GTM (Go-To-Market) Strategy Template
Launching a new product can be incredibly profitable, but only when it’s done right. According to a 2022 Harvard Business Review survey, 85% of executives said an effective go-to-market strategy is important to their organization’s success. However, only 29% of respondents said their teams execute effective product launch plans. This gap highlights the need for a well-thought-out go-to-market strategy. Companies with a well-thought-out go-to-market strategy are more likely to succeed with their new product launches. Read on to learn about the benefits of this strategy and how to prepare for a product launch.
What is a go-to-market (GTM) strategy?
A go-to-market (GTM) strategy is a comprehensive plan that a company uses to launch a new product or service to market or to introduce an existing product to a new market. A GTM strategy helps increase the likelihood of a product’s success. It can also predict the performance of a product based on market research, past performance, and competitive data. A GTM plan details the company’s strategy for reaching and converting its target customers to sell its products. Launching a product is risky because new products are not always successful. However, a GTM strategy that is prepared from start to finish can identify and mitigate many of the risks of failure, increasing the likelihood of a successful launch.
When do you need a go-to-market (GTM) strategy?
A go-to-market (GTM) strategy isn’t just for startups launching their first product. Almost any type of launch can benefit from a GTM strategy. Here are some situations where a GTM strategy might be needed:
When launching a new product
Every time you launch a new product, you need to have a new GTM strategy for that product. For example, Dieux Skin ’s moisturizer, Instant Angel, targets the same market, the direct-to-consumer (DTC) skincare market, but unlike other products, it solves a new problem: dry skin.
When introducing a product to a new market
Even if you already have a product, you need to have a GTM strategy whenever you expand into a new market. For example, when perfectwhitetee co-founders Jen Menchaca and Lisa Hickey decided to expand their existing clothing line from wholesale-only to DTC, they had to develop a new digital marketing strategy. “You can’t just take your existing product line and wholesale strategy and put it online and expect it to work,” Jen says on the Shopify Masters podcast.
When you want to expand sales of your product within an existing market
If you’re planning a big push for growth, a GTM strategy can help you identify the risks involved and what changes you need to make to scale. For example, ceramic makers Jono Pandolfi and his brother Nick were already operating an online store before the COVID-19 pandemic. The disruption of in-person dining forced them to significantly expand the direct-to-consumer (DTC) side of their tableware business, Jono Pandolfi Designs. While their products and markets remained the same, many other aspects changed as they expanded their ecommerce business. They had to completely revamp their packaging, hire new employees, establish new company values, and implement new customer service systems. If the team hadn’t approached growth strategically, they would have struggled to meet increased demand.
Go-to-market(GTM) strategy template
There are many components to developing a GTM strategy. Our Go-to-market strategy template will help you organize all the elements. This template will guide you through all the steps needed to develop a GTM strategy, from determining product-market fit to selecting sales and distribution channels.
How to Create a Go-to-Market (GTM) Strategy
- Identifying Product-Market Fit
- Understanding Your Customers
- Research competitors and market demand
- Developing a Unique Value Proposition
- Defining your pricing strategy
- Developing a promotional strategy
- Selecting Sales and Distribution Channels
- Setting Performance Metrics and Goals
- Monitor performance and collect feedback
While each GTM strategy will vary depending on your market, target audience, product, and business goals, the steps above provide general guidelines that can help businesses of all sizes.
1. Identifying Product-Market Fit
A product must solve a specific problem or pain point for the target consumer. The alignment between the product, the problem, and the value proposition is called product-market fit, which is a signal of how well the product meets the market demand. The first step in a GTM strategy is to deeply research and understand how the product can solve the customer's problem.
2. Understanding Your Customers
After identifying the problem, you need to determine who are the people most likely to buy your product (your target market) and why they would choose it over a competitor’s product. Identifying your target market requires in-depth market research to understand the buyer’s journey and identify specific consumer attributes. Segmenting by demographics, psychographics, interests, values, and consumer habits will help you create ideal customer profiles (ICPs) that will influence your messaging and promotions.
3. Research competitors and market demand
Analyze the market environment in which you are launching or expanding your product. The goal is to understand how your product will fit in with your competitors and where you can gain an advantage over them. This includes studying how your competitors position themselves, what their value is, how they present the benefits of their product, and how they price their product. It is also a good time to identify gaps in the competitive landscape and discover opportunities to fill them with your own message and product offering.
4. Developing a Unique Value Proposition (UVP)
A Unique Value Proposition (UVP) is a clear statement of the core benefits your product offers to your target audience and the problems it solves. Creating it requires a deep understanding of your target consumer, your market, and your competitive landscape. Your UVP should be written, rewritten, and refined many times until it clearly states your product’s core value. It will ultimately be the foundation for all your product’s messaging, marketing, and sales efforts.
