The B2B sales cycle can be a long game. It tends to be less about sales and more about the relationships forged between buyers and suppliers during the lengthy buying journey.
As business leaders continue to battle economic uncertainty, tightening up the sales cycle to attract more buyers without sacrificing relationships can be key.
Refining your purchase path can begin with the right go-to-market (GTM) strategy.
What Defines a Go-to-Market Strategy?
A go-to-market (GTM) strategy can act as a roadmap that leads your company in the right direction, explains Neri Karra Sillaman, strategy business consultant and professor of practice at the University of Oxford.
It’s a comprehensive plan, encompassing everything from target markets to distribution channels, designed to capture buyers’ attention and drive sales.
GTM strategies can be relevant when you plan to:
- Launch a new product or service
- Enter a new market or region
- Respond to a significant change in the market (a new competitor or regulation, for example)
- Move a product or your company in a new direction
8 Steps to a Go-to-Market Strategy that Works
As you work on your plan, these steps can help you put together a successful GTM strategy.
1. Know Your Audience
A GTM strategy can start with a clear understanding of your target market.
Charlie Wright, operations director for Epos Now, a cloud-based software provider for electronic point-of-sale systems and integrated payment solutions, says defining your audience means conducting in-depth market research.
“It’s necessary to pinpoint the demands, problems, and preferences of customers,” he says. “This information serves as the basis for everything you do next. Define your buyer personas, understand their journey, and align your efforts accordingly.”
2. Segment Your Markets and Map the Buying Journey
Once you know your audience, you can identify and prioritize potential market segments based on size, growth potential, and fit.
From there, you can map the buying journey to visualize when, where, and how a buyer might interact with your brand from their point of view.
3. Create a Value Proposition
Buyers need to know what they get by choosing you, so your value proposition should define what sets your product or service apart.
Paul McIntosh, CEO and founder of Bridgehead Agency, a GTM agency that helps brands start up and scale up, says a compelling value proposition can go beyond a tagline or slogan.
“It stands as the solution to your customer’s pain points,” he says.
A value proposition that resonates can include:
- How your product or service solves your customer’s problem
- The benefits of your product or service
- Messages that ring true with your target audience
- What sets your product apart from competitors
4. Define Distribution Channels
How will you get your product or service to the buyer in an efficient, cost-effective way? You can determine the best ways to reach your audience: direct sales, partners, online platforms, or a combination. You can aim to keep it simple for them to access whatever channel(s) you choose.
5. Establish Pricing and Positioning
To build trust, it can help to be transparent about costs. You can also consider how pricing will be perceived relative to competitors.
“During times of economic instability, accentuate the enduring value and return on investment that your solutions can bring,” says Nikita Sherbina, cofounder and CEO at AIScreen, a digital signage software provider. “For example, you could consider offering flexible pricing models or extended trial periods to underscore the feasibility of their investment.”
6. Create a Sales & Marketing Plan
As you design campaigns to generate, nurture, and convert leads, you can prioritize education and providing value – not just selling.
Webinars, whitepapers, success stories, and case studies can be instrumental. You can go beyond showcasing your product, empowering your buyer with information to help them address pain points and do their jobs effectively. This can also help position you as a trusted advisor.
7. Set Up Support & Service
You can develop post-sale processes to support and retain buyers. The service you provide after the sale can be just as important as the products or services you provide. You can have processes in place to answer questions, respond to feedback, assist with troubleshooting, and remedy problems.
8. Listen and Learn
Buyers can play a crucial role in your GTM strategy, even if they aren’t directly involved in its creation.
Monitoring and analyzing social media content pertinent to your company, brand, or product can inform your decisions. Michal Sadowski, founder and CEO of Brand24, a social listening tool, says it can help to create an iterative feedback loop.
“It’s essential to understand the evolving needs of your buyers and adapt accordingly," he says. "Continuously seek feedback and be ready to pivot your strategy based on what they tell you.”
The Mark of a Successful GTM Strategy
How do you know if you got it right? Christina Wallace, senior lecturer in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit at Harvard Business School, says these five questions can be key:
- Who is your customer? Your plan can consider their demographics, pain points, and motivations.
- What problem are you solving for customers? You can consider how buyers want to overcome challenges.
- What is your customer’s process for learning about solutions? It can be vital to determine when and how to insert your product or company into their buying journey.
- How and where do your customers learn, and how do they buy? There can be multiple ways for buyers to research and purchase.
- Are your customers buying – or are you selling? GTM strategies can emphasize marketing (awareness and lead generation) or sales (persuasion). Knowing which approach you’ll take can determine which “levers” to pull (investments in paid or earned media vs. investments in outside sales, for example).
How Go-to-Market Strategies Make a Difference in the Buying Cycle
When a leading European luxury hotelier group struggled to penetrate a new geographic market, business consultant Karra Sillaman says refining its GTM strategy – localizing software, partnering with local influencers, and adapting pricing models – was key to growing the customer base by 300% in targeted regions.
Amid a challenging economic downturn, Faik Onur Kutlubay, founder and CEO of YouParcel, global provider of fulfillment and shipping services, revamped the company’s website to include detailed case studies, ROI calculators, and expert webinars. The result was a product launch backed by GTM tactics that resulted in a booming market entry and increased client confidence.
“A well-crafted strategy can be a guiding light in an uncertain environment," he says.
The Takeaway
Finetuning your own approach can be an ongoing endeavor, says Sadowski.
“Creating your go-to-market strategy isn’t a one-off thing,” says Sadowski. “It’s a continuous process of understanding the market, the buyers, and adapting to their changing needs. Revisit and refine the strategy regularly. Market dynamics change, and so should you.”
