Product-Channel Fit: Finding the Right Growth Strategy for Your Product

Product-Channel Fit measures how well a product aligns with its distribution channels to effectively reach its target market. The goal is not to test every possible channel but to focus on the one or two that maximize your resources and scale your product for hypergrowth.

For example, an AI-powered video creation tool designed for viral social media content thrives through influencer and organic campaigns. Meanwhile, a collaboration tool with a high NPS can scale rapidly through Product-Led Growth (PLG) and word-of-mouth. On the other hand, an AI customer service platform targeting enterprise clients performs best in offline events or VIP dinners where relationships drive trust.

By narrowing your focus, you can concentrate resources where they matter most, making it easier to achieve sustained growth.

Three Approaches to Finding Product-Channel Fit

There are three primary ways to identify product-channel fit:

1. Identify Channels That Suit Your Product

Focus on what makes your product unique. Does it follow a PLG or Sales-Led Growth (SLG) model? Does it support single or multi-user collaboration? Are you targeting consumers or decision-makers? Each factor influences which channels will deliver the most growth.

Differentiate between keyword-based channels that target active searchers and interest-based channels that engage users passively. Prioritize channels that align with your product’s strengths and have the highest potential for success—this is key to avoiding wasted time and effort on channels that won’t work for your offering.

2. Adapt Your Product to Fit Major Channels

Some companies can adapt their product to make better use of high-potential channels. For instance, a video editing platform might release a suite of free, lightweight tools that scale SEO traffic, or an SLG company could create a self-serve option to generate leads more efficiently.

When you adapt your product to fit key channels, you not only make it easier to reach your audience but also increase the likelihood of channel success.

3. Create Your Own Channels

In some cases, companies can leverage their product’s unique strengths to create new channels or use existing channels in innovative ways. This might include integrating your product more tightly with other platforms, using your data to create valuable lead magnets, or finding creative distribution methods that go beyond traditional marketing.

Channels can be benchmarked by ARR stage:

The Benefits of Product-Channel Fit

Finding product-channel fit allows you to move faster and avoid wasting marketing budgets on channels that aren’t suited for your product. By bringing focus to your team, you enhance operational efficiency and set the foundation for long-term growth.

This approach isn’t about following a prescribed playbook – it’s about identifying the channels that work best for your specific product and market, then doubling down on them to achieve scale.

The post Product-Channel Fit: Finding the Right Growth Strategy for Your Product appeared first on GTMnow.

GTM 119: Design Products Backwards From GTM: Lessons from Scaling to $1B+ with David Knight

David Knight is the Co-founder and CEO of Avarra, an AI-powered platform that simulates human-to-human interactions to accelerate sales onboarding and training. With over 30 years of experience scaling companies from tens of millions to billions in revenue, including WebEx and Proofpoint, David brings a unique perspective on the intertwined nature of product and go-to-market.

Discussed in this Episode:

  • The power of AI simulations in providing experiential learning for sales reps.
  • Designing products backwards from the go-to-market motion.
  • Strategies for aligning product and sales teams to drive revenue growth.
  • Rethinking ramp time: it’s about at-bats, not arbitrary time periods.
  • Shifting perspective from the sales funnel to the buyer’s journey.
  • The future of AI in sales training and enablement.

Highlights:

(02:24) Simulating human-to-human interactions with AI avatars.
(07:44) Creating a fun, engaging environment for sales training.
(13:26) Designing products from the go-to-market motion backwards.
(19:32) Helping sales leaders win deals as a product leader.
(27:08) Listening for pain points, not feature requests, from customers.
(31:07) Completely changing the go-to-market motion at Proofpoint.
(37:43) Aligning motivations between product and sales teams.
(38:43) Rethinking the sales funnel as a buyer’s journey.
(41:50) Building customized simulations for qualified prospects.
(34:55) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that David thinks is bull$***.
(41:50) One thing that is working for David in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (David Knight):
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidrknight/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsors:

  • HG InsightsFeeling that AI FOMO? You’re not alone. That’s why HG Insights created The Next Generation of Sales AI report — to calm the FOMO and help you bring AI to your GTM teams. It includes a breakdown of the Sales AI landscape, adoption of GenAI and Sales software across buyer groups. Plus, an analysis of the top 75 trending sales AI tools. Why HG Insights? Simple. They’ve been writing market reports for years as the pioneer of tech adoption and market insights. Trusted by GTM leaders at the likes of Snowflake Five9 and Google Cloud to improve GTM efficiency. Thinking about AI for your sales team but unsure where to start? This free and ungated report has you covered.

The GTM Podcast
Features conversations with the top 1% of tech executives, VCs, and founders – the experts who have ‘been there, done that’ to build some of the fastest-growing software companies. Every week, a guest joins Scott Barker to dissect their stories – revealing what worked, what didn’t, and how things actually went down.

The post GTM 119: Design Products Backwards From GTM: Lessons from Scaling to $1B+ with David Knight appeared first on GTMnow.

