product-led growth

Definition

A go-to-market strategy where the product itself drives customer acquisition, retention, and expansion rather than traditional sales teams. Users fall in love before ever talking to a salesperson.

Example Usage

Slack's product-led growth strategy turned users into advocates who convinced their companies to buy enterprise licenses.

Origin

Coined by Blake Bartlett of OpenView Partners around 2016

Fun Fact

Product-led growth companies typically have 30-50% lower customer acquisition costs than sales-led competitors.

Source: SaaS business model and growth strategy terminology

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