I first heard the term Product-Led Growth (PLG) in 2018. Initially, I didn’t pay much attention, as it seemed to apply mainly to SaaS (Software as a Service) or pure digital companies.
If you’re unfamiliar with Product-Led Growth, know it’s a go-to-market strategy focused on using the product as the primary vehicle for customer acquisition, conversion, and retention. Many successful SaaS companies are doing a great job at Product-Led Growth. Uber, Zoom, Slack, and Dropbox, to name a few.
I was then leading the consumer business at Plantronics. Our focus was on communication wearables, fitness earbuds, or gaming headsets. Product-Led Growth didn’t seem to map much to my product categories.
The PLG lingo referred to establishing product trials or self-serve strategies, onboarding customers and reducing churn, leveraging pricing to attract specific customer segments, and multiplying online experiments.
At first sight, not something you could easily apply to hardware accessories like our headsets, which we primarily sold as boxed products through mass retailers.
Soon enough, though, I started to see more PLG examples shared. Some hardware giants like Apple or Tesla were considered product-led growth companies.
Why?
They had been able to build in their hardware a digital experience that exponentially increased customer familiarity and the value delivered. After all, if you think of it, Tesla is more like a “software-on-four-wheels” company. They provide an ultra-personalized experience from purchase to driving and unlock features through their software platform.
But how could we, as a smaller hardware manufacturer, apply some of these Product-Led Growth rules to our business and benefit from it?
Here are a few strategies the team focused on
#1 We simplified the product
Making our products “self-serve” meant making every touch point with our customers seamless. It started with a delightful out-of-box experience (think Apple-like box-opening). It continued into making our products as intuitive as possible: no second guessing on buttons and controls, superior wearing comfort, and durability for a better user experience.
#2 We personalized the experience
Adding a mobile app allowed our customers to choose their audio settings and activate some controls. That digital interface also became an excellent analytics source, helping us capture customer behaviors and preferences for future developments.
#3 We offered free trials
How can you let millions of prospective buyers try your product before buying like they would with an app or digital product? With a bit of imagination, we realized there were many ways for future buyers to experience our headsets.
The most cost-effective were audio samples we’d post online. For instance, we’d use it to showcase the difference with or without our noise-canceling features. On the costlier side were the demo pods we’d create for end-caps at retail. Not cheap, but very effective in reaching large audiences in high-traffic stores like WalMart.
#4 We nurtured authentic influencers
Instead of blindly operating on social media, we identified and nurtured the best influencers. For our gaming products, it meant lending our higher-end headsets to professional gamers at esports events and letting our brand impress the aspiring pro gamers watching the competition.
These are just a few ways to leverage your product to grow the business. So, yes, Product-Led Growth is a reality for hardware products, especially when you have a highly skilled and imaginative team.
And most importantly, the user feedback and the relationships you generate with your product-led efforts can help you continuously innovate and improve your product to meet the changing needs of your customers.
One last benefit of Product-Led Growth is team dynamics as it helps you rethink the relationship between sales, marketing and product teams. Your product becomes your best promoter; after all, there’s no better-proven way to stay ahead of your competition.