What is a Go-To-Market Strategy: Elements and Tips

No matter whether you’re a startup company or an established corporation, chances are that at some point you’ll need to introduce a new product or service to the market.

To guarantee a successful product launch, you’ll need a go-to-market strategy.

Go-to-market strategies can help you mitigate risks associated with your product launch, prepare your target audience in advance, avoid wasting time on non-priority tasks, and more.

In the following sections, we explore what a go-to-market plan looks like and offer tips on how to craft an effective GTM strategy for your business. 

What Is a Go-To-Market Strategy

A go-to-market strategy is a plan that outlines in depth your go-to-market process when launching a new product in an existing or new market. 

A successful GTM strategy can help identify whether you’ve chosen the right time to introduce something new to an industry or niche based on market feedback. It will also provide a step-by-step go-to-market model that will allow you to make a strong entrance with your solution and drive demand.

It’s not limited to product launches and can also be efficiently used for services. At its core, a GTM strategy is designed to shed light on your target audience, shape your online marketing and sales, and coordinate key stakeholders. Overall, a strong GTM strategy allows you to spot a market problem or challenge and allows you to present your product or service as the right solution.

In a nutshell, the reasons why companies prepare go-to-market strategies are:

• Identification of product market fit;
• Exposure to the right audience;
• Well-presented value to trigger conversions;
• Alignment of all involved stakeholders;
• Performance predictions based on market data;
• Competitive edge; 
• Cost reductions, and others.

A go-to-market strategy works effectively for both small businesses launching their first product and large companies introducing a new service to existing customers. 

Key Elements of a Go-To-Market Strategy

While all go-to-market strategies are fundamentally different, they all have similar elements. For example, most GTM strategies outline findings from market research, target audience specifics, pricing, the buying process and sales cycle, marketing, sales, and more.

In the next sections, we take a look at all of these components in more detail.

Market Research and Analysis

One of the most important parts of a GTM strategy is your market research and granular analysis.

This element allows you to gain a better understanding of the market you wish to compete in and the market demand within your segment. Before you can launch a product that sells, you’ll need to be aware of what your customers need, what their pain points are, and what their purchasing behaviour is. 

You’ll also need to be aware of the competitors that are already selling similar products or services in this market. Are there any trends that can influence your product development before launching?

For instance, before launching a smartwatch for athletes, it’s highly recommended to determine what type of information consumers would be looking to gain from this device. It’s also a must to establish what other similar products are already on the market and how you can outperform them with added features or benefits. 

Market research can also expose the most important challenges and opportunities to have in mind as you introduce your solution. It can further offer priceless insights into how consumers spend and what types of online payments they prefer.

All of these points can guide you towards making the right choices when launching a new product or service. 

Identifying Your Target Audience

To enjoy a rewarding GTM launch, you’ll also need to carefully think about your target customers and your potential customer base. 

To identify your ideal customer, it’s key to think about the pain points that your product or service can help resolve. Next, analyse whether prospective customers are willing to pay for the price of your solution. 

When determining their target audience, companies often use two techniques – identifying their ideal customer profile and creating buyer personas:

• Ideal customer profile – creating target market profiles can help define the customers who are experiencing problems or frustrations that your product or service tackles. To define your ideal customer profile, think about demographics, location, spending capacity, decision-making factors, specific customer needs, and pain points.
• Buyer personas – regardless of your target audience, each person within this group will have their own unique challenges, values, and objectives. You can create different buyer personas to group people with similar values, interests, demographics, and more. 

Knowing your ideal customer profile and buyer personas allows you to organise marketing efforts strategically. This approach helps move individuals through your sales funnel and improves their customer experience over time.

Crafting a Unique Value Proposition

Another essential pillar of a go-to-market strategy is your unique value proposition – your key to gaining competitive advantage. 

A unique value proposition is simply an easy-to-understand statement that explains how your product or service is different from others. It aims to present the added value, benefits, features, or experience that customers will be able to enjoy only by purchasing your solution. 

Depending on your market, niche, or product type, your unique value proposition can differ dramatically. For example, some companies rely on an extra feature that no other competitor provides. Others use unique pricing models that are much more convenient and affordable. At the same time, some brands solely centre their unique value proposition around experience.

Developing a Marketing and Sales Plan

In today’s business landscape, a successful product launch is merely impossible without marketing and sales.

The marketing component of your go-to-market strategy aims to outline the marketing objectives and activities related to your product launch. Your marketing strategy represents a plan for motivating consumers to show an interest towards the product, ultimately creating demand.

Keep in mind that although your marketing strategy is shaped as part of your go-to-market plan, it continues evolving as the product matures and as you receive more performance insights.

This part of your go-to-market strategy consists of things like:

• Content marketing strategy; 
• Choice of marketing platforms to use; 
• Marketing campaign setup across different marketing channels; 
• Sales strategy (including a detailed explanation of the sales process, common sales strategies to be used, handling inbound or outbound processes, and more);
• Market position and appropriate messaging throughout the customer journey; 
• Marketing techniques for different customer segments; 
• Media planning and buying, and others. 

The marketing plan and sales plan are prepared and executed by the marketing team and sales team of the business. Think about all of the tactics that you plan to use to promote your solution, drive awareness, and generate interest – all with the shared purpose of turning leads into customers. 

