What Product-Led Growth Really Looks Like: Loyalty, Onboarding and Personalised Retention

In a world where users expect instant value and brands battle for attention, Product-Led Growth (PLG) has quietly become the not-so-secret weapon of smart marketers and product teams. But what does PLG actually look like in the wild?

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In Episode 2 of The Unfair Advantage podcast, YOUKNOW Technologies' own Kelvin Jonck and Don Packett ditch the fluff and break down real-world stories that prove PLG isn’t just for Silicon Valley startups. From maxed-out loyalty tiers with no return, to gamified nudges from a wise-cracking owl, they unpack what works, and what doesn’t, when it comes to turning customer journeys into actual growth.

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What Is Product-Led Growth (PLG)?

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PLG is the idea that your product should drive acquisition, retention, and growth. It’s about giving users value upfront, through experience, not pitch decks. And that value? It’s measured by something Kelvin calls the moment of value, the feeling users get when your product actually solves a problem for them.

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The challenge? You can’t just hope they get there. You have to design for it.

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“You want to get your customer to that moment of value as often as possible. The first moment, as quickly as possible,” Kelvin explains.

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Let’s break down how brands are doing this, sometimes brilliantly, sometimes not.

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Loyalty ≠ Points: The Real Power of Redemption

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Donovan kicks off with a loyalty case study many South Africans will relate to: Kauai. After religiously scanning the app, hitting the black-tier badge (top-level status), and expecting a king’s welcome… he got nothing. No reward. No reminder. No redemption.

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"It’s not Kauai’s fault. Maybe a little. But the real opportunity is this: the customer doesn’t feel value until they redeem something, not just earn it."

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Contrast that with Kelvin’s Clicks Club Card story. No fancy app interface. No gamification. But one day, the cashier casually mentions he has R200 in his account. Boom. Instant emotional connection.

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"It wasn’t slick. But it was real. That one moment made me want to go back to Clicks over a competitor."

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PLG Lesson: Your loyalty programme isn’t about tiers or tokens, it’s about frictionless, timely, delightful redemption. That’s the moment that sticks.

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Onboarding: Your First (and Most Important) Impression

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“Just because someone downloaded your app doesn’t mean they’re going to use it,” Donovan reminds us. Which brings us to another key part of PLG: onboarding.

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Think of it as your opening line. If it doesn’t land, they’re out.

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Kelvin tells the story of learning French with his daughter on Duolingo, a brand that has nailed PLG by deeply personalising their onboarding and retention strategy. Miss a day? The app comes alive:

• “Seriously Kelvin, you came back just to ghost me again?”
  
  
• “You’re scaring me. I’m afraid of people who skip lessons.”
  
  
• “What’s wrong babe? You haven’t done French in four days.”
  
  

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These messages aren’t just funny. They’re data-driven, timed, and emotional. Duolingo watches your engagement patterns and adapts its messaging to keep you coming back.

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"Their job is to get me to do one course per day, four days in a row. If I drop off, they know their churn rate spikes. So they work to get me back in."

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PLG Lesson: The best onboarding doesn’t just show users around. It guides them, nudges them until that first value click happens. And it keeps listening.

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Use a Little More Data (And a Lot More Empathy)

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PLG isn’t just about product features or flashy campaigns. It’s about designing a journey that feels personal. That means using the data breadcrumbs your users leave behind to tailor the experience in small, smart ways.

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"You don’t have to boil the data ocean. Just use one or two more data points to test smarter and experiment faster."

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From personalised push notifications to subtle redemption reminders, every interaction is a chance to create connection. And the brands that win? They’re the ones who keep testing.

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PLG Best Practices (the YOUKNOW Way):

1. Design for Redemption: Don’t just reward engagement—reward follow-through.
   
   
2. Make Onboarding Magical: Every tap should bring users closer to a win.
   
   
3. Message Like a Human: Humour, guilt, emojis—test it all.
   
   
4. Map Value Moments: Know what your “Aha!” looks like, then make it repeatable.
   
   
5. Test Often, Learn Fast: Don’t wait for a perfect funnel. Run micro-tests and iterate.
   
   

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Final Word: PLG Is a Mindset, Not Just a Metric

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Loyalty isn’t earned through points. Retention isn’t luck. And product-led growth isn’t just for apps—it’s for any business that wants to grow by giving real value, faster.

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The question is: Are you designing your journey with moments of value in mind?

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YOUKNOW can help you map that journey, optimise it with data, and personalise it with just the right touch of magic.

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Ready to give your product the unfair advantage? Book a strategy session with YOUKNOW.

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Want more stories like these? Catch the full Unfair Advantage podcast on Spotify or YouTube.