Why product-led growth teams are switching to Customer.io 

Product-led growth is changing how modern companies scale. Teams that once relied on manual campaigns or rigid CRMs are realizing their tools can’t keep up with real-time, user-driven experiences. They need automation that connects product data, personalizes every message, and grows as fast as their customer base.

That’s why more product-led growth teams are switching to Customer.io. Across industries, mid-market companies like Lugg, Attio, and ZEN.COM are using Customer.io to activate users faster, reduce churn, and deliver measurable results through data-driven messaging. This roundup highlights how they built their stacks, what changed after switching, and what lessons other PLG teams can apply right now.

PLG teams thrive on data and experimentation. They need messaging systems that respond to behavior in real time and connect seamlessly across their stack. Mid-market companies like Lugg, ZEN.COM, and Bamboo came to Customer.io looking for more control, visibility, and measurable impact.

• Lugg moved “beyond underutilized lifecycle marketing into revenue-driving campaigns, achieving 2.5% monthly revenue lift through behavioral automation and multi-channel messaging with Segment and Customer.io.”
• ZEN.COM “increased active users by 50% with hyper-segmentation.”
• Bamboo “doubled conversions with multi-channel messaging.”

Each team cited similar reasons for switching: deeper behavioral automation, cleaner integrations, and measurable results.

Customer.io sits at the center of some of the most tech-savvy teams’ growth engines. It seamlessly connects product event data with automated journeys to turn signups into loyal, active users.

For greater impact and collaboration, PLG teams integrate Customer.io with tools like Segment, Amplitude, and their data warehouse.

Lugg’s stack is a great example. Segment collects behavioral events and sends them to Customer.io, powering targeted, multi-channel journeys. This setup enables them to deliver contextual messages without creating engineering bottlenecks.

Customer.io helps mid-market teams automate engagement across email, SMS, in-app, and push.

BallerTV “used multi-channel personalization to up-level their marketing,” creating consistent, memorable experiences for users across platforms.

Lifecycle automation is critical for activation and retention.

Final Round AI “boosted feature engagement by 23%” with smarter user activation campaigns.

Musora “combats churn” through retention flows that bring learners back to their lessons.

PLG teams need to track metrics like activation rate, active users, and conversion lift.

Because Customer.io captures detailed engagement and event data, teams can directly tie messaging to business outcomes. ZEN.COM’s 50% increase in active users and Lugg’s 2.5% monthly revenue growth show that behavior-driven messaging delivers measurable impact.

Mid-market PLG teams build messaging stacks that are deeply integrated, event-driven, and designed for scale. Here are real examples from Customer.io customers.

• Stack components: Segment feeds all app activity and user behavior into Customer.io. “Because we have every event flowing into Customer.io, we were able to build a journey that adapts to what each user is actually doing or not doing,” said Holly Benjamin, Head of Marketing.
• Channels: Email, SMS, and push notifications. “Email, SMS, and push notifications work together, with each channel playing to its strengths—email for storytelling, SMS for time-sensitive updates, and push for real-time engagement.”
• Trigger logic: Behavior-based, not time-based. Triggers include booking activity, payment events, and lapses in engagement.
• Outcome: 2.5% monthly revenue lift.

Read the case study.

• Stack and data model: Attio uses Segment to capture events and Customer.io to act on them, leveraging custom objects for user roles and workspace activity. “If we get people to the aha moment of connecting their email, they’re more than twice as likely to find value within 30 days,” said Alex Vale, Head of Growth. “Customer.io allows us to do it brilliantly.”
• Journeys: Multi-branch onboarding flows that adapt based on user role and engagement level.
• Outcome: 20–30% conversion rate for mobile visitors; 80% renewal rate through automated reminders.

Read the case study.

While the details vary, most mid-market teams share similar foundations:

• Product data: Mixpanel, Amplitude, or in-house instrumentation
• Data pipeline: Segment or Hightouch
• Messaging and automation: Customer.io for behavioral, multi-channel journeys
• CRM: HubSpot or Salesforce for hand-offs
• Analytics: Looker or Tableau for dashboards
• Data warehouse: BigQuery or Snowflake
• Segmentation and enrichment: Customer.io custom objects

Customer.io anchors the “activation and lifecycle” layer of this stack, turning real-time behavioral data into meaningful engagement and revenue growth.

1. Behavior beats static lists: Every impactful journey starts with event data. Lugg’s success came from sending “every event flowing into Customer.io,” enabling context-driven campaigns.
2. Multi-channel engagement drives activation: Teams that combine channels see stronger results. Bamboo doubled conversions by orchestrating email, SMS, and push campaigns that worked together to guide users from signup to deposit.
3. Define and drive toward the “aha moment”: Final Round AI designed activation flows centered around a key milestone—the moment users first tested their interview simulation. Targeted messages around this behavior boosted feature engagement by 23%.
4. Flexible data models unlock personalization: Custom objects let teams move beyond basic user attributes. Attio’s campaigns use relationships between users, roles, and workspaces to tailor experiences.
5. Measure what matters: Focus on engagement and retention metrics, not vanity ones. ZEN.COM’s 50% lift in active users and Lugg’s recurring revenue increase demonstrate that behavioral messaging drives growth.
6. Start with high-impact flows: The most effective teams automate onboarding, activation, and retention first. Musora did exactly that, building churn-reduction campaigns that re-engaged learners and increased subscription retention.
7. Align teams around shared data: Growth, product, and marketing should speak the same language. As our helpful Martech stack guide notes, “Brands are awash in more messaging channels and data than ever. They need tools that allow teams to work efficiently, measure results, and optimize their impact.”
8. Choose tools that scale: Mid-market teams need flexibility without re-platforming. Attio noted, “Customer.io’s flexibility meant that marketing didn’t own this workflow. Any team that needed oversight could have visibility and ownership.” Read Attio's full story for all the details on what's possible for your own team.

The shift to product-led growth is evolving from a strategy into a new way of aligning data, messaging, and customer experience. Companies like Lugg, Attio, and ZEN.COM demonstrate that when mid-market teams integrate their product data with Customer.io, they unlock faster activation, stronger retention, and measurable growth.

Explore these stories on Customer.io's case studies page, or see for yourself how Customer.io fits into your stack with a personalized walkthrough.