“The technology you use impresses no one. The experience you create with it is everything.”
_{– Sean Gerety}
-Josh Jones

A lot of really great products fail. Sometimes the market isn’t ready for them, sometimes they’re not financially viable, and sometimes they just don’t catch on. So what makes a product catch on?

There’s an AI boom happening. We can get in the weeds about what is and isn’t actually “Intelligence” but the market treats it all the same. There’s at least perceived value in having an AI component to nearly every software experience. For many this is an opportunity to add value to an already existing product. This is a great case study to focus on growing a business using product itself. Spotify for example offers an AI DJ to take the guesswork out of just shuffling your library of favorite songs. It even introduces songs and categories like a real radio DJ. This is a free feature if you’re already a premium subscriber. So how does it result in growth for the Spotify platform? For some, it will be enough to make the switch from a competitor to Spotify, but it also helps to make the product more “sticky”. If current users fall in love with the AI DJ functionality which is currently unique to Spotify, they’ll be less likely to leave the platform. This reduces churn therefore stabilizing the userbase.

Another example of how the product itself can be used to grow the company is the freemium model. A wholly free product is limited in its revenue generation. Once a product is free, the product either needs to sell ads, or user data, neither of which result in great user experiences, to generate revenue. Charging a small fee to remove those ads often results in a higher customer lifetime value, and provides upfront revenue. This is added on value that allows the users to pay for a better experience. We see this replicated throughout the software world. The app formerly known as Twitter now allows user to get more value out of the platform by paying for a “verified” experience. You could debate the viability of this decision as it calls to question the value of the “verified” label, however the “add on” model provides an opportunity to grow revenue for the struggling platform.

In short, product-led growth means leveraging the product itself to upsell to, resell to, or retain a customer base. Things like free trial, in app messaging, and add on feature sets meet customers directly within the app while it’s already top of mind. This results in faster and more reliable conversions and allows the product and/or company to sustain reliable growth.

So is this the best approach? I believe in today’s marketplace it is, and honestly, I don’t see that changing any time soon. As much as we spend on ads, product placements, case studies, and testimonials, there’s still significant context switching to get the recipient thinking about their experience with your brand when they’re not already engaged with it. If I’m watching a soccer game, I’m really not likely to take any action on an ad I see at half time because I’m still very much in “soccer headspace”, but if I’m on my banking app looking for ways to cut spending and see there’s a feature I’m not using that will analyze my spending for me, its captured my full attention. Think about how much action your call to action asks for. Can you think of a smaller chasm to cross than when a user is already actively engaged with your product?