To start a business, you need to have a go-to-market strategy. That means you need to figure out how to find customers who want to buy what you sell.
In this blog, we will discuss what the go-to-market is, its benefits, and the 5 important steps to building a perfect go-to-market strategy.
So let’s get started.
What is a go-to-market strategy?
A go-to-market strategy (GTM) is a plan of action that describes repeatable and scalable processes for acquiring, retaining, and growing customers.
The first milestone in executing a GTM strategy for early-stage companies is achieving product/market fit. This is essentially a process of locating customers in a target market who have a problem that your product can solve for a price (or total cost of ownership) less than the value level provided in exchange.
Mark Zuckerberg’s launch of Facebook is one of the most well-known examples. First, he recognized that his product was designed with college students in mind. So his marketing strategy was to create a buzz about Facebook among college students (emailing famous kids and getting them to use it). After that, he gradually opened it up, a few universities at a time, before making it open to everyone.
Benefits of go-to-Market strategy
- Reduce time to market.
- Shorten the time to market.
- Reduce the costs of failed product launches.
- Improve your ability to adapt to change.
- Manage the challenges of innovation.
- Ensure an excellent customer experience.
- Maintain regulatory compliance.
- Ensure a successful product launch.
- Avoid taking the wrong path.
- Create a growth path.
- Clarifies the plan and direction for everyone.
Now we will discuss 5 important steps to building a perfect go-to-market strategy.
Create buyers personas
You must understand your target market, which is why creating a buyer persona profile is critical. Buyer personas are fictitious profiles of people representing your ideal customer base and are helpful during the prospecting and lead-generation stages. First, investigate the types of potential customers who have the issues your product will solve, and then proceed from there. When creating buyer personas, include your target market’s demographics, behaviors, pain points, organization type, job title, and preferred contact methods. Again, you must understand your target market, which is why creating a buyer persona profile is critical.
Recognize Your Brand Position
How do you want your customers to perceive you in relation to your competitors’ products/brands? Do you want to be the one who provides high-quality, premium products or a low-cost alternative?
You can use a perceptual map to assess the strengths and weaknesses of your competitor’s products based on customer-important criteria. It will also assist you in identifying the competitive advantage of your own brand in the market.
Determine Your Marketing Channels
What is the most effective method of reaching out to your customers? Outbound marketing (newspaper ads, TV ads, flyers, etc.) and inbound marketing (newsletters, websites, social media, blogs, online videos, podcasts, etc.)
Regardless of the channels you use, your messaging, content, and branding materials should be consistent.
You can read about: How to leverage SEO for B2B lead generation?
Determine the pricing strategy
The price element is concerned with setting prices for your goods or services. It should include all of the components that contribute to your total costs, such as the advertised price, any discounts, sales, credit terms, or other payment arrangements.
Your company’s market position will also determine your pricing. For example, if you advertise your company as a low-cost car rental service, your pricing should reflect that choice. Alternatively, if you are a premium food product, your price should be higher than that of lesser quality products to reflect the superior packaging and ingredient quality you provide.
Create a strategy for customer retention.
It is more expensive to acquire a new customer than it is to do repeat business with an existing customer. Therefore, Upselling and customer loyalty programs are common marketing techniques used to encourage repeat business and build long-term customer relationships.
Wrapping up
A strong go-to-market strategy delivers your core narrative, accelerating your business. If you follow the steps outlined in this post, both your future self and your customers will thank you.
