What you need to know about developing a go-to-market strategy
Recently, we discussed the points you should consider when crafting your startup marketing strategy. From interrogating the market so you can get to know your audience to developing a clear roadmap and defining your success metrics, developing a go-to-market strategy is a process that takes time and consideration.
In short, a go-to-market strategy (often abbreviated to GTM strategy) is something a company deploys to bring a new product or service to market as efficiently and effectively as possible. It’s about assessing the current market, the audiences within that market and, from that, defining a sales and marketing strategy to create a defined, detailed roadmap to launch and beyond. That GTM strategy could span everything from email marketing to search engines, to identifying pain points with your target audience.
But, as well as knowing what to do it’s important to know what not to do. With that in mind, we wanted to highlight and debunk five myths we hear a lot in the work we do with our startup clients.
Myth 1: A product needs to be finished before you start your go-to-market strategy
No matter what your product or service is, it’s only one part of your business. There’s no doubt the product will dictate the intricacies of your go-to-market strategy, but that doesn’t mean you can’t start mapping out long and short-term goals and defining your metrics of success around that product. Build your go-to-market strategy alongside your product, not separate or as a result of it.
Myth 2: If a product is good, it will sell itself
Unfortunately, in today’s media landscape, you might have the best product in the world but if people don’t know about it, they won’t buy into it. There is truth in the notion that, when enough people know about it, it will sell itself, but you need to light the fire first and get the conversation going. This comes down to seriously analyzing the state of the market, thinking where you fit within it, and figuring out where you can build a loyal and engaged community.
Myth 3: Being agile is more important than having a strategy in place
You often hear of startup success stories being underpinned by agility and a flexibility to pivot when under pressure. While that’s true, and is something we support, there still needs to be a strategy to direct that pivot.
Why is now the time to take a different direction, and what was it about the original strategy or A/B testing period that prompted this shift? Being agile doesn’t mean abandoning strategy. If anything, it’s the opposite.
Myth 4: Your startup needs to be active on every social media platform
When crafting your go-to-market, it’s easy to fall into the trap of wanting to be active everywhere at all times. While the prospect sounds inviting, it’s one that costly, financially and in terms of time.
By understanding every step a potential buyer takes to purchase, you’ll be able to determine not just where you need to be active, but how you should be engaging with and nurturing different communities there. It’s rare a brand will need to be active on both TikTok and LinkedIn, for example.
Myth 5: You have to strategize internally
It’s OK to ask for help. We’ve outlined when it’s time to bring a fractional CMO on board. Your brand might be on the brink of change or wrestling with the prospect of setting up a go-to-market strategy with a tight budget on a tight deadline.
Whatever the reason, you don’t have to go it alone. Fractional CMOs offer value fast, and introduce leadership without the long-term commitment.
At 5&Vine, we’re experts at helping Challenger Brands win. By helping brands identify the vulnerability of the incumbent in their industry, we’ve crafted go-to-market strategies that have propelled Challenger brands across all sectors to new heights.
Get in touch with us here to see how we can bring the same success to you.
