How to Have a Winning Go-to-Market Plan (Part 2)

In our blog post "How to Have a Winning Go-to-Market Plan (Part 1), " we delved into the process of developing a Go-to-Market (GTM) plan that aligns with your target audience's needs and secures a foothold in the market landscape. In that segment of our discussion series, we emphasized the importance of understanding the industry and competitive environment. We introduced the Prevail Marketing Discover and Assessment Process, which forms the framework for gathering and analyzing this information.

Let's keep exploring the components of the plan to create a roadmap that effectively aligns marketing strategies with the company's objectives and target market segments. By developing and evaluating a Go-to-Market (GTM) strategy, following industry practices will help businesses reduce risks, improve resource management, and improve customer interaction

This methodical strategy aids in pinpointing market sectors and facilitates positioning and communication efforts. It also streamlines collaboration among various departments for harmonized sales and marketing initiatives alongside product team alignment. Allocating resources and effort toward a Go-to-Market plan can enhance market reach, boost earnings, and ensure viability in a constantly shifting market environment.

Develop Compelling Value Propositions

Now that you've gathered an understanding of the market you're looking to enter, it's time to start figuring out how to introduce your product or service to the market scene. The next thing in line is crafting your value proposition. This message conveys the advantages of your product or service to its target audience. It should address the query, "What sets your offering apart from competitors?" Here are a few pointers for creating value propositions;

• Uniqueness: Emphasize what makes your product or service stand out, whether it's attributes or features that make it different from the rest, like high-quality materials, cutting-edge technology, and outstanding customer support.

• Benefits over Features: It is important to remember that most people don't care about your product's features; they care about the benefits it will deliver.

• Relevance: Ensure that your value proposition aligns with what your target market requires and the issues they face. Showcase how your product or service addresses their problems or enhances their quality of life.

• Quantifiable Benefits: Whenever feasible, value your product or service's advantages. For example, " Reduce energy expenses by as much as 20 % with our cutting-edge solution."

• Emotional Appeal: Tap into your target market's emotional needs. Similar to selling the benefits argument, connect with the needs of your target audience when crafting your value proposition by highlighting how your product enhances their lives with convenience and security while adding enjoyment to their experiences. Your value proposition could emphasize how your product makes customers' lives easier, more secure, or more enjoyable.

• Keep it Simple: Make sure to keep things clear of using words or complex language when explaining your value proposition; it should be straightforward and easy to grasp right away. Avoid using jargon or complicated language.

• How it Address Pain Points and Concerns: If your product or solution does not address the pain points, concerns, or interests of your target audience, then you will have great difficulty gaining traction in the marketplace.

Define Your Pricing and Packaging Strategy

Your pricing and packaging plan will be vital in determining the success of your launch. It would be best if you matched the value you offer as well as consider your competitors and the spending capacity of your target audience. Here are some important factors to think about;

• Value-Based Pricing: Establishing value-based pricing involves determining the prices of your products or services based on how customers perceive them in terms of their worth and usefulness. This process takes into account the specific benefits and features that resonate most with your target audience and adjusts the pricing strategy accordingly.

• Competition and Market Pricing: Studying the prices set by competitors is essential to grasping the market rates for products or services similar to yours; this knowledge allows you to tailor your pricing strategy to stay competitive while emphasizing your value proposition.

• Pricing Models: Explore pricing models, such as one-time payments, subscriptions, usage-based pricing, or freemium models. The suitable model will depend on your industry, target market, and the nature of your offering.

  • Tip: Reoccurring pricing models are often the best choice as they allow for a steady revenue stream.

• Bundling and Packaging: Consider bundling and packaging your product or service to enhance its appeal to customers and create value-added benefits for them when making a purchase decision. it's worth exploring options such as offering different levels of service or pricing plans with unique features tailored to meet their specific needs and preferences.

• Pricing Flexibility: Incorporate flexibility into your pricing plan to effectively cater to negotiations with enterprise or worth clients; consider providing time-limited discounts or special deals to evoke a feeling of immediacy.

