プロダクト主導型のマーケティングとは？
マーケティングチームにとってプロダクト主導型企業であることの意味
Product-led marketing is a business strategy that applies product-led principles to marketing functions. Product-led marketing teams put the product at the center of the customer experience and their go-to-market activities. They leverage the product as its own sales and marketing tool by allowing users to experience its value first-hand. And they bring key marketing communications inside the product to more effectively engage the most captive audience possible.
As expectations heighten and software as a service (SaaS) models make it easier for customers to change vendors at a moment’s notice, users have also become less tolerant of “traditional” marketing techniques that tell consumers about (rather than show them) a product or service’s value. Today’s business buyers are savvier and more guarded with their software investments. And in place of lengthy sales processes or flashy marketing pitches, they want hard proof and the ability to experience the product for themselves.
In product-led organizations, marketing teams partner closely with product and sales to deliver this proof by demonstrating the product’s value—without giving its full functionality away—in a strategy coined “freemium.” Freemium models help product-led organizations expand and enrich how they classify leads as they move through the funnel, giving both marketing and sales valuable behavioral clues into how to best engage with these prospective users. Specifically, beyond traditional marketing qualified leads (MQLs), product-led organizations also track product-qualified leads (PQLs): individuals or organizations who have reached a usage threshold at which they experience the value of the product, like time spent engaging with the product during a free trial or limited support offering. Because PQLs are already “warm” and familiar with the product, they’re easier to nurture (and hopefully, convert) into loyal customers.
Product-led marketing teams also leverage in-app messaging to improve users’ initial experiences, guide them through the product, and encourage good habits focused around the product’s key features. This makes it possible for customers to experience the benefit of the product for themselves, on their own terms, while freeing up marketing resources for higher value activities.
プロダクト主導マーケティングチームの基本原則
データ主導である
Product-led marketing teams understand the importance of using data to plan their go-to-market strategies. They leverage product analytics to monitor and learn from user behaviors, so they can make informed decisions about where to focus their efforts. This data also helps them identify key activation points that drive usage and conversions across their customer base, so they can improve their messaging and adoption motions within the product (e.g. working with customer success to build a better onboarding experience for new users). Product-led marketers also use product usage and customer sentiment insights to identify power users and potential advocates—and engage with them to solicit reviews or testimonials that contribute to the product’s virality.
プロダクトを主要なマーケティングチャネルとして使用する
Product-led marketing teams leverage the product as a channel to communicate with customers. Instead of relying on traditional (and largely oversaturated) channels like email or externally-hosted content alone, they use in-app messaging to help users navigate the product; share updates, announcements, or news; and direct attention to key features. Bringing these kinds of activities within the product helps marketing teams deliver more targeted, contextual guidance. Paired with product analytics, in-app messaging also allows marketers to segment and target messages for specific subsets of users based on their behaviors and intent. This way, marketers can deliver more relevant information to help customers achieve their goals, while also driving effective upsell opportunities.
運用がプロダクトのリリースと連動している
It’s typical for product-led organizations to include specialized product marketing teams within their marketing org. Generally speaking, product marketing managers are responsible for overseeing the go-to-market strategy for specific products. They work with teams across the organization, including product and sales, to promote key features and functionality to customers and prospects and help drive demand and usage. As it’s become easier for customers and buyers to leave vendors (and then tell the world about their experiences), aligning marketing campaigns to upcoming releases and updates has never been more important for accurately positioning and articulating the product’s value.
無料ユーザーの価値を理解している
プロダクト主導型企業では、ユーザーがプロダクトの価値を実感することで、プロダクト自体が無料ユーザーを有料ユーザーに変えていくのだと考えます［プロダクト主導の成長（PLG）］。しかし、これを大規模に実現するには、見込みのある無料ユーザーが大勢いなくてはなりません。従来のマーケティング担当者は、こうした大量の見込み客に対応するために、専用の組織的な顧客獲得チャネルを構築して潜在顧客層を拡大していました。しかしこのアプローチでは費用と時間がかかる場合があります。そのため、プロダクト主導のマーケティングチームは、コンバージョン率を高め、アップセルのプロセスを迅速化するために、無料ユーザーに対してマーケティングと営業を行います。その利点は何でしょうか？これらのフリーミアムユーザーは、すでにプロダクトの使用経験があり、プロダクトを気に入っているオーディエンスです。会社やプロダクトのことをよく知っている（そしておそらく高く評価してくれている）ので、教育にそれほど時間を費やさずに済みます。さらに、アプリ内メッセージを使用すればターゲットを絞って簡単にリーチできます。
定着化の促進に重点を置く
If your customers aren’t adopting your products, that means they aren’t getting value—which could signal the risk of churn. Conversely, customers with high adoption are generally happier, and thus more likely to tell their friends about their experiences or write a review on an external site. Product-led marketing teams play a critical role in influencing and increasing adoption, through activities like highlighting value narratives, collecting social proof, promoting offers, and sharing educational content—all especially beneficial when delivered via in-app guides.