Some of the most popular techniques to use today include social media advertising, email advertising, search engine optimisation, content marketing, and more. 

Pricing Strategy and Positioning

When it comes to pricing and product positioning – there’s one vital question to ask yourself. 

How much are people prepared to spend for your product or service?

If there is an existing product like yours on the market already, research the pricing models behind it and if possible, analyse its performance. Also, don’t forget to assess the purchasing power of your audience. How much are your potential customers earning? Can they afford your solution?

Your pricing strategy is utterly important as it will influence your overall performance. It won’t just affect your market perception and positioning but will also impact your profitability. 

When creating your pricing strategy and structure, we highly recommend ensuring that it perfectly aligns with your brand and customer expectations. If you’re already in the market, ensure the pricing of your new product doesn’t drive away existing customers—unless your goal is to attract a completely new audience.

Distribution Strategy

Next, think about the distribution channels that you plan to use to make your product or service available to the market. 

Your distribution model will outline how your solution will be sold, no matter if it’s indirectly or directly. Some of the channels you could use include wholesalers, retailers, distributors, and the Internet.

Each one offers a unique set of advantages and drawbacks, where choosing the right option ultimately comes down to your business type, the specific product or service, and your target audience. 

Building a Strong Brand Presence

The best way to raise brand awareness and quickly make your new product visible to the world is by creating a strong brand presence.

As your product launches, you’ll need to build strong and lasting customer relationships that will not only allow you to land sales but also create returning customers. To achieve this, you’ll need to develop an identity that resonates with your audience and helps you connect with customers. 

Define your brand’s values, mission, and mission and make sure to present them in a grabbing, yet easy-to-understand way. Make sure your messaging, visual design, and tone of voice all align with your identity. 

Create interesting stories that are relevant to your audience when presenting your new product or service. This will increase the chances of connecting with the audience, inspiring them to find out more about your company. 

Don’t forget about the power of consistency across all touchpoints and last but not least, use the platforms that you know your customers are on. 

Measuring Success and KPIs

Whether you are a sales manager or a business owner, tracking KPIs and metrics is essential. This data helps measure progress toward the business objectives of your new product launch.

Analysing existing data and monitoring KPIs allows you to determine if your strategy is achieving the desired outcomes. These outcomes typically include revenue growth, customer acquisition, and market penetration.

The KPIs that you should track will depend on your product. For example, if you’re selling a software solution, some of the data points you may want to keep an eye on include customer lifetime value, churn rate, conversion rates, customer satisfaction, sales cycle length, revenue growth and more. 

It’s also key to analyse your customer acquisition costs or how much you’re spending to acquire a new customer. 

Tips for a Successful Go-To-Market Strategy

Creating a solid GTM strategy may seem like a challenging endeavour, especially if you don’t have much experience in this space. However, with the right tips and tricks at your fingertips, you can turn this process into an easy-to-accomplish mission. 

Whether you’re creating a GTM for established companies and enterprise businesses or a small startup, we strongly recommend implementing the following tips:

• Spend enough time on your market research – cutting down time from your market research won’t help. Instead, it can damage your future strategy as you’ll have insufficient data to make informed decisions.
• Create a value matrix – once you’re familiar with your buying personas, it’s advisable to craft a value matrix that will allow you to segment down each buying persona and address their specific problems separately. This can be a complete game-changer when producing your marketing messages and promotional materials.
• Map out your strategy to your buyer’s journey – your customers go through three key stages throughout their buyer journey – awareness, consideration, and decision. Each stage requires a different approach in order to gradually move the consumer through your sales funnel.
• Make sure your business model aligns with your target market’s needs – outline how you plan to accumulate revenue, no matter whether it’s via direct sales, subscription models, or specific offerings.
• Create a feedback loop – as you go through your GTM process, it’s incredibly important to gather customer feedback. This can not only help enhance your product but can provide crucial insights into how effective your marketing is. 

By implementing these result-proven tips, you can produce a go-to-market strategy that you can count on and replicate for future product launches.

Conclusion

Creating a go-to-market strategy is an inevitable part of launching new products and scaling your business. The good news is that this process doesn’t have to be challenging and full of uncertainties.

By carefully incorporating each crucial component into your GTM strategy and implementing the provided tips, you can enjoy a successful product launch with promising results. 

Frequently Asked Questions

When do you need a go-to-market strategy?

You need a go-to-market strategy if you plan to launch a new product to your existing customers and an existing market. It’s also essential if you’re introducing an existing product to a new market. GTM strategies can be used by any type of business, no matter the size, product offering, or other factors.

Is a go-to-market strategy different from a business plan?

Yes, GTM strategies and business plans are different. A business plan outlines a company’s overall vision, structure, and long-term goals, covering areas like operations, financials, and overall strategy. A GTM strategy, on the other hand, focuses on how a specific product or service will enter and perform in the market. It deals with customer acquisition, competitive positioning, pricing, and sales, making it an integral part of the business plan but more execution-focused.

What are some of the challenges companies face when executing their GTM strategies?

Common challenges include misaligning the product with market needs, targeting the wrong audience, setting the wrong price, ineffective marketing, poor timing, and lack of cross-functional alignment between marketing, sales, and product teams.