Determine Your Distribution Channels

Your distribution channels are the pathways through which your product or service will reach the target market. This could include online and offline channels, direct and indirect sales, partnerships, and resellers. Here's how to determine the proper distribution approach:

• Online v. Offline: Assess whether your target market is more likely to purchase your product or service online or offline. For example, an online distribution strategy may be more effective if you're targeting tech-savvy millennials.

  • Tip: We strongly advocate that digital and traditional marketing must be part of EVERY marketing plan. The Prevail Discovery and Assessment process will identify the proper online and offline engagement mix. The EXACT places your targeted buyer personas go for information, education, entertainment, and third-party verification.

• Direct vs. Indirect Sales: Direct sales involve selling directly to the end customer, while indirect sales rely on intermediaries such as distributors, resellers, or agents. Consider the resources and expertise available to determine the right approach.

  • Tip: One of the best ways to bring a new product or service to market is to leverage the time, energy, reach, and relationships of third parties. This allows you to take advantage of the trust that another party has already built with their community. For an understanding of how to accomplish this, here is a previous blog, Leverage Your Way to Success.

• Partnerships: Identify potential partners who can help extend your reach. This could include strategic alliances, co-marketing agreements, or referral partnerships. Partners can help you access new markets, leverage their customer base, and amplify your message.

  • Tips: Partnerships are another effective way of leveraging success in a go-to-market strategy. We have often partnered with influential industry publications or associations to increase interest in our client's new product or solution. One technique we have used quite effectively is co-branded emails. These are emails created by you but sent out by the partner under their domain email. The open rates are high because it is a trusted source, and the trust the partner has built is transferred to our client. The best practices for this type of marketing can be found in our blogs "Co-branded Emails - The Strategy You Need to Try" and "Co-branded Emails - Guaranteed Results."

• Omni-Channel Approach: Today's customers expect a seamless experience across multiple channels. Adopt an omni-channel distribution strategy that integrates online and offline channels, providing a consistent and connected experience.

  • Tip: Your prospect needs to have 15 or more touchpoints with your brand before they start to develop trust and consider purchasing your product or service. While the Prevail Discovery and Assessment Process will show you the best channels, here is a blog that begins to set forth some of your options, "Introducing the New and Improved Inbound Marketing."

• Influencers: Using influencers to help create awareness and market your product or service has become an increasingly cost-effective marketing approach.

  • Tip: To understand the importance of using influencers and how best to implement a program, we recommend reading our comprehensive ebook," The Almost Definitive Guide to Influencer Marketing."

• International Expansion: To expand globally, factor this into your distribution strategy. Consider each target market's unique cultural, legal, and logistical challenges and adapt your approach accordingly.

Build a Comprehensive Marketing and Promotional Plan

Your marketing and promotional plan will raise awareness, generate interest, and drive adoption of your product or service. Here are the key elements to include:

• Messaging and Positioning: Develop clear and consistent messaging that articulates your value proposition and differentiates your brand. Ensure all communication materials are aligned with this messaging framework.

  • Tip: To ensure your brand messaging remains consistent and what the targeted personas need to see and comport to your vision of the brand, we recommend you develop both brand and voice guidelines. This will keep everyone aligned. A few articles will help you establish these guidelines: "The Importance of Doing Branding Right" and "Developing Brand Guidelines."

• Content Marketing: Create a content plan that educates, informs, and engages your target audience. This could include blog articles, videos, infographics, webinars, and social media content. Focus on providing value rather than a hard sell.

  • Tip: Every piece of content must be created to address the pain points, interests, and concerns of a targeted buyer persona at a particular stage in the buyer's journey. When you create that content, you should be able to state who it is for, what issue it is addressing, and how you anticipate the persona's reaction. The process for doing this can be found in the following blogs:

    "Discover How to Create Great Content," and "Content Marketing Formula - Rules for Success."