顧客の拡大において重要な役割を担う
In addition to a product marketing specialization, some companies also divide responsibilities between the teams focused on marketing to prospective vs. current customers and users. The latter is called customer marketing. In general, customer marketers focus on activities to improve retention, reduce churn, and encourage long-term loyalty—often partnering with the customer success team to develop holistic engagement plans. Customer marketers might also partner with product and sales teams to focus on expansion opportunities. A product-led approach allows customer marketers to reach customers within the context of the product—while they are actively experiencing the value of the features they’ve come to rely on. Customer marketing teams can also leverage product analytics to learn how customers are using the product, then create campaigns to encourage targeted user groups to engage with premium features they haven’t yet used, but would benefit greatly from.
プロダクト主導型マーケティングの利点
プロダクト主導のアプローチは、マーケティングチームにとって次のような多くのメリットがあります。
- カスタマージャーニー全体を、包括的かつデータに基づいた形で理解できる
- プロダクトチームとのより緊密なコラボレーション
- アナリティクスに基づく（つまりより正確な）オーディエンスのセグメント化とターゲティング
- リソースと予算のより効率的な使用
- フィードバック、レビュー、その他の形式のソーシャルプルーフの提供をアプリ内で直接依頼することができる
- 顧客のコンバージョンまたは拡張の可能性が高い
プロダクト主導型マーケティングの技術スタック
マーケティングチームがよりプロダクト主導型になるのに役立つツールはたくさんあります。しかしその中でも、プロダクト主導の技術スタックを完成させるために、マーケティング組織が検討すべき主要なソリューションがいくつかあります。
セルフガイドツアー
Self-guided tours allow users to tour a pre-programmed, sandboxed version of your product before creating an account or committing to a purchase. Self-guided tours are a powerful sales and marketing tool because they give users the opportunity to see what your product actually looks like in action, while clicking through real-life examples of common use cases. This gives prospective customers a taste of what they can expect when they start working with you, and helps them grasp the core functionality of your product, even before the point of sale (added bonus: this familiarity improves adoption when they do eventually sign up). Self-guided tours are also a great way to engage with prospects who might not be ready to talk directly to sales or are unreceptive to traditional marketing messages, but who have a strong interest in learning more about what your company has to offer. Plus, self-guided tours are always available and don’t require dedicated marketing or sales resources to run, so they scale exceptionally well.
プロダクトアナリティクス
プロダクトアナリティクスはビジネスインテリジェンスソフトウェアの一種です。イベントのトラッキング、イベントプロパティ、イベントとプロパティのグループ化をとおして、ウェブやモバイルアプリなどのデジタルプロダクトから、利用パターンを取得して見える化する役割を果たします。このデータは、プロダクト体験を改善し、エンゲージメントを高め、ビジネス成果を促進する方法に関する意思決定に役立ちます。プロダクトアナリティクスは、定量的データの一種であり、プロダクト主導型組織が顧客体験を理解するのに役立つデータです。以下に、マーケティングチームがプロダクトアナリティクスを使用する方法の例をいくつかご紹介します。
- フリーミアムユーザーの行動を監視し、拡張またはアップセルのメッセージングをターゲティングして、現在のワークフローを改善する機能を備えた有料プランを試すよう促す
- 特定の機能を効果的に使用するのに苦労している顧客を特定し、そのコホート（ユーザーの集団）を対象としたリソースや実践支援資料（例：ウェビナー）に誘導する
アプリ内ガイド
In-app messaging is a technical capability that allows a company to communicate with customers and users directly through the product by displaying lightboxes, tooltips, carousels, banners, and other messaging formats right inside the app. In-app messages can be used to help users get past friction points, support cross-sell and upsell initiatives, collect user feedback, and more. Because in-app messages are displayed while the user is actively using the product, they tend to have a higher response rate than push notifications or emails. Product-led marketing teams can leverage in-app guides to inform customers of upcoming releases or new features, share news about helpful resources or events, solicit feedback or reviews, and more.
マーケティングチームのためのプロダクト主導の戦術
以下の記事で、マーケティング組織をよりプロダクト主導型にするための戦略や戦術をご確認ください。
