B2B PLG segment playbook

Segment constraints

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.

Buyer type

Hands-on champions (PMs, ops, revops, team leads) prove value in-product; economic buyers (VP-level and above) enter once there is a clear business case.

PLG objective for this segment

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.

Activation model

In this segment, the activation definition is a small set of outcomes that reliably predict long-term retention or upgrade. Treat it as a precise metric (activation rate and time-to-value), not a vague sense that users “get it”.

First setup complete.
First core workflow completed.
Second session within a short window (early habit signal).

Activation example

Activation definition: An account is activated when it completes the wedge workflow and returns for a second session within 7 days.

Time-to-value target: Under 1 day for the median successful account

First success event: wedge_workflow_completed

Expansion trigger event: team_invite_sent or usage_threshold_reached

Product signals to instrument

Instrument explicit events with clear properties. Each signal should map to a specific, in-product behavior that you can use in funnels, cohorts, and routing rules without extra interpretation.

Example event schema

signup_completed
User finishes signup.
Properties: acquisition_source, role, company_size
wedge_workflow_started
User begins the self-serve wedge workflow.
Properties: workflow
wedge_workflow_completed
User completes the wedge workflow outcome.
Properties: workflow, time_since_signup_seconds
repeat_session
User returns and uses the product again within the target window.
Properties: days_since_signup

Routing logic

Automation stays automated when…

Single-user accounts that fire wedge_workflow_started but not wedge_workflow_completed within the evaluation window.
Accounts that complete wedge_workflow_completed once but never emit repeat_session in the following 7–14 days.
Trials where no combination of wedge_workflow_completed + repeat_session + team_invite_sent events occur.

Humans step in when…

Accounts that emit wedge_workflow_completed and repeat_session within the target time window for their segment.
Accounts that show clear account-level intent such as multiple active users, team_invite_sent, or usage_threshold_reached events.
High-fit accounts (ICP traits + wedge activation) that show signals of governance or broader rollout needs in product or via support.

Expansion mechanics

Teams expand from a single champion running the wedge workflow to multiple active teammates collaborating in shared workspaces or projects.
Usage of the wedge workflow generalizes to more use cases or departments, pushing against usage or feature thresholds tied to value.
Sales uses wedge adoption and multi-user activity as the trigger to position larger contracts, governance features, and multi-team rollouts.

Failure modes specific to this segment

Copying B2C growth tactics (e.g. vanity sign-up funnels) without modeling account-level adoption and buying committees.
Routing sales from MQLs or demo requests while ignoring wedge usage, causing sales to work low-intent accounts.
Treating the wedge as a sandbox that never graduates into a governed deployment path, so successful pilots stall at team level.
Failing to separate wedge activation metrics from enterprise deal metrics, making it hard to see where the motion actually breaks.