• PR and Earned Media Relations: Build relationships with your industry's critical media outlets and influencers. Pitch them newsworthy stories about your product launch, thought leadership articles, or exclusive interviews. If you are bringing a new or innovative product or solution to the marketplace, don't underestimate the potential of PR and Earned Media. They have the potential to kick-start your new venture and create buzz and excitement. Here are a few articles that will help you understand best practices and get you started:

  • Earned Media

    • Earned Media Can Boost Your Brand's Reputation and Sales

    • Five Winning Earned Media Campaigns

  • Public Relations

    • Public Relations - Strategic Insights

    • Elevate Your Brand: Public Relations Best Practices for 2024

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO): To succeed, you must apply best practices and understand the marketing fundamentals. Nothing is more fundamental than On-page and Technical SEO. If you want to obtain organic traffic, you MUST appease Google. Here are a few primers that will allow you to implement an effective SEO program.

  • Search Engine Optimization

    • Fast and Furious Websites are Good SEO

    • Website Load Speed - User Experience

    • SEO Basics - Can Your Website Be Crawled and Indexed

    • SEO: How to Optimize On-Page, Technical, and Performance

• Social Media Marketing: Leveraging and creating effective social media campaigns is critical to the success of your startup. We live in the digital age, and if you are not capitalizing on the power of social media marketing (organic and paid), you are leaving opportunity and sales on the table. Here are a series of articles that will help you get started.

  • Social Media Marketing

    • Top Fifteen Mistakes That Social Media Managers Make

    • Using Organic Social Media Marketing to Obtain Sales

    • Social Media Marketing - User Generated Content

    • Social Media Marketing - Is Pay for Play Worth It?

    • How To Set Up a Paid Social Media Campaign

    • How To Use Reddit for Marketing

• Paid Demand Programs: While most startups do not have the funds for an aggressive paid demand program, it remains one of the quickest ways to jump-start an organization. We recommend that a startup not bank its success on paid demand, as it can quickly burn through funds. However, if you have content that performed well organically or an event you need to ensure attendance, using paid demand may be in order. Here are some articles that should help you determine how and when to use paid demand.

  • Paid-Demand

    • Introduction To Paid-Demand

    • Paid-Demand Tips and Tricks

    • Retargeting 101: Bring Back Website Visitors

• Events and Webinars: Host or attend events, hold webinars and product launch parties to generate buzz, and engage directly with potential customers. Nothing builds trust quicker than meeting and speaking to the founders or principles behind a company. When funds permit, attend conferences or trade shows to showcase your product or solution. Hold webinars every month to educate and inform your prospects. Every webinar should be co-hosted by an industry expert or influencer who will invite their followers to attend.

  • Event and Webinar Marketing

    • The Importance of Trade Shows and Conferences

    • Optimizing Your Trade Show Participation

    • Webinars: A Marketing Tool That Converts

• Influencer Marketing: As discussed earlier, influencers can quickly galvanize their followers to adopt your product or solution. Identifying and collaborating with influencers or industry experts who have a strong following in your target market is important. Their endorsement can help amplify your message and build trust. To understand the power and how to utilize influencers effectively, read these articles:

  • Influencer Marketing

    • Who Are Influencers?

    • The Science Behind Influencer Marketing

    • Influencers - How to Measure Performance

    • How to Find the Right Influencer

    • Influencer Marketing - The Impact of Artificial Intelligence

    • How to Become a Paid Influencer in 12 Easy Steps

    • Influencer Marketing - Know Your Legal Duty

• Account-Based Marketing (ABM): ABM can be an extremely effective program that quickly scales a new organization or market release. Account-based marketing is a highly focused strategic approach implemented by the marketing and sales teams to target high-value accounts using personalized content. It flips the traditional marketing funnel upside down by focusing on specific target accounts and engaging individuals within them. ABM includes the same elements of the comprehensive marketing plan: inbound marketing, content marketing, earned media, and outbound marketing. The differentiation between ABM and Comprehensive Marketing is the size of the net you cast and the degree of personalization. Here is a link to a comprehensive ebook and several blog articles.

  • Account-Based Marketing

    • Account-Based Marketing Ebook

    • Stop Waiting for Your Ideal Client - Use ABM

    • ABM - Strategies for Targeted Success

Conclusion

In our blog post series, we've provided details on developing and executing a go-to-market plan strategy. In the post, we'll showcase real-life instances of GTMs we've effectively rolled out for our clients and the tactics we employ to monitor and enhance the outcomes.