Go to Market Strategy

The go-to-market strategy for companies lets you launch items or services, introduce them to new markets, or rebrand your business. We got it! Let’s take it slow.

It is a business strategy to conduct your operations and get sales. Also, it lets you get ahead of your competitors. This article discusses the meaning of go-to-market plans in-depth. Readers will also explore the goals, benefits, and examples of having a go-to-marketing plan. How do experts create and implement these strategies in their firms? Let’s find out!

A go-to-market plan empowers you to beat the competition and make your new launches successful.

Here are its primary advantages:

Get More Eyeballs to Your Brand and Let People Identify You

GTM strategies are best to boost visibility and recognition. You can spread awareness by promoting new products or services on many platforms.

For example, you can send marketing postcards to a target audience, sharing a glimpse of your new offerings. You can create curiosity and prompt readers to complete the CTA.

Businesses can spark interest and lead this campaign to something bigger. It is an excellent way to gain publicity following your product or service launch.

Improve Growth and Success Potential

69% of businesses need a defined product launch process. It means they lack a go-to-market plan, hampering their revenue and sales.

However, GTM strategies can rectify these issues. They can let you ensure you get high sales ahead of the launch. Thus, your brand can invest more confidently and prepare to handle a steady customer flow.

Get More Time for Promotions

You can advertise items before making them available for sale. It gives more marketing space and time with reduced effort.

Since the pressure to sell new products or services is high, doing most of the work beforehand can be profitable and more efficient. A go-to-market strategy is the best way to achieve this objective.

Know the Market and Clarify Goals

Understand the marketplace, the customers’ needs, and your goals through a go-to-market strategy for your business. It helps you spell out your goals, previewing what you need to do to get there!

Also, it allows you to read the market’s trends and needs and offer relevant information to target customers.

A marketing strategy is long-term. Businesses create it for many months or years. For example, they aim to increase their social media following by 10k in the next two years. Or they want to boost sales for product A by 80% by 2026. These long-term strategies are more expensive, well-thought-out, and comprehensive.

Your marketing plan will become a segment of your long-term strategies. It explains the necessary steps for achieving your targets. In contrast, a go-to-market strategy template provides clarity on the present and near future. It gives you the option to launch a product or pivot into other markets.

You must know what is a go-to-market strategy after reading the above comparison. Here’s how you can build your plan;

List Essentials Prerequisites

You must note your strategy’s essentials, which include:

Product Messaging

Identify your customers’ pain points to determine and test messaging. Decide which language and tone to use when delivering product-related information.

Product messaging includes everything from what you write on your website to your sales pitch. It encompasses every information piece your audience hears or reads about your offerings.

Hence, the go-to-market plan must focus on the messaging. Please ensure the entire sales and marketing team is on it. They must share similar news and have consistent buyer conversations to maintain branding.

Here is how you can define promotional messages:

Distribution Channels

How will you make your products or services available to users? Should they subscribe to an offering or buy items at the local supermarket?

Though it depends on the business type, a go-to-market strategy shapes the final distribution approach. You can make your items available for sale via an online store. Or sell offline at some stores you partner with in the target location.

Firms offering services can allow people to download the app and pay for a subscription or buy them through the website. There are many options and channels available for every company.

List your preferred channels in the go-to-market strategy template to avoid confusion and chaos.

CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost)

You can calculate the CAC by dividing advertising and sales expenses by the number of buyers.

CAC = (Marketing + Sales Costs) / Total Customers You Acquired for Specific Products or Services

The go-to-market plan helps you control costs and keep the CAC low. You must spend only an adequate amount to acquire a buyer – otherwise, it might kill the sale’s purpose.

Combine distribution channels, marketing expenses, target market size, and other factors to see if the CAC is low, average, or high.

Define Your ICP (Ideal Customer Profile)

Know what your ideal customers look like to draft the best go-to-market strategy for the firm. Find people who experience the pain points and issues your offerings solve.

Consider these traits and define the product’s ICP:

• Size: Learn about the item’s market size. If you want to target businesses for your B2B product or service- know the company’s worth and other information to convey relevant messages.
• Budget: How much buyers must spend to buy your item, and can they afford it? This answer lets you fix an adequate pricing strategy for your go-to-market plan or process.
• Location: Determine where most customers live or work. The place factor is crucial to deciding which audience to target and how.
• Value: Your item’s value to the customer is another leading factor that defines the ICP. Hence, as discussed above, consider their pain points and curate a go-to-market strategy around them.

Align Product Development, Sales, and Marketing Teams

GTM processes must meet the objectives of your product development, marketing, and sales teams. Talk to the department heads and executives to understand and consider their viewpoints.

You must use the same GTM plan throughout the firm, including all departments.

For instance, if the product development department wants to highlight a unique feature – you can ask your sales and marketing teams to discuss it with prospects and buyers.

