Building Software in the Product-Led Growth Era.
In recent years, there has been a significant transformation in how companies buy software, which started when everything moved to the Cloud. Refined product experiences are now a must, and products are expected to generate virality and growth from within. Effectively, the product itself should be driving adoption, referrals, and growth.
These expectations do not only apply to classic B2C software; they have rippled throughout the industry as well. Even highly specialized B2B software is expected to have exceptional UX and collaboration features built in.
Building Software within the Product-Led Growth Era.
For companies, product-led growth primarily means a renewed laser focus on how end-users interact with and use the product. Your product is now your primary acquisition channel, which means you must invest in experiences that are memorable, intuitive, and powerful.
High-Fidelity Wireframing
With the rise of tools like Figma, Adobe XD, and Invision, companies can now produce life-like wireframes that resemble the finished product. This simplifies the iteration process and significantly mitigates the risk of developing the actual software. Some startups have gone as far as using their high-fidelity wireframes to demo and ultimately reach product market fit.
Baked-In Growth
Collaborative features that help users realize more value from the product by inviting others make product-led growth a reality. This is changing how software is being purchased, from the traditional top-down approach to a bottom-up adoption where end-users “discover” the product, typically via a freemium model that then ripples throughout the organization
Product Analytics
Utilize tools like Mixpanel and Hotjar to gain a true understanding of how users are interacting with the product.
Pricing
The best way to sell a great experience is to have someone try it out through free trials, interactive product demos and freemium. This means letting them solve their problem, or a portion of their problem, temporarily until they’ve reached an upgrade trigger.
Long sales cycles and demos are still relevant for a certain category of products, but they may not be the best choice for the majority of companies.
Takeaway
Invest in your product, and follow the industry shift in how users are purchasing. This will simplify your acquisition and help startups leverage their product to acquire new customers.