product-led-growth

name	product-led-growth
description	Design and implement a product-led growth strategy where the product drives user acquisition, expansion, and retention. Outputs PLG model, activation metrics, viral loops, and freemium conversion strategy.
argument-hint	["product type","target segment","current growth motion","pricing model"]
allowed-tools	Read, Write

Product-Led Growth (PLG)

Product-led growth is a go-to-market strategy where the product itself is the primary driver of customer acquisition, expansion, and retention. Instead of sales-led (sales demos products) or marketing-led (marketing creates demand), PLG lets users discover value in the product before involving sales. Slack, Figma, and Notion are canonical examples.

PLG Readiness Assessment

## Is PLG Right For You?

HIGH PLG FIT (strong signals):
  ✓ Product delivers value within minutes of signup (not weeks of onboarding)
  ✓ Value is self-evident — users can understand the product without training
  ✓ Individual users or small teams can adopt without enterprise procurement
  ✓ Network effects or collaboration features (more valuable with more users)
  ✓ Free tier can deliver genuine value, not just a limited trial
  ✓ Word-of-mouth is already happening organically

LOW PLG FIT (warning signals):
  ✗ Requires 3-month implementation and data migration before value
  ✗ Price point requires CFO approval ($100k+/year)
  ✗ Regulatory requirement for procurement (healthcare, government)
  ✗ Only valuable after critical mass of users (cold start problem)
  ✗ Value is in services, not the product itself

PLG Model Design

## PLG Growth Model: [Product Name]

### Free Tier Design
Objective: Deliver genuine value; demonstrate full product potential

Free tier includes:
  - Core workflow (up to 3 projects)
  - Basic integrations (2 of 10 available)
  - 1 user seat

Free tier excludes (requires upgrade):
  - Team collaboration (>1 seat)
  - Advanced integrations
  - Admin controls / audit logs
  - Priority support

Freemium success metric:
  % of free users who reach the "aha moment" (first successful workflow)
  Target: >40% within 7 days

### Activation Funnel (Free to Active)
Signup → Email Verified → First Project Created → First Task Completed → Team Member Invited

Critical metric: % reaching "First Task Completed" within 7 days
  Current: 28% | Target: 45%
  Hypothesis: Onboarding checklist complexity is the bottleneck

### Viral Loop
How the product spreads organically:
  1. User creates shareable output (report, design, document)
  2. Shares with external collaborators
  3. Collaborators must sign up to comment/edit
  4. Collaborator experiences product value → upgrades or shares further

Viral coefficient (K): 0.3 currently → target 0.6

### Expansion Revenue Motion
Free → Pro: Individual power users hit seat or feature limits
Pro → Team: Projects become collaborative; team plan unlocks collaboration
Team → Enterprise: Security, SSO, audit logs become requirements at scale

Expansion metric: Net Revenue Retention (NRR) target >120%

Activation Instrumentation

# Track activation milestones for PLG funnel
from datetime import datetime, timedelta

class PLGActivationTracker:
    ACTIVATION_MILESTONES = [
        ("signup_completed", "Signed up"),
        ("email_verified", "Email verified"),
        ("first_project_created", "Created first project"),
        ("first_action_completed", "Completed first key action"),
        ("team_member_invited", "Invited a team member"),  # Viral hook
        ("integration_connected", "Connected an integration"),
    ]

    async def track_milestone(self, user_id: str, milestone: str) -> None:
        already_reached = await db.fetchone(
            "SELECT 1 FROM activation_milestones WHERE user_id = $1 AND milestone = $2",
            [user_id, milestone]
        )
        if not already_reached:
            await db.execute(
                "INSERT INTO activation_milestones (user_id, milestone, reached_at) VALUES ($1, $2, NOW())",
                [user_id, milestone]
            )

    async def get_activation_rate(self, milestone: str, cohort_days: int = 7) -> float:
        result = await db.fetchone("""
            SELECT
                COUNT(DISTINCT u.id) AS total_signups,
                COUNT(DISTINCT m.user_id) AS reached_milestone
            FROM users u
            LEFT JOIN activation_milestones m
                ON u.id = m.user_id
                AND m.milestone = $1
                AND m.reached_at <= u.created_at + INTERVAL '$2 days'
            WHERE u.created_at >= NOW() - INTERVAL '30 days'
        """, [milestone, cohort_days])

         result[] == :
             
         result[] / result[]

Free-to-Paid Conversion Optimisation

## Conversion Levers

USAGE LIMITS (friction-based triggers)
  "You've reached your 3 project limit"
  "Upgrade to invite more than 1 team member"
  Design: Show limit before hitting it; make upgrade path obvious

VALUE DEMONSTRATION (value-based triggers)
  "You've automated 47 hours this month — Premium users save even more"
  "Share this with your team" prompt appears when user creates something shareable
  Design: Show ROI before asking for money

SOCIAL PROOF AT DECISION POINT
  Upgrade modal shows: "3,847 teams like yours use Premium"
  Case study from similar company visible during trial

TIMING
  Offer upgrade after "aha moment" (first successful workflow) — not on signup
  Send email when user hits 80% of free tier limit (not 100%)
  Use in-product prompts, not just email

PRICING PAGE OPTIMISATION
  Annual plan prominently featured (20-30% discount)
  "Most popular" tag on recommended tier
  Feature comparison focused on user's usage patterns

Anti-Patterns to Avoid

Anti-Pattern	Problem	Fix
Free tier with no real value	Users churn before experiencing value	Free tier must deliver genuine, lasting value
Paywalling too early	Users leave before "aha moment"	Delay upgrade prompts until after activation
PLG without product analytics	Flying blind; can't identify bottlenecks	Instrument the full activation funnel from day one
Ignoring expansion revenue	Acquiring users but not growing revenue	NRR is as important as new logo acquisition
PLG for complex enterprise products	Users can't self-serve; sales required for value	Hybrid: PLG for discovery; sales for large deals

10 Rules

1. The product delivers genuine value in the free tier — not a hobbled trial.
2. "Aha moment" is defined and measured — it is the highest-leverage activation metric.
3. Upgrade prompts appear after the aha moment, not at signup.
4. Viral loops are built into the product — sharing, inviting, collaborating.
5. Activation funnel is instrumented and reviewed weekly.
6. Freemium → paid conversion is triggered by usage limits OR value demonstration — not arbitrary timers.
7. Net Revenue Retention (NRR) tracks expansion — PLG should drive >100% NRR.
8. Self-serve onboarding is a product feature, not a support function.
9. PLG and sales are complementary — PLG handles SMB; sales handles enterprise.
10. PLG requires product investment — it does not replace GTM investment.