Your business firm just finalized a product, and it’s ready to be marketed and sold. Or is it? You might have the most perfect product or service in the world, but without an excellent go-to-market strategy, it might flop and fail entirely.
What is Go-To-Market Strategy?
Go-To-Market Strategy is different from strategic marketing in that it is much more specific than an overall marketing plan for your business. In the article “How to Develop a Winning Go-To-Market Strategy For Your Firm,” Hinge Marketing defines a go-to-market strategy (or GTM strategy) as “focused specifically on delivering a product or service to an end customer.” The purpose of a GTM strategy is to put a particular product or service, aimed at a specific customer base, out into the market successfully.
Here are four ways to build a successful go-to-market strategy for your new product or service.
- Find Your Targets
It might be tempting to focus on the product and work backward, but don’t do it! Before you do anything else, you need to determine who you want to be interested in your product or service.
- What is your target market? You can’t develop an effective strategy without knowing precisely who you are selling to. You need to identify the market and then figure out the details. Is there a client base already in existence, and if so, who is in it? Where is the market located geographically, if applicable? You need to find out the size of the market, whether it’s growing, and how it is influencing, or being influenced, by other markets. All of this information will help with the other steps on this list.
- Who is your target client? Your research on the existing market will help answer this. You can’t direct your strategy at all of the clients in the market; you need to pick the target client who fits your business’s skills and talents best. Which segment of clients is your business best at reaching? Focus on that one.
Closely tied to choosing your targets is another important step: research.
- Do Your Research
There are two main branches of research that you’ll need to spend some time on if you haven’t already. The more work you do here, the easier all of the other steps will be.
- Secondary Research is finding all of the information that already exists on your target market and your target client. Fortunately, if you followed step one, you may have already done this research. If not, fill in the gaps on what the market is, where your target client is, and what your target client is most likely to want or need from the service or product you will be offering.
- Brand research is learning all you can about your own business and your competitor’s and compiling it for reference. This knowledge will help you strategize how you can succeed in areas where your competitors are strong, and expand into areas where your competitors aren’t as active. Look for needs that the current market isn’t meeting; for example, affordability or extra features. Stay alert for areas that could be expanded or given a new twist.
Brand research goes hand-in-hand with the next step, which is figuring out how your brand fits into the overall market.
- Locate Your Brand
If you haven’t already, you need to decide what sets your brand apart from similar or related brands in the market.
Is your product the low-cost alternative? If so, you will market it as such rather than touting it as a luxury item. Is it more sustainable and “green” than its competitors? Make sure to focus on that in your marketing so that you can grab that target client. Is it innovative, does it last longer, or does it come with some special perk that makes it stand out high above the rest?
Whatever is unique about your brand is what you need to highlight and focus on in your go-to-market strategy. Showcasing your uniqueness will help your specific target client find you and your business.
Once you have that part figured out, you can narrow in on exactly what you are offering to your brand’s market.
- Determine Your Service Offering
Make sure your service offering matches your brand and target client. Sounds basic, right? If you’ve followed the previous steps, you are now fully informed on your brand and your target client.
Now, look at the product or service that you are offering. Does it fit the client’s needs? Will it be available to them geographically? Will they be able to find it? Does it include all the features they are likely to want? All your answers should be “yes,” and if they aren’t, figure out how to change or tweak the service offering. When you have your service offering entirely nailed down, then you are ready for the strategizing component.
Build Your Go-To-Market Strategy
Once you’ve followed these four steps, then you are ready to develop your go-to-market strategy. To do this, you need to become proficient at speaking your clients’ language and putting yourself in their shoes. You need to position your firm and your service offering where your target client is. Use keywords that your target client is likely to type into a search engine. Put ads or articles in publications your target client will read. Set up displays at conferences or events your target client will attend. Focus all of your marketing in the areas you know your target client will show up.
As you can see, it takes hard work to build a go-to-market strategy that will yield the best results for your company. If you need help building your own strategy, contact our marketing experts at Connie Kroskin Consulting. We offer a variety of solid marketing plans, which include a go-to-market strategy if needed. You can check out my blog for marketing tips and tricks, and read testimonials to see how we have helped other businesses. Contact Connie Kroskin Consulting today for your complimentary 30-minute strategy session.