Launching a new product or expanding into a new market can be exciting for a business. A launch can also be a powerful way to set yourself apart from the competition and grow revenue.
But anyone who’s ever been involved in a launch knows that success doesn’t happen by chance. Instead, it requires careful planning.
The truth is that a lot of behind-the-scenes planning must take place before a new product hits the market. Creating a go-to-market strategy is a key part of this planning.
In this guide, we’ll explore what a go-to-market strategy is and why it matters. We’ll also share practical, proven best practices for creating one for your next launch.
What is a go-to-market strategy?
The phrase go-to-market strategy (or GTM strategy, for short) is used often. But what is it, and who needs one?
Let’s set the stage by reviewing the basics.
Go-to-market strategy, defined
A GTM strategy is a detailed plan for launching a new product into the market or expanding into a new-to-you market.
Customer
Product
Market
Reach
The strategy lays the foundation for a product launch, taking into account details including:
- Who your ideal customers are, and what challenges do they face
- What product you’re selling, and how it helps your ideal customers overcome their challenges
- What markets you’ll target, and what they look like in terms of demand and competition
- How you’ll reach your target audience
Who needs a go-to-market strategy
Now, we’re aligned on the basics. But who needs one?
Some may think that go-to-market strategies are only needed for brand-new businesses launching their first product. But that’s not the case. Every business—from startups to established organizations—needs one when it introduces a new product or service or expands into a new market.
Some specific examples of who needs a strategy include:
- A company introduces a new product or service to a market they already serve. For example, a coffee shop chain introducing a new line of breakfast food items.
- A company looking to introduce their existing products into a new market. For example, a US-based SaaS company may plan to start selling its products in Europe.
- A company that is testing a new product in a new market. For example, a technology startup may launch its first survey app.
Why a go-to-market strategy is important
A go-to-market strategy is key to supporting an effective product launch. When developing a GTM strategy, consider the many moving pieces of an upcoming launch. This exercise can help you avoid pitfalls and improve your chances of success.
Aligning your teams
Customer understanding
Competitive advantage
Identifying problems
Let’s examine some of the key ways it can benefit your launch and your business.
More aligned teams
Teams often focus on their work – disregarding what other teams do. This misalignment can cause problems down the road.
Developing a go-to-market strategy must be a collaborative effort. When teams come together to develop a strategy, everyone is aligned. There’s a clear understanding of who is responsible for what, and everyone can work towards achieving the same end goal: a successful product launch.
Solid understanding of customers
Before you can help your customers address their needs, you must understand them.
A huge part of developing your strategy is understanding your customers’ unique goals, needs, and pain points. This intel can help you optimize your products and sales and marketing approaches.
Competitive advantage
No matter the challenge, multiple vendors offer a solution to solve it. It can be easy to get lost in the mix.
When creating a go-to-market strategy, you must deeply analyze the competition, how you stack up, and what sets you apart. This exercise informs messaging that articulates why you are the best choice.
Identifying problems early on
There are a ton of moving pieces involved in any product launch. Developing a go-to-market plan forces teams to think through these moving components. That way, you can identify and work through any kinks before you launch your product.
Go-to-market strategy vs. marketing and sales plans: What’s the difference?
When it comes to product launches, three terms are often used: GTM strategies, marketing plans, and sales plans. It’s easy to assume the three are synonymous, but they’re not. GTM strategies, marketing plans, and sales plans are related, but they’re different.
A go-to-market strategy is something that’s created for a specific launch. A GTM strategy details an organization’s steps when launching a new product or service or expanding its existing offerings into a new market.
For example, an e-commerce software company would develop a GTM strategy when releasing new product ratings and review offerings. As another example, a UK-based SaaS company might establish a GTM strategy before offering its existing CRM platform in Asia.
Marketing plans aren’t launch-specific. Instead, they spell out how a company intends to execute its marketing strategy.
For example, a B2B marketing team may aim to generate 1,000 qualified leads per quarter. The marketing plan would detail the ways the team plans to accomplish this goal, including promoted LinkedIn posts, content marketing, and email campaigns.
Finally, sales plans define how an organization will sell its products and services. For example, prospects may be able to purchase the product on their own with a credit card, a strategy known as self-service sales. Or, a sales rep may be responsible for guiding prospects through the funnel. This may be an inside sales rep using video conferencing and digital sales rooms or a field sales rep visiting prospects on-site.
Revenue organizations might have different sales plans for different products. For example, a SaaS company may traditionally sell via a team of inside sales reps. However, it may launch a lower-priced product for small businesses that it makes available via self-service sales.
Go-to-market strategy vs. marketing plan vs. sales plan
| Go-to-market strategy | Marketing plan | Sales plan | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Provides the steps an organization will take when launching a new product/service or introducing an existing product/service into a new market | Defines how the marketing team will reach the right audience at the right time with the right messaging | Defines how the company will sell its products (i.e. self service, inside sales, channel sales) |
| Time frame | Launch specific | Long term | Long term |
| Responsible party | Cross-functional | Marketing team | Sales team |
| Goal | Ensure a successful launch | Ensure the organization achieves the objectives set out in its marketing strategy | Sell products and services as effectively and efficiently as possible |
How to build a go-to-market strategy
Now that you have a solid understanding of a strategy and its importance, it’s time to build your own GTM strategy. Read on as we explore some tried-and-true tips for building a winning GTM strategy that sets you up for a successful launch.
#1 Start with a go-to-market strategy template
Creating a strategy can seem overwhelming, especially if you’ve never done it. A template can alleviate some pressure and be a great starting point.
