What it means
Instead of a sales-led motion (demo, pitch, contract), PLG lets people sign up, use a free or trial version, and convert once they have felt the value. Think Slack, Notion, Figma. Marketing''s job shifts from generating leads to driving qualified signups and removing friction from the first-run experience.
Why it matters
PLG can slash CAC and shorten sales cycles — but only if activation and time-to-value are excellent. It demands tight collaboration between marketing, product, and data, and it lives or dies on onboarding. It is not right for every business, but where it fits, the economics are hard to beat.