of change with PLG. In the clip below, we discuss how things shift with metrics forecasting, tracking, and reporting. The big takeaway is the breadth evolves and you have to rethink your operations and rituals.
Our conversation also veered into a discussion of “champions”, which are critical to not only landing but expanding in B2B. One benefit of PLG is it allows you to be much more surgical in identifying and serving champions - in the clip below we learn about the “champion experience” team at Asana and how it operates.
