Why You Need a GTM Plan for Every Single Launch

Have you ever been involved with bringing a product, solution, or new venture to market? We have—over 30 times—and it is no easy feat! In our decades as marketers, we have learned that with each launch, a step-by-step yet adaptable strategy is key to success.  

With each launch, we have learned that of course, everyone wants their product or business idea to succeed, but oftentimes in the quest to launch on time, the imperative foundational work gets missed, leaving a disconnected launch plan across Product Management, Marketing, and Sales, that misses the mark on process and outcomes. And, even the brightest ideas can fail when they're not executed effectively. According to CB Insights, ​​42% of startups identified the lack of a market need, including for their product, as the single biggest reason for their failure.   

Without proper planning, it’s impossible to know if you’re targeting the right audience, are too late to a given market, or are tapping a market that's overly saturated. So, before you run the risk of wasting time, resources, or budget, your business needs to build a thoughtful, actionable, and effective Go-to-Market (GTM) plan for every single launch—especially if viability and profitability are your goals.

All too often, the GTM plan gets labeled as unnecessary or skipped altogether because it’s not easy to navigate. Other times, the marketing team gets mobilized too late. But, if designed effectively and well enough in advance, a GTM plan can propel your company’s next launch into a stratosphere of success.

What is a GTM Plan?

In its simplest form, a GTM plan is the way in which a company brings a product to market. It’s a documented step-by-step guide that details what’s needed to complete a launch and also measures the viability of success by predicting performance using market research and competitive data. Generally, a GTM plan is a focused initiative centered around a new solution or product launch and brings three very important groups together: Product Management, Marketing, and Sales.

• Product Viewpoint:  Are we launching the product the way it was intended? Have we documented the product use case, ideal customer profile, and how we plan to deliver against their needs? 

• Marketing Viewpoint:  Have we gained alignment on the  value proposition? Do we have a full list of deliverables needed for a successful and proactive launch? Do we have a sales enablement plan in place? Have we put a full lead generation plan together that tracks the engagement with content, all the way into our CRM and pipeline?

• Sales Viewpoint: Have we equipped the sales team with what they need to be successful to deliver revenue? Have we scoped out what they need for both content including sales enablement and competitive materials? Do we know what qualifies a lead and how that will flow into the CRM and pipeline?   

This type of approach links all parties to the customer, the need, and value to the client, and helps have a longer-term plan and approach that flows into a longer term marketing strategy for the business.

Why Does a Business Need a GTM Strategy?

A new product packs enthusiasm, and its potential can seem obvious in the moment, but this excitement can also cause businesses to overlook the more hidden practicalities that have the power to extinguish even the brightest endeavor.

That’s why a comprehensive GTM strategy is imperative, because it gives you a plan and also a framework for measuring progress along the way. This includes helping you detect issues that are hampering your success before your product falls flat, such as market oversaturation.

A GTM plan also dives below the surface to help you deepen your understanding of your industry, target market, and product-market fit. During this process, your initial assumptions will also be validated or adjusted, giving you peace of mind.

The 4 Key Components of a Comprehensive GTM Strategy:

1. Do Your Research & Plan: Foundational research and planning allow you to determine whether your product is feasible and something that will interest your market enough to sustain production. It will also help you to define the problem your offering solves and the benefit it offers. With thorough research and planning, you’ll identify your target market and buyers, and uncover the demand and feasibility of your product by answering questions such as:

a. What problem does my offer solve?

b. What impact does this problem have on my target market?

c. What are the big picture struggles in the industry?

d. How does my solution help alleviate industry issues?

e. Does the technology needed to run my product exist?

2. Create a Product Roadmap: A product roadmap is the logistical outline of how you will develop your product and includes what you will deliver by when. It identifies the big efforts required to meet your overall business objectives and the timeline for implementing features and requirements that align with your strategy.

3. Develop Your Marketing Strategy: When developing your marketing strategy, you’ll create your buyer personas (i.e. who your target market is and the main types of individuals who exist in that market), outline the buyer’s journey, develop your distribution and pricing strategy, and craft your messaging. Whenever possible, back your claims with proof. Make sure to answer these questions during step three in the GTM process:

a. What are your buyer’s goals and pain points?

b. What are your competitors already doing to reach out to these buyers?

c. How tech-savvy are your buyers?

d. Will these buyers be one-time purchasers or repeat customers?

e. How often will they engage with your product?

4. Cultivate a Strong Customer Experience: Before you sell your first unit, you need to sort out sales and how prospects will actually become customers. This should also include identifying client support services and ensuring that your customers enjoy a frictionless experience so that they eventually turn into brand ambassadors. Here’s what to think through in step four:

a. Can customers sign up on their own or purchase online?

b. Will I need a sales team, and if so, what tools will they need to succeed?

c. How will I reach potential clients and manage prospects?

d. How will I enable clients to use my product at its full capacity?

e. Will I offer a customer support team?

Creating a GTM strategy when done properly, it will not disappoint. Building a GTM strategy should never be done in a vacuum and it’s critical to involve additional functional departments across your organization (i.e. Product Development, R&D, Sales, Customer Success), as well as industry insiders, potential clients, and generally anyone who can give you expert advice.

Amplify Your GTM Strategy
If you’re ready to amplify your GTM strategy, let’s talk! Sagely & Co. has helped dozens of tech startups and global corporations successfully bring products and solutions to market with impactful GTM plans.