5. Define price
Pricing strategy aims to find the sweet spot between what consumers are willing to pay for a product and what a company can actually sell. If a product is too expensive, there is a risk that it will not sell enough to make a profit. On the other hand, if it is too cheap, there is a high chance that it will not generate enough revenue to justify launching the product.
6. Developing a promotional strategy
At this point, the company can focus on developing a promotional strategy for the new product or service. This typically includes a marketing plan that includes goals and objectives, cost estimates, key performance indicators (KPIs), a promotional schedule, and campaign messages. When developing a promotional plan, the company should consider the best sales and marketing channels to reach target customers and ready-to-buy consumers, how to communicate the UVP, and how to market to existing and potential customers.
7. Selecting Sales and Distribution Channels
The next step is to determine where customers can buy your product (sales channels) and how your company plans to deliver it (distribution channels). Sales channels include strategies for your ecommerce website, social media commerce, brick-and-mortar stores, and other points of sale. Distribution models can include brick-and-mortar stores, wholesale networks, marketplaces, or direct-to-consumer delivery. Each channel has its own unique logistics, including how consumers complete their purchases (purchase journey) and how the product is delivered. You also need to consider the costs and schedules associated with shipping, as well as third-party or internal stakeholders (such as your sales team). At each decision point, you need to consider costs, business goals, and consumer expectations.
8. Setting Performance Metrics and Goals
Goals determine the success of your GTM strategy. Common metrics for GTM campaigns include total sales, time to market, cost of customer acquisition (CAC), and length of the sales cycle. These metrics help determine the next steps for your company after launch, which may include how to improve your marketing efforts and future launch strategies.
9. Monitor performance and collect feedback
After launching a product, continuously monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the success of your GTM strategy. Additionally, companies should actively collect feedback from internal stakeholders and customers to identify ways to improve their GTM plans.
Benefits of a Go-to-Market Strategy
- Aligning product strategy with business mission
- Clear definition of target market
- Reduce time to market
- Early defect identification
Aligning product strategy with business mission
As part of a GTM strategy, companies aim to align new products with the core mission and strategic goals of their business. This process determines whether the product or service is consistent with other offerings and ensures that the brand maintains a consistent identity.
Clear definition of target market
A GTM strategy requires a company to understand its target market and how its products fit into the lives of its consumers. This gives the company a unique position in that market and provides useful information to improve broader marketing, sales, and customer service initiatives.
Reduce time to market
A go-to-market strategy clarifies the process, schedule, and key milestones required to successfully launch a product. This allows your team to focus on clearly defined goals, reducing the time it takes for a product to go from concept to launch.
Early defect identification
A well-designed GTM strategy aims to reduce the possibility of failure. As the strategy unfolds, the company can identify and take action on potential flaws in its products and strategies. This saves time and money and allows for a more viable path forward.
Go-to-Market Strategy Tips
Putting the customer first
GTM strategy should focus on the consumers who will buy the product. The success of the go-to-market plan depends on how well the company understands the needs, motivations, fears, doubts, and barriers to purchase of the target customer. Understanding these factors gives the product, message, sales, marketing, and distribution strategies the best chance of meeting the needs of the buyer.
Collect buyer feedback
Market research provides insight into your consumers. Actively collect feedback from your potential customers. Ask them what they like about your product, where they bought it, how you can improve it, etc. Focus groups, buyer surveys, and online reviews can help you gain a deeper understanding of your buyers’ motivations.
Test everything often
The goal of a GTM strategy is to maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of a product launch. This is often an iterative process involving individual tactics that are refined over time.
Companies should continually test different strategies for product design and quality, messaging and value propositions, marketing and sales strategies, pricing and discounts. Test, learn what works, and refine it.
Go-to-Market Strategy FAQs
When should you use a go-to-market strategy?
A company should use a go-to-market strategy when launching a new product in an existing market, introducing an existing product to a new market, or testing growth options for a product in its current market.
What are the elements of a go-to-market strategy?
The core elements of a go-to-market strategy start with establishing the target consumer and value proposition. Next, the company must explore the market and develop a messaging strategy (including sales, marketing, and distribution plans). Finally, based on input from the competitive landscape within the target market, the company can determine the pricing strategy for the product.
What is the difference between a go-to-market strategy and a marketing strategy?
The difference between a go-to-market strategy and a marketing strategy is that a go-to-market plan focuses on getting a new product to market within a certain time frame, while a marketing plan is aimed at continually increasing brand awareness and revenue for the entire business. A marketing strategy encompasses a much broader range of activities and goals.