A Go-to-Market Strategy (GTM) is a lot like the final mile of delivery for an online order. Think back to the last time you ordered something from Amazon. For most, that won’t take much critical thinking. It might have been this morning.

Think through the process of that order with Amazon: you found the product you wanted, added it to your cart, or instantly bought it with Amazon’s one-click checkout feature. Twenty-four hours later, your order is out for delivery. The process is frictionless and easy.

The final mile of that delivery is make or break for the experience, though. There are so many ways it can go off course. The delivery could be delayed (when). It could be dropped off at the wrong address (who). The delivery person may have left it sitting in the rain to get wet (where). The package could be damaged when it arrives (how). The wrong item could be in the box (what). There’s a long list of things that need to go right for your shopping experience to end in satisfaction. None of these have anything to do with what you ordered or who you ordered it from.

In a similar way, a GTM strategy determines the who, what, when, where, and how to make sure your product connects with the right customers and creates a presence in the marketplace.

What is a Go-To-Market Strategy?

Not unlike a business plan or marketing strategy, a go-to-market strategy is focused on getting your product to the right audience with messaging designed to convert and retain customers.

A GTM strategy is a plan for launching a new product or entering a new market. It helps define the ideal customer, what problem is being solved, creating brand positioning, and crafting messaging that resonates with customers.

There are three major objectives of a GTM strategy: create awareness of your product or service; generate the right kind of leads so that you can convert them into customers; and strengthen brand positioning.

It’s common to hear increases in market share, sales, or profit listed as the WHY behind a GTM strategy. Make no mistake, those are important for the success of a business, but those are outcomes. Chasing outcomes is a surefire way to shortchange a GTM strategy.

Creating awareness and strengthening brand positioning will lead to the results you want.

Is a Go-to-Market Strategy the same as a Marketing Plan?

A go-to-market strategy is for a specific product launch, while a marketing plan is a broader, long-term approach to achieve marketing objectives.

The GTM strategy will likely have parallels with the broader marketing strategy of a company. It’s also common that learnings from a GTM plan inform a marketing strategy.

Why a Go-To-Market Plan Matters

A go-to-market plan is all about getting your product in front of the people who need it most. That means meeting your target customer where they are. It means delivering the information they need to take action through language that is appealing and understandable for them.

Maximize resources

Money and time are precious resources in the early stages of a startup. It’s critical to make the most of both to scale your business successfully. Having a strategy and plan in place means the money you’re spending is more likely to have a positive impact. Having a clearer idea of what problem you’re solving, who your customers are, and how to connect with them increases the likelihood your marketing dollars are going to the right places.

Reduce time to market

Time to market isn’t just important for breakthrough technology. It’s crucial to capitalize on the existing market conditions that led you to create the business or product in the first place. It’s a painful reality to discover your customer has found a new way to solve their problem because you took too long getting your product to market. The sooner you have active customers, the quicker you can learn and evolve your product offering. The quicker you get to product-market-fit. Time matters.

Limit risk

It’s no secret that startups are a risky business. You already know the failure rate is high. Having a well-thought-out GTM strategy reduces the inherent risk that comes with launching a new product or service. Having a plan in place will prepare a company to manage unforeseen economic conditions and challenges.

When Should You Think About a GTM Strategy?

Launching a new product in a new market

Example: a tech startup launching its first product

Launching a new product in an existing market

Example: a pet food brand launching a line of edible chew toys for dogs.

Entering a new market with existing products

Example: a clothing retailer opening stores in a new region of the country

Key Questions to Answer for a Successful GTM Strategy

Who?

Who is your ideal customer, and what behaviors or actions make them unique?

The “Who?” directly informs the what, where, and how of the go-to-market strategy. The more you understand your ideal customers, the better you’ll be able to reach and connect with them.

A problem exists, and you have the solution. The challenge to solve is who needs that solution most.

It’s tempting to think broader is better when it comes to a target audience. The narrower the focus, the clearer the customer segment can be defined and easier it is to connect with your audience. It’s much easier to tell a story that resonates with a small audience than trying to communicate value to a wide swath of people.

Remember, this is about building awareness with ideal customers. You don’t want to waste valuable resources trying to appeal to customers that don’t need the solution you’re providing.

Even global brands like Pepsi or Nike have a focused target audience they speak to. For these larger brands, they know if they reach the right audience, the impact spreads much faster than if they cast a wider net. The same is true for startups where cash is tight, and each customer lead is invaluable.

Know your target audience

At the end of the day, the goal is to know your target audience so well you understand why they buy.

To do this, you need to dissect the problems and challenges your target audience faces. What behaviors and actions make them unique?

What are their goals and values? What attitudes are common to this group of people?

