Better B2B Buying Experiences

B2B buying can be quite painful. I wish more companies would adopt one or more of the flavors of Product-led Growth (PLG). 

Giving buyers a way to experience some sort of value with your product, or a free tool that that helps them understand their problem better, is almost always a good idea. 

I like to think of it as test driving a car. Buying a car is a considered purchase, like most B2B purchases, so why not give your users some way to experience what they're purchasing before they do. It can be a differentiator that helps you win more business. 

Here are six flavors of PLG.  

Freemium. Freemium plans offer a limited version of a product for free to attract new users. Users can enter their credit card info to purchase it. 

Free Trial. Free trials typically range from seven to 30 days. Given the user full access to the product. Sometimes limiting access to certain features. 

Interactive Demos. Tools that allow buyers to experience a product hands-on, without needing to actual sign up for the product.

Reverse Trial. Free, time-limited access to more premium products than a typical free trial, but with a forever-free option for users who don’t convert.

Free Tools. Users experiment with a limited version of our UI and solve a specific use case at no cost.

Open-Source. Non-proprietary offerings free for users to enjoy while producing revenue from a licensing model on premium services.

My two favorite from the list are free tools and interactive demos. They are typically the easiest to build and get setup. You can also do more than one. For example, HubSpot uses several of these. It started back in 2009 with just one, a free tool called Website Grader. 

You should work with your sales team, and of course product team, to get the right experience set up for your product and go-to-market motion. Pricing and packing can determine which experience is more appropriate for your business and customer, along with how you primarily acquire customers today. Looking at what the competition is doing is a must too. 

Learn more about Product-led Growth by watching this video. 

Oh, and please don't forget to always be watching for sales process bloat. A silent killer to a great product.