Launching a new product into the market is quite complex. And it becomes even more complicated if the market you’re trying to enter is already saturated or too competitive. However, you can beat the competition and make your way even in a saturated market with a well-laid-out go-to-market strategy.
Read along to find out what a GTM strategy is and how you can create one for your business.
What is a GTM or Go-to-Market strategy?
A GTM or go-to-market strategy is a step-by-step process or plan that helps you successfully launch a new product or an existing one in the target market.
While different markets and products have a unique approach, every GTM strategy should focus on identifying the key pain point in the market and positioning the concerned product as a solution.
How to develop a Go-To-Market strategy for your business
Follow these steps to create a GTM strategy for your business.
1. Find your target market
Whether you want to launch a new product or expand an old one, you must first identify your target market.
Your target market or market segment includes the group of people who share common characteristics, who’ll be interested in your product, or who’re facing problems that your product might solve. When you have the right target market, you can focus your marketing campaigns better.
2. Define your value proposition
The value proposition is all about:
- Why should your target market purchase your product?
- How does your product stand out from others offering similar solutions?
- What are the unique experiences your product is offering?
The purpose of defining your value proposition is to justify your product’s need. The more clearly you define it, the easier it’ll be for your target audience to make the purchase decision.
3. Create a good pricing strategy
Creating a pricing strategy or the optimum price you want to sell a product for is quite crucial. You need to ensure that the price isn’t too high (this may scare away your prospects) or too low (this might eat into your profits too much).
To choose just the right pricing, consider the following.
- What’s the cost of the product or service to you?
- What’s the least price at which you can make a profit?
- What price are your competitors selling the product or service at?
- What are your prospects easily willing to pay for the product or service?
- Is it a transactional model or a subscription one?
4. Choose your marketing channels
This is the part of your go-to-market strategy wherein you decide how you want to reach your prospective customers. For instance, you can choose from social media ads, blogs, e-books, email campaigns, etc.
However, you must choose the marketing channels based on your target audience and where they are in their buying journey. This will help you make more personalized efforts toward reaching your prospects.
5. Create a sales plan
Whether you are launching a new product or introducing an existing one to a new market, making sales is always the goal. Therefore, you must include a sales plan in your go-to-market strategy.
Some of the most common options are:
- Self-Service Model: In this model, customers can purchase on their own from your website, for example.
- Inside Sales Model: In this model, nurturing is required by the sales and marketing reps. It’s suitable for more complex products with a medium price point.
- Channel Model: In this model, a third party company sells your product on your behalf. While you may not get complete control over product marketing, this method is highly affordable.
6. Choose important KPIs and monitor
You must choose crucial KPIs, monitor them, and tweak your go-to-market strategy. This is the only way to improve on the go and achieve the results you want.
For instance, if your customer acquisition cost is higher than what they’re paying, it means you need to work on your CAC. Or it means you need to improve your customer lifetime value. Here are some common KPIs to choose from.
- Customer Lifetime Value
- Customer Acquisition Cost
- Conversion Rate
- Duration of Sales Cycle
Improve your bottom line with a clear GTM strategy
A well-laid out go to market strategy can help you understand your market better, position your product in a better way and achieve more sales which are good for your business’s bottom line. Therefore, carefully follow the above steps and launch or expand your products in the best way possible.
