What is a Go To Market Strategy? 

A Go To Market strategy is a plan that helps organizations launch and sell products or services in new markets. A Go To Market plan describes how a company plans to enter a new market, compete in it, and ultimately bring its products or services to market.

In this article,  we will walk you through everything you need to know about Go To Market strategy, including how to develop one and what are the key components. We will also provide some helpful Go To Market strategy templates and examples.

What is a Go To Market strategy? And why do you need one?

The go to market strategy should be a well thought out plan that is designed to properly position your company in the eyes of consumers, stakeholders and investors. For example, if you see that demand for a product is high but there is little supply, it might make sense to focus on increasing production. On the other hand, investing time into advertising campaigns might not always generate results right away. Instead of promoting through traditional channels, try using social media which remains constant no matter how busy things get at any given moment.

Without a clear go-to market strategy, it may be difficult to reach your target audience and generate revenue. The most common reason for developing such an approach is that you want the company’s services or products in front of potential customers as soon as possible.

Go To Market strategy: benefits

The GTM strategy helps companies bring products to market with a strong product development path and helps identify the best opportunities for your company to improve. Here are  some of the benefits of having a Go To Market strategy:

Provides a roadmap for growth

 A Go To Market strategy is essential for any company looking to enter a new market or launch a new product. It can help you map out your growth path and make sure everyone in the organization is on the same page.

Clarifies the business mission

Creating a GTM strategy can provide an ideal way to assess your mission and ensure product efforts are aligned with your goals.  This will help avoid costly missteps and keep everyone focused on the company’s most important objectives.

Boosts agility

As markets and customer needs change, a Go To Market strategy can help you be nimble and adjust your plans accordingly. This flexibility will be key to your success in an ever-changing business landscape.

Helps you focus your resources

A Go To Market strategy can help you focus your limited resources on the most important activities that will help you achieve your goals. This includes allocating your budget, hiring the right talent, and identifying partnerships that can help you reach new markets.

Reduces cost

By implementing the GTM strategy, your company will reduce marketing costs by defining the most effective advertising channels with a good ROI and creating marketing messaging to achieve this.

Improves your chances of success

A well-thought-out Go To Market strategy can dramatically improve your chances of success. It can help you avoid common pitfalls and make the most of your opportunities.

Better decisions

Go To Market strategy can help you make better decisions by providing a framework for evaluating options and trade-offs.

Building more brand awareness

By introducing new services to the market or promoting them, they can attract more customers and attract new market segments.  

Allows you to track progress

GTM  strategy provides a roadmap for your journey and milestones that you can use to track progress and adjust course as needed.

A Go To Market strategy is a plan for how you will sell your product or service. It includes who your target market is, what channels you will use to reach them, and what message you want to send.

Creating a Go To Market strategy can seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. Start by answering a few basic questions about your product or service, your target market, and your goals. Then, you can begin to put together a plan that will help you achieve your sales goals.

Go To Market strategy is relevant to businesses when in the following situations:

•  Introducing a new product or service to market
•  Re-launching an existing product or service
•  Expanding into new markets
•  Developing new channels to reach customers

The Go To Market strategy should be reviewed and updated regularly as market conditions and the business environment change.

Without a Go To Market strategy, your business will face several problems, such as:

• A failure to properly assess the market opportunity
• An inability to generate customer interest
• Poor product positioning
• Ineffective marketing and sales programs
• Inadequate channel development
• Lack of coordination between marketing and sales

GTM vs. marketing strategy vs. marketing plan

Although strategies are identical, marketing plans are different. Marketing strategies are strategies that outline the marketing strategy of an industry. In other words, a marketing plan outlines actions that describe the steps to implement marketing campaigns. Finally, a Go To Market strategy is a detailed outline of what steps are required to bring a product to market. A marketing plan or strategy does not include a  go-to- market strategy.

What types of Go To Market strategies are there?

The best products will fail without customers (delivered by Go To Market strategy); How you approach your marketing strategy depends on what is driving your success. The market can be shaped by two different ways of growing: 

Product-driven

This means that the success of your company is dependent on the product itself. In this scenario, it’s all about how great your product is. The focus should be placed on creating a strong product and then getting it in front of as many people as possible. 

Customer-driven

The second way to grow is customer-driven. Here, the success of the company is driven by how well it can acquire and retain customers. The focus should be on acquiring the right customers and keeping them happy.

