In the current End User Era, we are all in competition. The phrase "End User Era" was coined by investor Blake Bartlett to describe a significant organisational shift across industries: "Today, the software merely appears in the workplace without warning. End users shop independently and advise their managers on which products to purchase.
And it's all occurring quite quickly.
SaaS businesses thriving in the End User Era include DocuSign, Slack, Zoom, and HubSpot. Their success is a result of producing goods that customers adore. This end-user-focused business paradigm is codified by product-led growth.
PLG depends on the product as the main force behind client acquisition, conversion, and development. This strategy, which represents a significant departure from the acquisition growth model so prevalent in the software sector, entirely focuses on end users' efficiency and simplicity of use to generate growth.
Understanding the progression of the product-led growth curve
Understanding the progression of the product-led growth curve requires the use of metrics. For example, the PLG model often analyses user activities (clicks) and subscription income to assess the business's and pipeline's health.
CX measurements are extremely useful in this situation. Data from the voice of the customer reveals the "why" behind the clicks and the money.
NPS, PSAT, CSAT, and Customer Effort Score, among other traditional CX surveys, track customer opinion and offer crucial insight into behavioural and revenue indicators.
You can find positive and negative themes in the open-ended comments included with the rating-scale questions. Then, using what you've learned, you may confidently decide which changes to make to your product will eliminate bottlenecks, a PLG enemy.
Fundamentally, product-led growth involves integrating manual operations that are now performed into the product to increase efficiency and monitor customer experience. Take a step back and list down every step in your funnel, from obtaining the first lead to converting that lead into a customer who will pay for the product and finds value in it.
Where are the choke points?
How can you determine whether you are removing your bottlenecks and where they are located?
Let's examine each metric to learn how it might assist you in locating and resolving bottlenecks using examples from our actual clients.
1. Net Promoter Score- Loyalty and More
The "propensity to refer" is a great indicator of future growth. It is asked for in Net Promoter Score (NPS) surveys, which ask consumers to rate how likely they are to recommend your product or company to a friend or colleague. True NPS surveys adhere to a rigorous format when asking the first (of two questions), unlike the other metrics discussed here, which are adaptable and simple to customise.
Companies can assess their NPS scores about industry averages by posing the opening question in a particular manner and using a standard scale. However, customisation is typically necessary for the second question, which collects qualitative information on improvement opportunities.
2. Customer Satisfaction (CSAT)- Because Support Is a Bottleneck
Customer satisfaction (CSAT) is another indicator you can utilise at different customer journey stages. Following up on a support conversation and asking consumers about their experience is the traditional use case for CSAT.
- addressing their particular issue
- collaborating with a specific CS agent
- generally working with your business
A scale from "extremely satisfied" to "very unhappy" can be used in CSAT surveys, and the user is frequently asked to explain their result in the following question. Why is this touchpoint so crucial from the perspective of PLG?
First, calls to customer service are always a source of conflict since nobody uses it when things are going well. Product Led Growth aims to eliminate support interactions.
When was the last time you contacted Slack or DocuSign customer service?
It probably hasn't ever happened. You want the seamlessness to be there. This touchpoint is a great way to learn about client annoyances. Product teams prioritising the end-user experience pay close attention to support staff suggestions as they develop new features.
3. Product Satisfaction (PSAT)- Adoption and Engagement Bottlenecks
PSAT surveys are incredibly flexible and can be set up similarly to customer satisfaction surveys, asking customers to rate how satisfied they are with a product on a scale from "very satisfied" to "very dissatisfied" (e.g., 1-3 or 1-5) or by providing a binary response (e.g., "happy face" or "sad face").
When customers use your product and provide timely, fresh feedback, PSAT surveys work best when provided within an app. This way, it becomes easy for businesses to optimise their product experience.
Behavioural metrics require the addition of customer sentiment from PSAT surveys. The clicks show that users aren't embracing a feature, but why? PSAT guides that question's resolution and optimisation efforts.
4. Customer Effort Score (CES)-Identify Bottlenecks in Onboarding
For adoption to be widely used, a smooth onboarding process is essential. End consumers will give up and attempt a rival's product if they must exert too much effort to get started. Even if you have an ardent champion within a firm, their excitement will wane if they have to prod others to adopt or spend time persuading them of your worth. Therefore, it's crucial to consider how much effort end users must make to get started.
Customer Effort Score (CES) measures the difficulty of completing a task on a predetermined scale (e.g., 1-7 or 1-5). Although CES surveys are typically used as a follow-up to support calls, they are also incredibly helpful for assessing the onboarding process.
Success teams know that the onboarding process can plant the seeds of churn. So they have been using the information from CES surveys to (1) follow up with the client to fix the issue and (2) create activities and procedures that will stop similar bottlenecks from occurring.
Addressing onboarding feedback, though, goes beyond the purview of the Success or Support teams in the context of PLG.
It is a crucial contribution to UX teams that aim to integrate processes that would often be performed manually into the product to increase efficiency and improve the user experience.
End-User Experience Is Key in Product-Led Growth Strategies
NPS, CSAT, PSAT, and CES, the four CX measures discussed above, provide insight into end-user experience and supplement behavioural data with your customer's viewpoint.
Remember, don't let scores be your only focus. The open-ended criticism you get has value. The measurements are benchmarks you'll use aimlessly to discover bottlenecks through guesswork if you don't analyse the open-ended feedback you receive. This won't take you very far in the end.
The main goal of product-led growth is to improve the user experience in crucial situations. Technology businesses can accomplish this using CX analytics, metrics and client feedback.
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