Flash Moments Replace Funnels in the New PLG Era

The classic product-led growth funnel is collapsing. Spurred by changes in AI and search, the decisive moment for a consumer now happens almost instantly. For many companies, the old playbook of nurturing prospects through a linear journey is proving ineffective. Instead, they need to engineer a single "flash moment" that delivers value and earns trust in one go.

As SVP of Product at Semrush, the leading online visibility management SaaS platform, Pavel Fabrikantov sees the new model dismantling traditional organizational silos and demanding closer collaboration in value delivery.

At the heart of Fabrikantov's observation is the idea that new market dynamics have effectively collapsed the entire customer journey into a single, decisive moment. The old playbook, which he refers to as "PLG 101" or "PLG 1.0," was a linear, gated process. The new model, "PLG 2.0," inverts this dynamic by making an immediate and tangible value exchange the very first step, often by embedding a mini-product experience directly onto the landing page.

• Funnel flash: This approach, significantly enabled by advancements in AI and technology, allows companies to earn user information as a natural outcome of a valuable first interaction, leading to higher-quality leads and potentially faster conversions. "With the boom of AI and technology, the funnel is just one moment. It's not about stages anymore. As a business, you have just one moment to show something to customers, but you also have the technology to deliver a really amazing experience in that instant," Fabrikantov explains.

• The way we were: It contrasts sharply with the traditional, drawn-out process that once defined product-led growth. "PLG 101 was a linear path: you go through the registration funnel and try the product with a free trial. Then, eventually, you see the value and have to pay, either because you want to buy or because you're stuck in some limitations," he outlines.

• Value upfront: In the flash moment era, the strategy shifts to delivering immediate utility. Fabrikantov advocates for a tactical approach where a core product feature is instantly accessible, proving value before requesting user commitment. "Slice a small piece of what you deliver, your favorite one, and put it on the front page. If your product is for prompts, for example, let them insert their prompt and deliver value immediately. Do not wait until they send an email or phone number. People will send you that information if you nail the value exchange first."

However, delivering an effective flash moment requires more than just a functional demo. Fabrikantov stresses that originality is the key ingredient. The market, he notes, is already flooded with generic implementations that fail to capture attention. In an era where AI can quickly generate similar content and experiences, unique and standout interactions are paramount for driving engagement and growth that go beyond temporary virality. "A major obstacle is originality. Based on the traffic and customer behavior we see at Semrush, when a company presents something that really stands out, something that isn't just another chat demo, their traffic booms."

The effectiveness of this tactic, according to Fabrikantov, ultimately hinges on brand credibility. The entire approach is built on trust, transforming marketing's role into that of an architect of instant credibility. For a brand with established authority, the flash moment is more potent because users already associate the brand with quality and are more willing to engage.

• The credibility architect: Brands are already putting the strategy into practice, with companies like Notion and Airtable redesigning their landing pages to showcase immediate utility, leveraging their existing trust to amplify the impact of instant value delivery. "Marketing's new role is to be the architect of instant credibility. In PLG 1.0, the old belief was that the product could speak for itself. But in PLG 2.0, you need marketers to set the stage. You can't just put a raw feature on the front page and expect it to work," he stresses.

• Trust building: Marketing's new role now includes advertising directly. Within this new framework, ads can no longer simply tease value, but prime the user for the flash moment or, in some cases, act as a miniature product experience themselves, delivering immediate value or building credibility. This change transforms the ad from a simple signpost into the first step of a valuable, trust-building exchange.

Making all of this work, Fabrikantov notes, means moving away from the old model of siloed marketing, product, and sales teams. He points to cross-functional tiger teams as a solution, though he acknowledges that successful implementation requires overcoming the common lack of cross-functional alignment and a unified vision. "The first obstacle is the people problem. You can get stuck because some people will do things one way, and others will do them another. To overcome this, you must have a clear, global vision that the entire company is moving towards this new PLG 2.0 model," he says.

In an economy where attention is the most valuable resource, companies that master the flash moment can gain a significant advantage, while those stuck in slow funnels risk being overlooked entirely. Navigating this change isn't a simple tactical adjustment but a full embrace of a new philosophy where credibility is the foundation, originality is the differentiator, and value is delivered instantly. "If your solution is just a copy of all the other tools, that isn't PLG 2.0," Fabrikantov says. "You must deliver value in your own way, with your own credibility. Marketing's job is to set the stage for this to work."