The best Go To Market strategy combines both product and customer focus equally.

Product-driven companies typically have a great product, but they don’t know how to market or sell it. They might have a great product, but if they can’t acquire customers, they won’t be successful.

Customer-driven companies typically have a great marketing and sales team, but the product itself is not that strong. They might be able to acquire customers, but if the product is not good, they will eventually churn.

What are the components of a GTM strategy?

As with most plans, you need to do some digging before you get to the final product. Developing your marketing strategy is a comprehensive process that covers many important details in short, concise terms. And before you start writing page after page, make it your priority to find what it is you want.

A Go To Market strategy has five main components. Here are the critical  elements you need to address in your GTM strategy:

Target Market

Who are you targeting? Customer segmentation is important to understand because it will help you determine which marketing channels to use, what type of messaging to use, and what type of product to build.

Buyer personas

When you’re crafting your Go To Market strategy, it’s important to create a buyer persona. This will help you focus your marketing efforts and ensure that your message resonates with your target audience.

A buyer persona is a fictionalized representation of your ideal customer, based on real data and research. To create a buyer persona, you’ll need to consider various factors such as age, location, gender, income level, and interests. 

Once you have a clear understanding of who your buyer persona is, you can develop targeted marketing campaigns that are more likely to result in conversions. By taking the time to craft a well-defined buyer persona, you can set yourself up for success in the competitive marketplace.

Here are the different buyer personas:

• User: Regularly uses your product.
• Influencer: Persuades others that the product is essential.
• Decision maker: The decision maker is the one who approves the purchase in the end.
• Buyer: The buyer is the one who owns the budget for this project.
• Approver: The final approver, who is typically someone in the company’s upper management (C-suite), greenlights the initiative to be pushed on a larger scale.
• Gatekeeper: A blocker in the process of getting a product implemented or accepted

Understand your buyer’s journey

Using your persona and value matrix builds a deeper understanding of your customer journey both from the buyer’s perspective and from your business. The buying cycle is linear. 

The following is generally how your customers will purchase items from you:

First, the buyer realizes they have a business problem. Then, they research potential solutions to their problem online.  Once they’ve decided on a solution, they’ll purchase it. And finally, after using your product or service, they’ll either become a loyal fan or churn. 

You need to be there for each stage of the buyer’s journey, and you need to provide value at every stage. You can do this by creating content that educates your audience and helps them solve their business problems. 

If you can provide valuable content that helps your audience solve their business problems, you’ll be well on your way to creating a loyal following of customers who will keep coming back to you for more. 

You can continue providing value to your customers long after they’ve made a purchase by creating content that helps them get the most out of your product or service. 

This could include blog posts, how-to guides, ebooks, or even video tutorials. 

Not only will this help your customers get more out of your product, but it will also keep them coming back to your website for more information, making it more likely that they’ll purchase from you again in the future.

Product-Market Fit

A product-market fit is when a product meets the specific needs of a market. In order for a product to be successful, it must be able to solve a problem or meet a need that consumers have. 

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to finding a product-market fit, but there are a few key things to keep in mind. First, it’s important to understand the needs and wants of your target market. What are they looking for in a product? Second, you need to make sure that your product is able to meet those needs. Does it have the features and benefits that consumers are looking for? 

Value matrix

Once we map the buyer persona, we can start building value. A value matrix describes the characteristics of a buyer persona, their business challenges, and the importance of your product. It can include a marketing message that links problems and solutions. Organize an individual persona list into one column. Let’s list the pain points a person faces every day. If the product helps solve that problem, please include it below. Last but not least, the message must address pain points and what they mean. How can it do that?

The Channel Model

Which channels will you use to reach your target market? There are a lot of options, and the right mix will vary depending on your product and your target market.

Some common marketing channels for GTM strategy include:

• B2B Go To Market Channels
• SaaS Go To Market Channels

In the channel model, the third party can also market your service for you. This will be difficult to develop because you need a person with experience who is willing to learn more about a particular product. They are also more reluctant about selling than a salesperson. However, this is an affordable model because no salesperson is needed. This is more effective with products that match partner interests. If you sell phone cases, you might find other vendors selling similar items like Best Buy or Apple. This approach can vary by industry or customer size, such as the number of license holders or the number in place.