GTM 118: 5 Must-Try PLG Tactics to Accelerate Growth with Kyle Poyar

Kyle Poyar is the Co-Founder and Operating Partner at Tremont, with over 8 years of experience at OpenView where he became a leading voice in the product-led growth (PLG) movement. Kyle shares his insights on the inevitability of PLG in an AI-driven future and reveals must-try tactics to accelerate growth using a PLG approach.

Discussed in this Episode:

  • Why PLG is becoming inevitable, especially with the rise of AI in software
  • Creative ways companies can build out their PLG motion
  • How social proof and PLG are merging to influence buying decisions
  • Advice for early-stage founders looking to set up a PLG motion
  • The realities of working in venture capital and how to break into the industry

Highlights:

(4:22) The evolution of PLG from an investment risk to a critical strategy.
(9:10) Will the vast majority of software companies have a PLG motion in the future?
(18:56) Using product data for marketing purposes.
(21:17) Offering an affordable entry-level package to land and expand.
(23:44) The increasing importance of social proof in PLG.
(31:41) Advice for early-stage founders setting up a PLG motion.
(37:43) Kyle’s journey from consulting to VC and advice for breaking into venture.
(44:43) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Kyle thinks is bull$***(47:59) One thing that is working for Kyle in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (Kyle Poyar):
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/
Newsletter: https://www.growthunhinged.com/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsors:

  • Brought to you by Attention. Attention’s AI-powered call recording platform ensures that your deals are executed flawlessly. It records your calls, generates next-step summaries, action items, and even creates scorecards for every single call, so your reps can continuously improve. But that’s just the beginning. Attention’s generalized insights allow you to ask any question across all of your conversations – think of it like ChatGPT for your sales calls. Attention also lets you build automated workflows tailored to your needs. For example, if a customer mentions they’re at risk of churning during a call, Attention can automatically loop in a sales director and solutions engineer to ensure that customer receives the full white-glove treatment, reducing churn and keeping your business thriving. Attention is helping companies onboard reps faster, increase the productivity of their existing teams, and giving revenue leaders unparalleled visibility into their pipelines—all while automating those tedious manual tasks.

The GTM Podcast
Features conversations with the top 1% of tech executives, VCs, and founders – the experts who have ‘been there, done that’ to build some of the fastest-growing software companies. Every week, a guest joins Scott Barker to dissect their stories – revealing what worked, what didn’t, and how things actually went down.

The post GTM 118: 5 Must-Try PLG Tactics to Accelerate Growth with Kyle Poyar appeared first on GTMnow.

GTM 116: The Future of SEO and AI’s Impact, with a $100M+ Product-Led SEO Framework with Eli Schwartz

Eli Schwartz is an SEO expert and consultant with over a decade of experience driving successful SEO and growth programs for both B2B and B2C companies. He has worked with major brands like Shutterstock, Gusto, WordPress, Quora, Mixpanel, and Zendesk to build and execute global SEO strategies that dramatically increase their visibility at scale. Previously, Eli led the SEO team at SurveyMonkey, growing organic search from nearly zero to one of the largest growth channels at the company.

Discussed in this Episode:

  • The product-led SEO framework Eli used to drive SurveyMonkey from 0 to $100M+ in revenue.
  • Why the old model of churning out SEO content is dead and how AI is disrupting the space.
  • Eli’s journey from getting rejected at top tech companies to becoming a thriving consultant.
  • The power of deeply understanding your target user and building products for their needs.
  • Actionable advice for making the transition from operator to successful consultant.

Highlights:

(4:14) Building SEO products tailored to the user intent, not just keywords.
(8:19) How Zapier unlocked massive growth with a product-led SEO approach
(17:15) Why AI content generation is not a silver bullet – it still requires a purposeful strategy.
(22:54) Examples of Eli’s product-led SEO wins at SurveyMonkey, Tinder, and Coinbase.
(29:31) The biggest mistake people make with SEO is having a diminished understanding of what it can accomplish.
(41:28) Eli’s best consulting gigs came from job interviews where he got rejected.
(44:33) To succeed as a consultant, develop a niche specialty and have customer success stories.
(52:23) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Eli thinks is bull$***.
(54:49) One thing that is working for Eli in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (Eli Schwartz):
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/schwartze/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsors:

  • HG InsightsFeeling that AI FOMO? You’re not alone. That’s why HG Insights created The Next Generation of Sales AI report — to calm the FOMO and help you bring AI to your GTM teams. It includes a breakdown of the Sales AI landscape, adoption of GenAI and Sales software across buyer groups. Plus, an analysis of the top 75 trending sales AI tools. Why HG Insights? Simple. They’ve been writing market reports for years as the pioneer of tech adoption and market insights. Trusted by GTM leaders at the likes of Snowflake Five9 and Google Cloud to improve GTM efficiency. Thinking about AI for your sales team but unsure where to start? This free and ungated report has you covered.

The GTM Podcast
Features conversations with the top 1% of tech executives, VCs, and founders – the experts who have ‘been there, done that’ to build some of the fastest-growing software companies. Every week, a guest joins Scott Barker to dissect their stories – revealing what worked, what didn’t, and how things actually went down.

The post GTM 116: The Future of SEO and AI’s Impact, with a $100M+ Product-Led SEO Framework with Eli Schwartz appeared first on GTMnow.