Unveiling Product-Led Growth: Insights from Zeynep Inanoglu Ozdemir
In the latest episode of McKinsey on Building Products, McKinsey partner Rikki Singh engages in a fascinating dialogue with Zeynep Inanoglu Ozdemir, the Chief Marketing Officer at Atlassian. With her unique background and innovative mindset, Ozdemir leads her marketing team to successfully harness data-driven strategies within a product-led growth (PLG) framework. Together, they unpack how **marketing** is integral to Atlassian’s PLG strategy, fostering collaboration between product, marketing, and sales teams, and utilizing data to refine offerings continuously. Below is an enlightening overview of their discussion.
The Critical Role of Marketing in Product-Led Growth
Rikki Singh: Zeynep, could you elaborate on your professional journey?
Zeynep Inanoglu Ozdemir: My beginnings were far removed from marketing or product-led growth. As an engineer with a Ph.D. in speech synthesis, my work involved using machine learning to emulate human emotions and speech. This experience fundamentally shaped my career trajectory and taught me the importance of **innovation and experimentation**. In a field where the benchmarks are constantly evolving, I’ve embraced the idea that failure can lead to growth, which is pivotal for marketers and anyone involved in PLG.
My marketing expertise was cultivated during my time at Google, transitioning from consumer marketing to B2B roles across several prominent companies, including Palantir, Palo Alto Networks, and now Atlassian. Having experienced both sales-led growth (SLG) and PLG, I consistently strive to match the go-to-market strategies with the right products in the appropriate context.
Defining Product-Led Growth
Rikki Singh: How has your journey influenced your understanding of product-led growth?
Zeynep Inanoglu Ozdemir: I believe **product-led growth isn’t simply a choice between SLG or PLG**; it’s a nuanced spectrum. It emphasizes creating a product that is accessible and valuable from the outset. Atlassian exemplified this by making their product available globally two decades ago, allowing customers to discover, try, and purchase our offerings online seamlessly.
Marketing’s Fundamental Role
In essence, PLG can act as a lead generator rather than solely facilitating an end-to-end buying process, and marketing plays a substantial role in this ecosystem. Here’s how:
- Top of the Funnel Engagement: Marketers fuel the initial interest in products, catering to potential users interested in exploration.
- Partnership with Product Teams: Post-engagement, marketers must collaborate with product teams to enhance customer experiences, ensuring success and facilitating product journeys.
- Customer Growth and Retention: Marketers continuously nurture the relationship, aiding customers in seamlessly navigating the product suite and offering new ways to expand their usage.
Leveraging Experimentation and Expansion
Rikki Singh: Regarding engagement, nurturing, and expanding customer bases, what do marketing teams require for success?
Zeynep Inanoglu Ozdemir: A deep understanding of the customer persona is crucial. The focus should be on streamlining their path to value. Moreover, alignment with product teams on metrics and shared data is essential for collective success. Emphasizing **agility** in experimentation allows marketers to gauge results quickly, especially within a PLG framework where feedback loops are shorter compared to SLG.
Determining and Aligning on Metrics
Rikki Singh: How do your teams select appropriate metrics?
Zeynep Inanoglu Ozdemir: At Atlassian, we’ve utilized various metrics but settled on focusing on ‘day-one-to-six active instances.’ This tracks users who engage meaningfully in the first six days post-signup, giving us clarity on new customer successes.
Collaboration for Maximum Impact
Rikki Singh: How do marketing’s contributions shine in the PLG context?
Zeynep Inanoglu Ozdemir: Marketing creates awareness and attracts new customers by integrating search and social media strategies. Additionally, brand marketing is crucial when introducing new features to broader audiences. For instance, we’ve adapted our strategy for Jira to appeal not just to technical users but also to a wider readership, reiterating its utility across various organizational functions.
Expanding Demand Generation
Rikki Singh: What frameworks or tactics help marketers expand across different personas?
Zeynep Inanoglu Ozdemir: It begins with the product’s **readiness** for diverse personas. We’ve committed to making Jira applicable to all teams rather than just engineers, necessitating innovative product strategy and targeted marketing outreach.
Adapting to Enterprise Sales
Rikki Singh: Which PLG strategies facilitate your transition into enterprise sales?
Zeynep Inanoglu Ozdemir: Our enterprise growth focuses on enhancing existing customer relationships. Trials of new products often serve as a reliable source for qualified leads. It’s critical to understand that PLG does not encompass top-down sales approaches, which demand comprehensive stakeholder engagement.
Interdisciplinary Collaboration
Rikki Singh: How do sales and marketing sync in this schema?
Zeynep Inanoglu Ozdemir: Absolutely! Knowledge of product usage patterns informs the next steps in sales conversations. Marketers must engineer experiences that guide customers effectively toward new product offerings, benefiting both PLG and SLG strategies.
Innovative Approaches to PLG
Rikki Singh: What recommendations would you offer to organizations initiating their PLG journey?
Zeynep Inanoglu Ozdemir: Assess whether your product is suitable for a PLG approach. Industries like cybersecurity may require SLG for effective engagement. If choosing PLG, ensure full commitment from product teams to create an enriching user experience. It’s vital to establish metrics aligned with user success and celebrate incremental wins along the way.
Future Trends of Product-Led Growth
Rikki Singh: Where do you see PLG evolving?
Zeynep Inanoglu Ozdemir: AI will undoubtedly revolutionize marketing and tech organizations, enabling rapid content creation and optimization. With AI streamlining processes, marketers will have the foundation to elevate the personalization of user journeys, making it a pivotal component of future strategies.
In summary, Zeynep Inanoglu Ozdemir’s insights provide a **compelling lens** through which to view product-led growth. Understanding the interplay between marketing, product, and sales is essential for maximizing success. Adapting to this evolving landscape will require ongoing innovation and a commitment to understanding customer journeys at every stage.