How to create a Go To Market strategy

A Go To Market strategy involves various strategies and market strategies that help products enter the market with the best chance of success. This guide will help you learn the process behind building a GTM by describing a number of key components.

Know where this product fits in your overall roadmap

What are some advantages and disadvantages of the new product? The responsibility for marketing a new product does not end with its introduction into the market. The reality is usually quite the opposite. Each time a new product is released, another thing is added to the list of items that need prioritization. Is the product still gaining your interest? Are your teams transferring to another project? It is important to look at different points of view to determine your marketing strategy.

Define your pricing strategy

Product pricing is important. There is no way that a person who promotes a brand for too long can be sold too cheaply. If they do, you could end up losing a significant amount of profit margin. 

Now that you are aware of the value of your product, you know how much your consumers will pay for it. What is the cost of producing a product? How much money should be spent to be profitable? Can you list the prices of competing products?

Identify your target market

Customer-centric marketing originates at all levels. Therefore, it is important that the target market is a group of people who share similar characteristics, such as demographics or culture, when introducing new products or reworking existing ones. Marketing strategies should focus on this target market to increase product awareness and, as a result, sales.

A company that does not know who its target market is cannot succeed because it would be difficult to sell products without knowing who would want to buy them. Furthermore, if the target market is too broad, the company risks losing potential customers because its products or services might not appeal to everyone.

Choose your sales and distribution channels

Sales channels enable customers to buy your product, while distribution channels provide direct delivery. In some cases, sales and distribution channels are similar, such as when customers buy directly from manufacturers. 

On other occasions, the distribution channel may be more complex, such as when a manufacturer sells to a wholesaler, who in turn sells to retailers, who then finish. Where you want to market your product directly to an investor or direct online, or when the product is purchased.

Craft your promotion strategy

Your marketing plan is your strategy to market to the right people. You can create a marketing plan for your target audience. The use of promotional techniques depends on the products you are selling. 

While businesses can use a sales team to target other businesses, a third-party company would instead focus on social networking marketing to gain brand awareness. Are you on the web? If so, you should take a look at Search Engine Optimization to improve your website ranking in search engines. For most products, the main focus is on selling to retailers or distributors.

Clarify your value proposition

Value proposition for products – the benefits to users as well as the problems they can solve. Basically, you can list the reasons why your product is worth selling. In preparation for your Go To Market plan, you will be able to understand your product value proposition and determine how to target your advertising campaign. It should be as important as your product itself.

Sync up with support

How can you provide customer support for new customers? When you launch an innovative product, there can be an added pressure from your customer support department, especially if they’ve done a great job getting your product out there to the public. 

If you’re not already in communication with your support team, start doing so as soon as possible. You’ll want to get their opinion on what is and isn’t working well with your product, as well as how they would like to see things handled going forward.

Set metrics and monitor your performance

How can we achieve and reach this goal? In setting these goals, the objective is to set the metrics used to measure effectiveness. In a GTM implementation, you need to keep a track record and adjust the metrics as needed. This goal focuses on what to do in order to achieve the best results for your product. 

Monitor your progress and change course when needed

After you have determined what needs to be done to reach your goals, it is important to monitor your progress. This involves constantly assessing whether you are on track to reach your targets. If not, then you need to take corrective action. This may involve changing your strategies or tactics. 

There are a number of ways to monitor your progress. One way is to set up Google Analytics goals. These help you track conversions and other important events on your website. Another way is to use A/B testing. This involves testing different versions of your product or website to see which one performs better. 

How to measure the success of your Go To Market strategy

A successful Go To Market strategy needs to be constantly monitored, if necessary, to ensure optimal results. This requires measurable KPIs that measure both short-term performance and long-term sustainable growth. How many KPIs you track depends in part on how well they are collected and reported. 

New technology in data analytics allows companies to better understand their results. However, it’s much easier to limit yourself to KPIs that can help with decision making, rather than drying up the numbers and creating a phenomenon known as analytical paralysis.

When it comes to determining what your KPIs should be, here are a few best practices to keep in mind:

1. Keep it simple

Simple metrics are important when setting KPIs for your go-to market strategy. You want to make sure you’re not overcomplicating the process and miss out on opportunities because of complicated numbers that may not accurately reflect how well or poorly things have gone with certain initiatives in comparison against other companies’ results using more basic measurements such as sales revenue per unit (MRP).

