At Noel & Co., one of the things we do is help businesses bring new products or services to market or take existing products or services to new markets in a clever, thoughtful, and sustainable way.
But when we start working with a client, one of the first things they ask us is:
“Why should I create a Go-to-Market (GTM) plan?”
For many businesses, “going to market” means announcing new products or services on social media and to their email list. Or maybe they’ll even invest in a press release service to relevant markets to announce their news to the media.
Although all of these tactics are relevant and stuff you should do when going to market, before you dive into executing marketing tactics, we recommend you first take a step back and create a GTM plan first.
A GTM plan is an exercise to ensure you are taking a look at the “big picture.”
In fact, developing a GTM Plan can be the difference between talking to any person versus talking to the right person.
In addition to making sure you’re speaking to your ideal customers, here are the top four benefits your business can see when you create and invest in a strong go-to-market plan:
Save Time
This is a big one.
If you aren’t aware of what your market looks like, including:
- Competitors (products, services, and businesses)
- Customers (ideal and non-ideal)
- Trends
- Industry News
You’re going to spend a lot of time guessing and trying different strategies that you aren’t sure will work.
Not only is that a lot of potential money wasted on ineffective marketing, but that’s also a lot of time. And during that time, your competitors could be getting discovered by the very customers you’re trying to attract!
With a strong Go-To-Market (GTM) plan, you are able to implement, organize, execute, and adjust your marketing strategy with intention and purpose.
More importantly, you get more time to focus on things that actually matter and bring ROI to your business.
As they say:
Time is money.
Know The Market
This is invaluable.
When it comes to a GTM strategy, knowing your market is one of the biggest benefits that come out of the creation process.
You won’t get this knowledge from simple Google searches and forum discussions. Instead, the best way to get this information is “straight from the horse’s mouth.”
During your planning, you’ll chat with actual people within your audience. From interested prospects and current clients to people who turned down your offerings, you get an opportunity to chat with these people one-on-one to understand the thought process behind their decision-making.
This is powerful information and can be the catalyst for every marketing decision you make.
From the personas you develop (more on those later) to features and benefits you showcase, you’ll understand how to talk to your market in a manner they can relate to.
And you know where that can lead you. ?
Team Alignment
Did you know that developing a GTM plan can create alignment across your company?
When following a GTM plan, your entire team understands exactly how you want to position your product and business. Whether you’re working on organic growth or relying on paid media, all of your marketing collateral will be working towards the same goal and under the same “why.”
The impact of this strategy also helps with the voice, tone, and persona of your business, and that’s where people outside of your marketing team can be impacted.
By understanding how you want your business, product, or service to be positioned, it sets the standard for how other people within your business will talk about it.
A great example would be with your sales team.
Let’s say you offer a coaching service that’s built on personal development. Like most businesses, you have a marketing team to help attract and engage potential leads and a sales team to help close the deal.
You’ve already established your GTM plan and have spent the last few weeks positioning your business as understanding, empathetic, and warm through thoughtful blog posting, clever social engagement, and personable video content.
If your sales team understands your voice, tone, and personality established within your GTM plan, they’re better able to capture that same feeling during the sales process.
This helps create trust, consistency, and authenticity around your brand, which is extremely beneficial for sales when they are trying to close.
Achieve an ROI
Well, this is a pretty obvious one, right?
When you invest in a solid GTM plan, you’re investing in your bottom line.
Shoppers and customers these days don’t simply look for the best product (although that’s incredibly important), but for many, they also look at the business providing the product.
Do I relate to this business?
Do they speak to my needs?
Are their values similar to mine?
These questions often run through the minds of shoppers and customers when they are looking to buy a product or invest in your service.
By developing a GTM plan, you’ll be able to speak directly to those customers and answer their “qualifying questions” with personability and empathy.
And as a result?
More customers want to invest in your product and service and come back to it when the need arises.
Short and long-term ROI is achieved, increasing your bottom line.
Not sure how to start a GTM plan?
Don’t worry. We got some options for you.
If you’re looking for short-term options and advice, make sure you keep an eye out on our blog. We post helpful content around GTM strategies and approaches that can help you properly position your business, product, and service for success.
Also, click here to download our free digital Go-to-Market Roadmap.
If you’re looking to fast-track your business to success, reach out to our team!
We’ll help you understand the “why” of your market and properly understand your audience, so you can speak to them in a way that not only achieves stronger ROI, but offer the empathy and personality that can generate customer loyalty.
With years of experience under our belts, Noel & Co. can help set your business up for success and ensure you’re set up for marketing success now and in the future.