The Evolving Role of Marketing in Product-Led Growth
In a recent episode of “McKinsey on Building Products,” Rikki Singh, a partner at McKinsey, converses with Zeynep Inanoglu Ozdemir, Chief Marketing Officer at Atlassian. Ozdemir’s diverse background—from her engineering roots to her extensive marketing career—has shaped her approach to leveraging data-driven insights within Atlassian’s product-led-growth (PLG) strategy.
The Definition of Product-Led Growth
Ozdemir emphasizes that product-led growth should not be perceived as a strict alternative to sales-led growth. Instead, it exists on a spectrum. PLG focuses on creating a product that is user-friendly and valuable from the start. Atlassian was a pioneer in this arena, allowing users to discover, try, and buy products online, thus establishing a clear PLG framework.
The Marketer’s Role in PLG
According to Ozdemir, the marketer’s responsibilities in a PLG context are threefold:
- Driving Awareness: Marketers are tasked with filling the top of the funnel, effectively engaging potential customers keen to explore the product.
- Partnership with Product Teams: Marketers collaborate with product teams to ensure that users have a successful onboarding experience, providing appropriate information throughout their journey.
- Customer Expansion: Once users are onboarded, marketers focus on nurturing these relationships, identifying opportunities for upselling or cross-selling within the company’s product ecosystem.
Key Success Factors for Marketing Teams
For marketing teams to thrive in a PLG environment, Ozdemir stresses the importance of:
- Deep understanding of customer personas to deliver rapid value.
- Alignment on metrics and data with product teams to track shared outcomes.
- Agility in responding to experimental results, allowing for quick pivots that are distinct in PLG versus SLG contexts.
Measuring Success in PLG
At Atlassian, success metrics have transitioned over time. While sign-ups serve as an initial indicator, the company now tracks a metric termed ‘day-one-to-six active instances,’ which evaluates user engagement shortly after sign-up. This focus allows marketing and product teams to assess and enhance user experiences collaboratively.
Utilizing Data and Experimentation
Ozdemir highlights the ability of PLG strategies to facilitate rapid experimentation and feedback. For instance, recent marketing experiments, such as “anchor journeys,” analyze user intent based on search queries, optimizing landing experiences to enhance product trials—resulting in substantial increases in successful trials.
Interdepartmental Collaboration
The intersection of sales, marketing, and product functions becomes particularly impactful in expanding customer relationships. Marketing plays a crucial role in guiding new product features to existing customers, transforming trials into product-qualified leads. This direct connection between resource allocation and sales conversations enhances operational efficiency.
Guidance for Companies Adopting PLG
Ozdemir advises organizations pursuing a PLG model to first assess whether their product is conducive to such an approach. An effective PLG strategy requires total commitment from product teams, emphasizing consistent and seamless experiences from user discovery through onboarding. It is essential to set clear metrics for success and pursue incremental improvements toward achieving those goals.
The Future of Product-Led Growth
Looking forward, Ozdemir predicts that AI will increasingly enhance marketing and product strategies. By automating content generation and personalizing customer interactions, AI will streamline campaign development and improve customer engagement efficiency.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, Ozdemir concludes that there is no singular approach to product-led growth; instead, each organization must craft its own strategy based on its unique circumstances and target market. Flexibility and creativity in marketing tactics will be key to navigating the evolving landscape of product-led growth.