2. Make sure it’s actionable

Your KPIs need to be something that you can actually do something about. A good way to determine whether or not a KPI is actionable is to ask yourself if there’s anything you can change on your end in order to improve the metric. If not, then it might not be the most useful thing to track.

3. Track progress over time

The importance of tracking your progress over time cannot be understated. Not only does it allow you to better understand how successful marketing initiatives are, but also what outcomes they lead towards and whether or not those desired results were achieved. Without data from previous periods being analyzed alongside new information collected about current ones; any strategic decision-making will remain cloudy at best because there’s no way for anyone involved (you included!) know if their idea was actually capable in achieving its goal mm/dd/yy.

4. Utilize marketing performance reports

Marketing teams should be reporting on their performance on a regular basis in order to ensure that everyone is aware of the current situation and can make more informed decisions going forward. The creation of these reports can be automated with software like Databox, which pulls data from multiple sources

5. Align with company objectives

It’s important that the marketing team’s efforts are aligned with the rest of the company in order to avoid any potential siloing of effort and wasted resources. This can be accomplished by setting objectives that tie into the company’s overall strategy and then measuring progress against those objectives on a regular basis.

Examples of Go To Market KPIs

The go-to market KPI is a really important measure that you need to keep an eye on. It tells prospective clients about your company and what they can expect from working with, so it’s imperative this number increases over time.

Now that you know what makes a good KPI, here are five examples to get you started tracking:

1. Website traffic

This is a key metric for any business with an online presence. By tracking website traffic, you can see how many people are visiting your site, where they’re coming from, and what pages they’re viewing. This information can be used to improve your website’s design and content in order to drive more traffic and conversions.

2. Lead generation

If your main goal is to generate leads, then you’ll want to track how many leads you’re generating on a regular basis. This will help you determine whether your lead generation efforts are successful and where you can improve.

Lead generation is important because it provides a snapshot of how well your company is performing. It’s also great for measuring the ROI on targeted marketing campaigns, which can help you make better decisions about where to spend time and money in future endeavors. 

3. Sales

Of course, sales are the ultimate goal for any business. By tracking your sales figures, you can see how well your business is doing and where you can improve.

4. Engagement

Engagement metrics let you know how people are interacting with your website or app. This includes things like time on site, pages per visit, and bounce rate. By understanding engagement metrics, you can make changes to keep people engaged with your content.

5. Conversions

Conversions are a measure of how well your website or app is performing in terms of achieving its goals. This could be anything from signing up for a newsletter to making a purchase. By tracking conversions, you can see which areas of your business are doing well and where you need to improve.

6. Customer Satisfaction

Customer satisfaction measures how happy your customers are with your product or service. This is important because it can help you retain customers and improve your business over time. By tracking customer satisfaction, you can identify areas where you need to make changes to keep your customers happy.

7. Revenue

Revenue is a measure of how much money your business is bringing in. This is important because it shows you how successful your business is and where you need to improve. By tracking revenue, you can see which areas of your business are doing well and where you need to make changes to improve your bottom line.

8. Employee Satisfaction

Employee satisfaction measures how happy your employees are with their jobs. This is important because happy employees are more productive and less likely to leave your company. By tracking employee satisfaction, you can identify areas where you need to make changes to keep your employees happy.

Go To Market success story: Apple

Apple is one of the most successful companies in the world and their Go To Market strategy is a big part of that.

Apple has always been good at creating demand for its products. They generate a lot of hype around their new product launches and get people talking about their products long before they hit store shelves. This creates a sense of urgency and gets people lining up to buy their products on launch day.

Their marketing is also very focused on creating an emotional connection with their customers. They tell stories about how their products have changed people’s lives and they show customers how their products can make their lives better. This emotional connection is what keeps people coming back to Apple products, even when there are other options available.

Apple is also very good at creating new markets for their products. They were the first to introduce the smartphone and the tablet and they have been able to dominate those markets ever since. They are always looking for new ways to use their technology to make people’s lives better and they are always innovating. This is why Apple is one of the most valuable companies in the world.

Conclusion

A Go To Market strategy is key for any product or company looking to enter a new market. By understanding the GTM process and having a plan in place, you give your product the best chance for success. 

There are many different types of Go To Market strategies and each has its own unique advantages and disadvantages. The most important part of any GTM strategy is having well defined objectives and KPIs that will help you measure your progress and success.