The Dream and Reality of Product-Led Growth in SaaS
In the bustling corridors of SaaS startups, where tech founders are the alchemists brewing up the next big thing, there’s a common belief. They think that if you build it (and it’s good), they will come. This belief is fueled by stories of products like Miro or those rare consumer apps with viral loops. They champion the ‘product-led growth’ (PLG) approach. However, the reality in the B2B realm often tells a different story. Here, the dream of PLG without robust marketing support remains just that—a dream.
Bridging the Founder-Marketing Divide
The conundrum starts with the founders themselves. They’re so entangled in their creation’s intricacies that communicating its value seems unnecessary. After all, isn’t it obvious? This mindset often leads to a chasm between them and their marketing teams. Founders, bursting with product knowledge, fail to effectively convey the value proposition to those tasked with selling it. The result? A push for marketing to “just launch a campaign” and for sales to “just do some cold calling and sell.” Frustration mounts on both sides, with each believing the other doesn’t truly grasp the essence of what they’re doing.
A Tale of Misalignment and Wasted Potential
During my tenure as a CRO for a company caught in this very storm, I witnessed firsthand the fallout of this disconnect. The marketing team, under pressure from the CEO for more leads, would blindly funnel more money into Google Ads. No one could clearly articulate the content, theme, or value proposition of these ads. Yet they were investing about 30% of the revenue in vague SEA campaigns. It was a clear case of misalignment and wasted potential.
Starting with the Product: A Path to Alignment
The solution, though, is as elegant as it is effective—start with the product. Or, referring back to an earlier post: start with your ‘what’. Understand deeply the problem it solves, its value proposition, and how it stands out from the crowd. This requires the founder to crystallize their thoughts and collaborate closely with the marketing team. It’s about making the implicit explicit and ensuring everyone is on the same page.
The Iterative Journey of Agile Marketing
But even after this alignment, the temptation to revert to the “just launch a campaign” mindset lingers. It’s crucial to recognize that marketing for a scale-up is an iterative discovery process. Identifying the ideal customer profile (ICP), pinpointing the most effective channels, and honing the message that resonates the most—these are steps that cannot be rushed or bypassed.
Embracing Agility Across Teams
This is where agile marketing comes into play. Just as the development team employs agile methodologies to build and iterate on the product, the marketing team should adopt a similar approach. By working in tandem, both teams can ensure that the product development and go-to-market strategies are not only aligned but also flexible and responsive to feedback and changing market dynamics.
In Conclusion: Start with ‘What’ and Take the Agile Way Forward
To cut through the noise and avoid the pitfalls of miscommunication and wasted resources, it’s imperative that the journey starts with the product. The development team and the tech founder need to sit down with the marketing team to discuss and align on the problem being solved, for whom, and the benefits thereof. Once this foundation is laid, both teams can proceed in an iterative, agile manner, developing the product and go-to-market campaigns in parallel.
In conclusion, the path to SaaS success is paved with clear definitions of the problem, the solution, and the differentiators. From there, marketing and development should move forward together, in lockstep, embracing agility every step of the way. By involving marketing from the outset and throughout every agile development ‘epic’ or ‘theme,’ companies can ensure that their go-to-market strategy is not just an afterthought but a core component of product development.
This is the secret sauce for SaaS success, where marketing is not the end of the chain but a vital link right from the start.
