B2B SaaS PLG segment playbook

Segment constraints

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.

Buyer type

IC champions (PMs, growth, founders) start inside the product; economic buyers are typically VP Product, VP Growth, or CRO who care about expansion and unit economics.

PLG objective for this segment

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.

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”.

Complete initial setup (workspace/project created).
Connect the first integration or data source.
Invite a teammate (early expansion signal).
Complete the first “aha” workflow end-to-end.

Activation example

Activation definition: An account is “activated” when it completes the first core workflow end-to-end and at least one teammate is invited.

Time-to-value target: Under 60 minutes for the median successful account

First success event: core_workflow_completed

Expansion trigger event: workspace_invite_sent (2+ teammates) or plan_limit_hit

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
A new user finishes signup and lands in the product.
Properties: acquisition_source, role, company_size
workspace_created
A workspace/project is created (setup milestone).
Properties: workspace_id, plan
core_workflow_completed
User completes the first meaningful workflow outcome.
Properties: workspace_id, workflow, time_since_signup_seconds
workspace_invite_sent
User invites at least one teammate (early expansion).
Properties: workspace_id, invite_count
plan_limit_hit
Account hits a meaningful limit tied to value.
Properties: workspace_id, limit_name, limit_value

Routing logic

Automation stays automated when…

Accounts emit signup and workspace_created events but have not yet fired core_workflow_completed.
Users touch secondary features but do not reach core_workflow_completed or workspace_invite_sent within the first session.
Accounts remain below the PQL threshold (no activation event + no early expansion events) within the first 7 days.

Humans step in when…

Accounts that emit core_workflow_completed and at least one repeat_session within the target TTV window.
Workspaces where workspace_invite_sent fires for 2+ teammates or plan_limit_hit is reached on a value-aligned limit.
High-fit accounts (ICP traits matched in traits + activation event fired) that have not upgraded within a defined follow-up window.

Expansion mechanics

Successful accounts invite collaborators into the same workspace after completing the first core workflow, shifting value from individual to team.
Usage or seat limits are hit while core_workflow_completed and repeat_session events remain healthy, making upgrade prompts feel like a continuation of success.
Accounts add more projects, workspaces, or integrations over time, deepening dependency and creating natural opportunities for expansion plans and add-ons.

Failure modes specific to this segment

Declaring “signup completed” or “workspace created” as activation, masking the fact that few accounts ever fire core_workflow_completed or upgrade.
Instrumenting dozens of events with inconsistent names and no shared schema, so nobody can reliably build activation or PQL definitions.
Letting sales chase accounts based on pageviews or form fills instead of product usage, effectively running an MQL pipeline on top of a PLG product.
Running experiments on landing pages and pricing while ignoring that time-to-value from signup to activation keeps drifting upward.