Once you have a basic framework, you can adapt it to fit your organization’s needs and your launch.
#2 Form your team
Creating a go-to-market plan isn’t something a single person does alone. Instead, it’s a collaborative effort.
Be sure to establish a team that includes representatives from key teams throughout the organization, including sales, marketing, sales enablement, and product (among others). Each team will bring unique ideas and perspectives. Furthermore, aligning key teams helps ensure everyone is working toward the same goals and understands their role in achieving them.
For example, marketing can’t create effective campaigns for a new product launch without clearly understanding the target market and how the product solves their challenges.
#3 Diagnose the problem
The best products and services solve customers’ challenges. For example, meeting scheduling software enables sales reps to avoid the time-consuming back-and-forth of scheduling meetings with prospects. Video conferencing software enables teams to effectively engage with each other—even when members are geographically dispersed.
It’s important to determine what challenges your prospects are facing. This will require research, including reading industry publications and discussing with current and prospective customers.
#4 Determine your target audience
Acquiring customers is key to a launch’s success. Determining your target market is an essential step in developing your go-to-market plan.
A common way to do this is to create buyer personas. Buyer personas are fictitious representations of who you are trying to target with your new product or service.
Often, multiple types of people use a single product or service. For example, sales enablement software is used by teams including:
- Sales
- Marketing
- Sales enablement
- Revenue operations
Each of these groups has unique goals, challenges, and needs. As such, it’s important to create buyer personas representing your target market’s different segments.
Another popular way to define your target audience is by creating an ideal customer profile – or ICP for short. Essentially, an ICP paints the picture of what a perfect-fit customer looks like for your new product or service offering. An ICP can include components like:
- Industry
- Company size
- Geography
- Budget
- Job title
- Pain points
#5 Gauge demand and scope out the competition
Once you’ve determined your target audience and their pain points, it’s time to do some research. Start by doing your homework to determine the demand for a product like yours. High demand will help ensure a full sales pipeline.
Then, find out who’s already trying to solve your target market’s problems.
Make a list of your direct and indirect competitors. If there’s too much competition, your product offering will likely get lost in the mix – especially if nothing sets you apart from other options.
Once you’ve made your list of competitors, look closely at each to determine their strengths and weaknesses. Then, see how your product stacks up against each one. A sales battlecard is a common way to compare your product or service offering against one or multiple competitors.
#6 Develop relevant messaging
Once you have a solid idea of your target audience, you can develop messaging that will resonate with them. Messaging is one of the key components of a go-to-market strategy
Generic messaging that focuses on features and benefits isn’t effective, though. Instead, it’s important to consider the needs of each of your buyer personas. Then, you can develop tailored messaging that:
- Addresses the needs and pain points for each buyer persona
- Articulates how your product or service can help each persona overcome their challenges and reach their goals
When prospects feel you truly understand their pain points, they’re more likely to engage with your brand.
#7 Determine your pricing strategy
Properly pricing your new product offering is a balancing act. If you price your product too high, your sellers will struggle to close deals. But if you price it too low, you’ll struggle to meet your revenue goals.
Creating the proper pricing strategy requires extensive research. You need to determine customer demand—that is, how many customers are searching for a solution like yours and how much they are willing to pay for it. Of course, you must also consider your competitors’ pricing strategies.
#8 Map the buyer journey
As the name suggests, the buyer journey is the path people take to become customers. It includes everything from a prospect identifying a problem to considering their options to signing on the dotted line.
Mapping your buyer journey is key to ensuring your customers have sales content and experiences that resonate with them – wherever they are in the sales funnel.
#9 Incorporate your marketing plan
Your marketing plan will spell out how you’ll reach the right prospects with the right content and messaging at the right time. There are many types of marketing channels to consider, including:
- Content marketing
- SEO
- Email marketing
- Social media
- Paid search ads
The channels you choose depend on who you’re trying to reach and where they are in the purchase journey.
#10 Include your sales plan
The success (or failure) of your product launch depends on how much you sell. You must determine how you’ll sell as part of your SaaS go-to-market strategy.
There are several different sales strategies, including:
Customers purchase the product or solution without the involvement of a sales rep. Usually, they do so with a credit card.
Your sales reps work directly with prospects to guide them through the purchase journey. They work within a home or business office and use tools like email, video conferencing software, and digital sales rooms to engage with buyers.
Sales reps sell in the “field,” – which could be at a prospect’s office, factory, job site, or other location.
A partner sells your products or services for you.
Some organizations pick one sales strategy and stick to it, while others use a combination of the strategies listed above. There’s no right answer here. The key is to build a sales plan that works for your company and your product launch.
#11 Establish clear goals and measure progress
Goals are key to any go-to-market strategy. Without goals, there is nothing to guide your actions and no way of determining whether your launch was successful.
Don’t set vague goals that are impossible to track. Instead, use the SMART methodology to develop your go-to-market goals. SMART goals are:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Attainable
- Relevant
- Time-bound
Once you’ve established your goals, be sure to measure your progress towards achieving them regularly. This will help you identify where you’re on track and where there may be opportunities for improvement.
Set your launch up for success with a solid GTM plan
Launching a new product or entering a new market can be a great way to grow revenue. But you can’t take an ad hoc approach and expect success.
Instead, set yourself up for success by creating a winning GTM plan. Though the process might sound daunting, it doesn’t have to be. The 11 tips we shared in this post will have you well on your way to crafting a go-to-market strategy that helps ensure your launch is a smashing success.
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By Helen Waite
By Rahul Mathew