Product-led growth playbooks by segment
Use these segment-specific PLG spines when you need concrete constraints, activation models, explicit product signals, routing logic, and expansion mechanics for a particular kind of product and go-to-market.
Make the product the primary growth engine for B2B SaaS: reliably move new accounts from signup to a defined activation event in under an hour, then route high-fit, high-usage accounts to sales based on product-qualified signals instead of MQLs.
Team size: Early- to growth-stage B2B SaaS companies with small product, growth, and success teams (or one person wearing all three hats).
Sales motion: Hybrid PLG + sales: free trial or freemium entry, self-serve onboarding, and sales-assist for higher-ACV or multi-stakeholder deals.
Design a self-serve B2B PLG wedge where a small team can reach a measurable activation event quickly, then use product-qualified signals to decide which accounts stay self-serve and which get sales-assist.
Team size: B2B companies with mixed self-serve and sales-led motions, often spanning SMB, mid-market, and the lower end of enterprise.
Sales motion: Self-serve wedge that teams can adopt on their own, with sales engaging once usage and buying committees grow beyond the wedge.
Use a self-serve SaaS PLG motion to get new users to a clearly-defined first-success event in minutes, then convert that success into repeat usage and predictable upgrade paths tied to real work.
Team size: Small to mid-size SaaS teams where product, engineering, and perhaps one growth generalist drive most of the go-to-market motion.
Sales motion: Primarily self-serve with optional sales-assist for higher tiers; many customers never talk to sales at all.
Optimize PLG for developer tools around a fast install + first meaningful artifact, then use workspace, team, and environment signals to decide when to move from experimentation to paid, production usage.
Team size: Developer tools teams selling to individual developers and small squads, often with lean or no dedicated sales and success teams.
Sales motion: Bottom-up adoption through developers in local or cloud environments; sales focuses on team-wide and production expansions.
Use a self-serve PLG wedge to prove value with a small team in real work, then let product usage signals and governance needs drive the transition into enterprise sales cycles and governed contracts.
Team size: Companies selling into mid-market and enterprise where deals span multiple teams, security, and procurement stakeholders.
Sales motion: Self-serve wedge for one or a few teams, followed by enterprise sales once governance, compliance, and org-wide rollout are on the table.
Let indie developers reach a concrete first-success outcome in minutes with minimal setup, then earn upgrades through limits and features that clearly map to more shipped work or revenue.
Team size: Solo developers and very small teams building and shipping quickly, often with limited time and budget for tooling.
Sales motion: Pure self-serve PLG with clear pricing, instant onboarding, and no mandatory demos or sales calls.