Understanding the psychographics of your ideal customer is the key to understanding how to communicate with them. Psychographics are those intangible things that drive us: personality, attitude, lifestyle, interests, etc. These characteristics paint a picture of what’s important to the target audience and where they place the most value.

Notice the emphasis on psychographics, not demographics. Key demographics like age or geography should still be known, but with the intent of leading to a better understanding of the psychographics of your target audience.

To do this, it’s important to spend time with your ideal customers. Conduct interviews, do research, get to know them. This can be done by informally talking to prospective customers. Another option is connecting with people who have worked with perceived competitors in the past. Conducting surveys is a great way to gather feedback from a larger audience. There are companies like SurveyMonkey that specialize in facilitating market research that make the process easy for resource constrained startups.

Whenever possible, avoid relying on family and friends as the key point of reference here. It’s tempting because it’s much easier to call a friend and ask their opinion. You’re not as likely to get honest, constructive insights, though. There’s no substitute for gathering direct feedback from your target audience.

What?

What product are you selling? What problem are you solving for them? What does it cost?

A key ingredient of successful products is that they address a specific problem. The solution to this problem defines your value proposition. A value proposition is how a company adds value for its customers through addressing pain points they’re experiencing.

This is what you’re selling. You’re not selling a product. You’re selling a solution.

Get clear on what aspects of your product offering set it apart from the competition. It might be an improved workflow that saves time or reduces cost. It could be a personalized experience in a sea of automation. It could be a new design that’s more effective than the prior model. Whatever it is, focus on what value those key differentiators bring to the customer.

Once you understand what value your product or service is delivering, you can begin to understand what people are willing to pay for it. This isn’t a guessing game. Validate assumptions with the target audience from the “Who?” section. Potential customers will let you know very quickly what they’re willing to pay for a solution and when the price is missing the mark.

Where?

Where are you selling your products? Where are your ideal customers positioned? What does the market look like, and what is the competitive landscape?

Taking a close look at the competition’s strengths and weaknesses helps identify product differentiation. It’s also an opportunity to see how competitors are positioning themselves and what’s working or what isn’t resonating with customers.

Align your marketing channels with your target audience to ensure effectiveness. It's crucial that the channels you choose resonate with how your target audience receives content. If you know your ideal client doesn’t engage with Facebook or Instagram, then don’t pay for social posts there.

If your ideal customers attend a certain event or conference. Be there. If your product is high value, low volume, it can be just as valuable to connect with your target audience in person as it is digitally.

You’ll want to align the marketing channels you select with where your ideal customers are in the customer journey. Search engine optimization (SEO) content is great in the early stages of the sales journey to build awareness and bring traffic to your website. It’s less about converting a sale and more about helping your ideal customers discover your product or service.

How?

How are you going to reach your target audience? How will you generate demand?

If you have a clear picture of who your ideal customer is, what value you’re delivering to them, and where they’re getting information, the “How?” becomes a lot easier.

The “How?” is more tactical than the “Who?” and “What?” in a go-to-market strategy. For many entrepreneurs, this can be a difficult step. This is all about executing and communicating the strategy. A strategy is only as good as how it’s communicated and carried out.

Start with concrete goals and objectives that are measurable. You know them as SMART goals: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time based. Setting goals with clearly defined objectives and desired results will make communicating them much easier. The easier it is to articulate goals and objectives with your team, the better they’ll be able to understand and work towards them.

It’s vital to review and assess progress towards goals on a regular basis. Without regular evaluation of progress, you won’t be able to identify when course correction is needed.. Allowing yourself to step back and assess how a plan is coming to life is a must in the life of a startup. Without that perspective it’s easy to get sucked into a reactionary mode and lose sight of strategic objectives.

Once you know what you’re working towards, define the milestones along the way. This creates identifiable check points to assess progress and creates accountability within a team. Having milestones documented makes dividing work and responsibilities much easier.

When?

The obvious answer is right now. As soon as possible. The faster, the better.

Sort of.

Timing and conditions are never going to be perfect. All the more reason to have a sound go-to-market strategy before you launch a new product or expand to a new market. Having a thoughtful strategy will ensure you have answers to the most important questions. With a plan in place, your business will be much better equipped to manage and solve unforeseen challenges as they come up.

The timing is right when you’ve met three criteria. First, you have a product that brings value to customers. Second, you’ve identified who the ideal customer is and lastly you’ve identified how to effectively reach them.

Waiting to add one more feature to your product or yet another round of iteration on your website is not worth the wait. There is no single feature you can add to your product that is going to be the magic potion to generate demand.

The product either provides value or it doesn’t. If it doesn’t, then stop right there. No need to go forward. If it does add value, though, get it in the hands of your customers. The sooner you start adding value for your customers, the better.

If you’ve answered the 5 W’s and How of your go-to-market strategy, the time is now. Don’t delay in search of perfection.