What are the steps involved to create a successful go-to-market plan?

There are 3 core areas that I ensure I have a solid understanding of before I build my GTM plan (it’s the same for when I have to build messaging & positioning): Market trends & Competitive landscape: Understand what’s happening in the market we’re looking to play in and the customer problems or market gaps we are looking to solve. What similar offerings exist and how does our offering differentiate? Target buyer(s) & their pain points: Get a clear understanding of who my target buye ...Read More

Great question - you'll see the answer is some of the my other answers. I'll add a few other steps here: First, be intentional about the core working group. Go-to-market can be vast, so it's important that you have key functions (sales, customer success, marketing, revenue operations, and more) represented.  Second, align the team on the stage of the business. Sangram Varje and Bryan Brown recently published MOVE: The 4 Question Go-To-Market Framework which offers a maturity assessment of where ...Read More

Define your why: Why does this feature/product matter? (value) What use cases does it solve for? (messaging)  How does it compare to the "old way" of doing things? (solution statement) How does it compare to the competition? (competitive differentiator) What does good look like for launch? (KPIs) Define your audience: What personas will benefit from this feature? (audience targeting)  What market segment/industry is it for? (ideal customer profile)  How can my target audience get started? (activ ...Read More

As part of our GTM launch framework & process roll out, we created a GTM strategy & execution plan templates that correspond with different market launch & customer impact tiers. If you nail the GTM strategy, the plan will fall into place if you have the foundational framework. Here are some of the things that make up a highly effective GTM strategy & plan. You can pretty much tackle each of these in order, starting with aligning on the process goals & timeline, then working ...Read More

Communicate -> Plan -> Communicate -> Execute -> Communicate... No kidding, the 'communicate' step is the most important of them all! I have seen too many GTM plans flail and struggle to be executed due to poor communication and not involving the right stakeholders early enough. So let's take it from the beginning: Setup goals: what is the desired outcome? i.e., generate leads? enter a new market? drive signups to a new product? increase the number of upgrades? reduce churn? Get it d ...Read More

There is no one-size-fits-all GTM strategy; it will vary significantly depending on the specific product, target audience, market conditions, and other factors unique to each business. However, there are some general considerations I can share to help you structure your strategy. Every strategy should have three main phases: Pre-launch, Launch, and Post-launch. Pre-Launch Phase: External Analysis: Understand your market (target audience), competitors, industry, government policies (if applicable ...Read More

Every Go-to-Market plan differs slightly, but typically includes these steps: Consider your customer: Understand who makes purchasing decisions and why. A buying center often incorporates multiple people, including the initiator, user, influencer, decision maker, buyer, and approver. Understand your customer's journey: Recognize the stages a customer goes through when considering your product. These stages are awareness, consideration, and decision. Create content for each stage that captures at ...Read More

Although I currently work for a large corporation, I have spent most of my career at small to medium-sized startups. I'll primarily draw from my startup experience to answer this, while also noting some differences I've observed during my time at Amazon. These high-level points reflect the key elements I've included in the GTM plans I've developed at various startups. Market Research and Analysis: Understand your market, customer, and competition. What is your Value Proposition: Understand your ...Read More