Also, know when to expand your teams to accommodate higher sales. You can follow the three stages to make your go-to-market strategy template successful:

1. Initiation: The sales representatives put in their most and learn from buyer interactions. This learning phase might cost more. However, it provides experience and in-depth understanding, which helps capture markets.
2. Repetition: Once you establish a tried-and-tested process, you can implement a repeatable action. Also, you can automate the workflow to speed up and simplify your sales approach.
3. Expansion: Get your entire sales team on board. The go-to-market plan can guide the executives about how to perform and whom to target.

Follow the Sales Funnel

The three stages of the sales funnel, ToFu, MoFu, and BoFu, are crucial to boosting conversions for your new and existing offerings. Hence, be patient and follow the buyers’ journey from not knowing your product to buying it.

Use the awareness, attraction, and sales method as your go-to-market strategy’s foundation. You can send educational mailers or emails to prospects who don’t know your product can solve their needs. Inform them about the different options and prompt them to learn more before deciding.

Then, you can send more communications, understand their unique requirements in-depth, and offer more relevant solutions. It ensures you have adequate resources to fulfill their needs at reasonable costs. Explain why your product or service is the best.

Your last sales funnel stage, BoFu, is the most critical because you have already invested time, money, and effort in these leads.

The best go-to-market strategy example is the one that has details on how to deal with leads at this stage. You must put your best offer forward based on the product value and selling frequency – to convert prospects.

Send Direct Mail

Decide your promotional channels based on where your target audience is the most active and the company’s budget. However, one marketing channel is a must-have: direct mail. It enables you to reach the decision-makers at their doorsteps and make a long-lasting impact.

You may use PostGrid’s direct mail services to send offline mailers in an automated manner. Though offline, Our platform lets you handle the planning, designing, printing, and distribution through Rest API. Thus, you save time, money, and manual effort.

Please ensure your go-to-market strategy lists all the promotional channels and highlights the marketing spend they get.

The good news is that PostGrid lets you integrate printed media with online marketing channels via integrations, facilitating the go-to-market plan’s execution.

Set KPIs (Key Performance Indicators)

The KPIs, like response rates, engagement, enquiries, and sales, determine whether your GTM strategy was successful.

Hence, set the KPIs in advance to measure performance, create reports, and translate the learnings into workable action plans.

PostGrid’s automated direct mail solutions let you get timely insights and analytics. These details can help improve upcoming campaigns and other marketing activities.

After understanding how to create a go-to-market strategy – test it to ensure it works. It lowers your chances of failing at the product launch and boosts purchases.

You can improve your strategies for better results. Here are some tips to help you:

Tap Into Your Customer Base Often

You must look for opportunities within your existing customer databases to boost sales. Your buyers already know your brand and have used the products. Hence, they are the easiest to convert whenever you launch new items.

Set up triggered direct mail campaigns with PostGrid to send them postcards and letters and keep in touch!

Shorten the Conversion Cycle

Work on shortening the prospect conversion cycle to increase the chances they purchase the item. The longer the process, the higher the lead churn rate.

Curate your go-to-market plan to handle churns and convince prospects to buy at the earliest possible.

Automate As Much As You Can

Automating the go-to-market strategies ensures you save time and effort. Your staff can work on things that need your undivided attention, like speaking to customers and improving emotional bonds.

PostGrid lets you automate physical mail to ensure you conduct marketing campaigns on autopilot or whenever needed! It is your choice.

Most reputed brands follow a GTM strategy to expand their business and accelerate sales. Here are some examples:

Owala

This bottled water manufacturer used the “Do more of what you love” motto. It differentiated its products from competitors, telling customers they could save time opening the bottle with simple packaging.

The Sip

This brand’s go-to-market strategy was to offer mini-bottle samples to let subscribers try its wine at low costs before buying entire bottles.

The plan succeeded because it prioritized the customers’ desire to taste wines before buying, making it a positive experience for both parties!

The best go-to-market plan predicts drawbacks and leverages opportunities. It guides the business about ensuring the newly launched items are a success.

Also, it helps buyers understand your brand better and trust it. This blog explores many ways to create your strategy and earn a high ROI (return on investment).

PostGrid can help you add value to this strategy by automating your print and mail tasks. It can help you create, print, and ship different printed items for marketing your products and services.

We offer many features, from address verification and list compilation to campaign analytics. Request a demo to see how PostGrid works to improve your go-to-market strategy!

1. Who creates the go-to-market strategy?
   It differs from business to business. However, a person with marketing and sales experience can help create an actionable strategy. Large corporations hire specialists to launch the plans and ensure they succeed.

2. What is the difference between sales-led and product-led go-to-market strategies?
   Sales-led strategies use B2B and other marketing forms. However, product-led plans leverage the item’s features for promotions. Mostly, their aims are similar.

3. Should I include direct mail in my go-to-market strategy?
   Yes. Direct mail is one of the best marketing channels. It helps spread brand awareness, strengthen connections, and boost sales. Hence, adding it to your go-to-market strategy increases performance. The best part is that you can automate your mailing campaigns using PostGrid’s API or software. Contact us to learn more!