Definition of PLG and SLG
What is Product Led Growth (PLG)?
PLG is a strategy in which the product itself is the primary driver of customer acquisition, conversion, and growth. Companies that adopt PLG enable denmark telegram phone number list users to independently understand the product's value and complete workflows without directly interacting with a sales rep.
What is SalesRedGrowth (SLG)?
SLG is a strategy where specialized sales teams are responsible for customer acquisition, conversion, and growth. SLG is typically employed for complex products and services and is effective when sales teams need to educate customers and guide them through the buying process.
The strategy you choose to take your product to market will depend heavily on your customer profile, the situation, and the nature of the product itself. Consider these five key factors to choose the best approach:
Five factors to consider
Customer literacyHigh
: Easy to understand the product and its valueLow
: Product explanation and education required
Price of the product (customer willingness to pay)
High: requires careful decision-making process
Low: relatively easy purchase decision
Strict internal control in the client organization
: many approvals required to introduce new products
Flexible: Easy to try new products and tools
User-buyer relationship
Congruence: The user also makes the purchase decision
Incongruence: The user and the purchase decision maker are different
Guidelines for choosing a strategy
Product Red: High customer literacy Relatively low price Flexible internal controls User and buyer match Low product complexity
Product Red + Sales Assistance: Customer literacy is medium Price is medium to high Internal controls are somewhat flexible Users and buyers may be different Product complexity is medium
Sales-led + Product-assisted: Customer literacy is somewhat low. Prices are high. Internal controls are somewhat strict. Users and buyers are often different. Product complexity is medium to high.
Sales-driven: Low customer literacy High prices Strict internal controls Clear division between users and buyers High product complexity
Product Complexity and Strategy
Product complexity is a key factor in choosing the right deployment strategy.
Low-complexity products : Products that are intuitive and easy to adopt are well suited to the Product Red approach because they allow users to understand, try, and decide for themselves. For example, many SaaS tools and mobile apps fit this category.
Medium Complexity Products : Products that require some level of expertise or implementation assistance may benefit from a Product Red + Sales Assisted or Sales Led + Product Assisted approach. This applies when the core value of the product is self-explanatory, but assistance is needed on optimal usage or leveraging advanced features.
Highly complex products : Products that require a high level of expertise to use and take time and resources to implement are well suited to a sales-led approach, such as enterprise software or complex business systems, as these products often require customization to fit a customer's business processes and change management across the organization.
Effectiveness of a mixed strategy
In real business, combining these strategies flexibly will enable more effective market development. Let's take a look at some examples of successful companies below.
Growth Hypothesis Example: Calendly
Booking management tools like Calendly vary their strategies depending on customer segment and growth stage.
Individual and team use cases :
Adopt PLG at every growth stage (acquisition, activation, engagement, monetization)
Individual users can sign up and share the link
Team plan managers can also add and manage users independently
Enterprise use cases :
PLG is used for early growth (acquisition) stage: End users can try low-cost version
Late growth stage (activation, engagement): Combine SLG to help activate and retain enterprise account users through human contact
Growth Hypothesis Example: Superhuman
Superhuman, a feature-rich email client, employs different strategies for different stages of growth.
Personal use cases :
Acquisition, engagement and monetization are PLG
Activation via SLG (30 minute individual onboarding call)
Team/Enterprise Use Cases :
Acquisition is PLG
Activation, engagement, and monetization are a combination of SLG and PLG
Why Superhuman uses SLGs for the activation phase:
Positioning yourself as an alternative to an executive assistant
Differentiation as a premium product
Accelerate value discovery with personalized onboarding
Benefits of adopting a mixed strategy
Approach different customer segments : Choose the best strategy for different customer segments (individuals, teams, enterprises).
Flexibility for each stage of growth : Adopt what works best for acquisition, activation, engagement, and monetization.
Optimal resource allocation : An appropriate combination of automation (PLG) and human resources (SLG) enables efficient resource allocation.
Dealing with product complexity : You can adopt a strategy according to the characteristics of your product, such as PLG for simple functions and SLG for complex functions.
Balance between scalability and customization : PLG allows for rapid scale-up while SLG provides advanced customization and support.
summary
The key to success is to accurately understand the characteristics of your customers and the complexity of your products, and to flexibly select a strategy to match them. Rather than sticking to one strategy, taking the right approach for each customer segment will enable effective market expansion.
It is also important to adjust your strategy accordingly as your product evolves and the market changes. For example, a product that started out complex may become easier to use over time, allowing you to move to a product redundancy approach.
Through continuous market analysis and customer feedback, we constantly seek and refine optimal deployment strategies to ensure long-term success.
