Whenever people read about our services and how we help mission-driven businesses and entrepreneurs create clever Go-To-Market (GTM) plans, they usually ask us two things:
- What is it?
- Why should I create one?
If you are wondering why you should create a GTM plan, make sure you check out our blog post discussing exactly what it is.
Now, if you’re on the second question, we have just the answer for you:
The positive results are staggering.
Businesses and entrepreneurs who invest in a GTM plan see the results that many other business owners are aiming for from a product launch.
Don’t worry, we’re not going to stop at broad statements.
(Those are boooorrrrinnnnngggg)
What you really want to see is specific results. Results that can help you understand the “why” and apply that to your business.
So if you’re thinking about creating a GTM plan, here’s why you should do it and the results that may come from it.
A thoughtful positioning strategy for market entry and growth
One thing many business owners, service providers, and product creators miss is how exactly they introduce their product to the market.
Many come to the conclusion that their new offering should immediately make sense within their industry.
Others think that their product is going to be so good that people will go crazy over it, even if it isn’t related to their industry.
As I’m sure you’re aware:
Both of these thought processes are a bad way to approach things.
With a strong GTM plan, you’ll be able to identify not only the market you want to break into, but the specific people you want to talk to within that market.
Think about it:
If you have this amazing golf club that can help you reduce your average golf score by five strokes, but it’s only available for lefties, would you want to market this to an entire market?
(Only 5 to 7 percent of the golfing market is lefty.)
No, you’d only want to market this for lefty golfers. You’d want to learn more about these golfers and understand their pain points, so you can better empathize with them.
By having a carefully constructed GTM Plan, you’ll ensure your product and its story touches and empathizes with the right people and enter your new market with momentum.
Build a marketing process that drives awareness and new leads
At the end of the day, what’s marketing all about?
Generating new leads.
Although goals will vary from team to team — some may focus on building awareness while others are prioritizing certain conversions — the end goal is to always bring in more customers.
Without a GTM plan, you may be able to bring in customers, but you won’t necessarily be bringing in as many of the right customers.
What do we mean by the right customers?
When creating a GTM plan, you take the time to not only understand your audience as a whole but the different segments that make up your audience. Through this plan, you’ll be able to understand who these people are and speak to the specific problems they are experiencing.
As a result?
You’ll have more people coming to your business to help them solve their problems, and more leads investing in your product or services.
Grow sales and market share through effective marketing comms
Although it’s not always a necessity, the best businesses usually have sales and marketing tied together.
This helps bridge the gap between the “I’m interested” and “I’m ready to purchase” phases, and make the transition seamless.
For some businesses, they’ll make the customer feel like they are talking to the same person, and that’s always a strong goal to reach for.
When relying on a GTM plan, you’ll be able to map out exactly how your marketing and sales teams decide to work together. Not only will this help you convert more leads, but it’ll also lessen the number of times a customer “ghosts” you and your team.
Conversely, if you don’t rely on a GTM plan, it’s still very possible to merge marketing and sales, but the issues lie with consistency.
Will your salesperson have the same level of empathy and interest in your lead’s problems as you do? Or will they be going straight to the point?
Having this consistency is critical to stronger conversion rates, especially if you have a product or service that requires customers to speak with a sales rep instead of purchasing on the spot.
With a GTM plan, you can ensure that your sales and marketing team are working in sync.
Create a strategy for launching new products or services
This one was pretty obvious, right?
With a GTM plan, you’ll have a thoughtful approach to how you decide to announce and present your product or service to your audience(s).
Maybe a customer that doesn’t know your brand may see a quick ad about your product, while another, more engaged customer, may see videos on how your new product or services work.
You’ll get to control just how these people decide to see it and the context in which they see it.
And if you don’t have a GTM plan?
You’ll still be able to create ads and videos, but you’ll have a harder time identifying who you want to see your content. Additionally, you run the risk of providing content to the right customer at the wrong time, which could scare them away.
And that’s the last thing you want to do.
What Now?
If you’re ready to begin creating your Go-to-Market plan, what should you do next?
Figure out what product or service you want to promote.
(Unless you’re a new business, then you want to introduce your business as a whole.)
Identify which of your products or services — new, updated, or old — you want to showcase to your audience.
Although this may be an easy step for some, especially if you have a new product, it’s still something to think about. Timing is everything, and getting it wrong could hurt your early momentum.
And once you figure out what product or service you want?
Well, it’s time to get to work. 😉
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