Once upon a time (ok, not that long ago), Product-Led Growth was the shiny new object. Think Slack, Zoom, Calendly, the tools that grew like wildfire thanks to slick UX, freemium models, and word-of-mouth magic. It promised viral growth, low acquisition costs, and a land where free trials and onboarding flows did all the heavy lifting.
But fast-forward to now? PLG still has its place, sure. But the landscape has changed. Buyers are more cynical. CAC is rising faster than ever. And those beautiful funnels we spent years perfecting? They’re leaking.
Enter: Partner-Led Growth. The other PLG.
Wait… What Exactly Is Partner-Led Growth?
Partner-Led Growth is what happens when you stop trying to win the race solo and start running as part of a relay team. It’s about growing by teaming up with businesses that already have the audience, the trust, and the credibility you need.
It’s not just channel sales or white-label deals. Partner-Led Growth is more strategic. It’s co-creation. Co-marketing. Co-selling. It’s finding brands that share your audience (but not your product) and building campaigns together that actually work. The language “better together” comes to mind.
PLG took off in a time when attention was cheap, decision-makers had time to tinker, and every SaaS startup had a “freemium” play. But let’s be real: it’s not 2016 anymore.
Here’s the problem:
Your buyers are bombarded (and overwhelmed).
Trust in traditional marketing is at an all-time low.
Your product probably isn’t a silver bullet. It needs context and a recommendation.
Trial conversion motions and SDR outbound teams are expensive.
According to Demand Gen Report, 76% of B2B buyers now rely on peer recommendations over brand-led content.
Translation? Your next client probably won’t find you through a Google ad. They’ll find you through someone they already trust.
And you’ll never guess who already has their trust? Yep, your future partners.
How Partner-Led Growth Actually Works
It’s less about “let’s chuck your logo on our webinar slide” and more about:
Co-writing content that solves a shared pain point
Running events that mix audiences and add value
Creating bundles that make 1 + 1 feel like 5
It’s a low investment amplification of your message at scale
When done right, it doesn’t just boost reach, it also creates credibility. Borrowed trust is powerful stuff!
And it’s definitely not just a big brand play. In fact, for startups and scale-ups, your ecosystem can be your biggest early growth success.
What Marketing’s Got to Do With It (Everything)
Partner-Led Growth isn’t a sales hack. It’s a GTM motion and marketing mindset. As marketers, we’re in the perfect seat to:
Identify partner opportunities (where’s the audience overlap?)
Dream up creative, co-branded plays
Own the joint value narrative
Track influence beyond last-click attribution
For marketers, Partner-Led Growth is a way to reduce spend and increase conversion at every stage of the funnel. By leaning into shared resources, joint messaging, and warm introductions, partner-led campaigns stretch budgets further and turn prospects into buyers.
Some Real-Life Love Stories
Who created magic together? These brands didn’t just ‘partner up.’ These guys leveraged audience trust and created joint value that elevated their entire GTM motion.
Sue Foley is the founder of MarketCraft GTM, where she helps ambitious tech companies get their go-to-market strategy right...without the fluff. She's a fractional CMO, certified GTM OS advisor, and firm believer that marketing should actually mean something.
