1 November 2023 by Angela Knox
Planning of any marketing or business activity can’t start too soon. Read that again, because it is fundamental to business success, and it’s one of the areas where many start-ups, and existing businesses launching new products, tend to cut corners.
Sometimes it’s easy to get carried away with an idea for a new business or product launch and forget about the fundamentals.
- Have you found an idea for a product or service that has a sizeable enough market that is not already being catered for, and/or one that there is room in the market for another provider? Have you identified your TAM (total addressable market) in numbers?
- What is your unique value proposition, or in old money, your USP (in the days when a USP was singular!)?
- How are you going to take your new invention, product or service to market in a way that resonates, in a timescale that’s achievable?
Often it’s easy to get carried away with an idea and think that ‘if we build it, they will come’.
That is not a sensible business planning strategy and one which is the death knell of business ideas past, present and most likely future.
You need to validate your concept before starting any development work, or you may end up wasting a lot of your time and money.
Before you even get to the stage of GTM (go to market), rigorous market testing and research should already have taken place, to ensure that you have a product or service that has a market in the first place.
Do your research thoroughly, so you can prove you have a business.
Once you’ve done the hard yards, and committed your thoughts to (digital) paper in the form of an outline business plan and/or pitch deck if you’re going for external investment, you need to start on your Go To Market (GTM) strategy.
There is not enough space to give complete detail on all of the steps, but here is a digestible outline.
GTM strategy in brief
- Conduct Market Research. Before you launch a new product or service, it is critical to understand your target audience, their needs and pain points, and what they are looking for in a solution.
Market research can help you gain valuable insights into your target market and identify key trends and opportunities.
Always remember STP - segmentation, targeting, and positioning, to keep you on track with this process.
When you have done this you can then create buyer or audience personas, which are pen pictures of people who are your target buyers, to help visualise their needs and personalities and enable you to accurately target your messaging.
- SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis. This will help you to orientate your planning around how your product or service is/isn’t going to be successful in the market.
It helps you to see your invention in the context of a wider marketplace, what you need to plan for in terms of competition, and how you can make the most of the positives i.e. the unique aspects of your product.
- Competitor Analysis. If you think there is no competition in your market, it is likely that you don’t have a saleable product.
There is always competition of some sort, even though it may not be immediately obvious.
Do your research and find the providers who are nearest to what you are developing, and compare/contrast their offerings, pricing, product features, and methods of marketing.
How are you going to compete with them and emphasise any features or benefits of your product that are unique?
How long will it be before other providers copy your invention or aspects of your product? How will you steal a march on the market with your unique product features?
- Define Your Unique Value Proposition. Your UVP is a statement that explains what makes your product or service different from others in the market.
It should highlight the key benefits of your solution and why customers should choose you over your competitors.
It will also help you to build and establish your brand, its identity and how it will resonate with your target audience/s.
Another process you will need to work on is setting your pricing strategy - a key but often overlooked step which is important in getting your product launch right. It’s easy to bring your price down if you want to do a promo, but not so difficult to increase after you have launched.
- Develop a Marketing Plan. A marketing plan outlines the tactics and strategies you will use to reach your target audience and promote your product or service.
It should include a detailed description of your target audience, your marketing budget, and the channels you will use to reach your target market.
- Create a Sales Strategy. Your sales strategy should outline the steps you will take to close deals and convert prospects into paying customers.
This may include developing a sales process, identifying key sales KPIs, and selecting the right sales channels.
If selling online only, you need to factor in a realistic budget to achieve your sales targets, and calculate your metrics with regard to costs of acquiring leads and converting them to sales.
You will have different strategies depending on whether you are a B2C, B2B, B2B2C, or D2C business - all have their own dynamics, communication methods, and technology requirements which you need to have a full grasp of.
- Set Marketing and Sales Goals. Setting clear and measurable goals for your marketing and sales efforts is essential for tracking your progress and ensuring success.
Goals should be aligned with your overall business objectives and should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART).
- Identify Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). KPIs are metrics that help you measure the success of your marketing and sales efforts.
They should be chosen based on your goals and should be regularly monitored to ensure that you are on track to achieve your objectives.
- Choose Your Marketing Channels. The channels you use to reach your target audience will vary depending on your target market, budget, and goals.
Common channels include your website, social media and influencer marketing, email marketing, direct mail, content marketing, PR, search engine optimisation, and paid advertising.
If you need to outsource any or all of these tasks, you will have to research relevant suppliers and get quotes for the work.
You can also save on some of these elements if you do some of the work in-house, e.g. copywriting or basic design. It is also worth learning some of these skills so that you are not totally reliant on third parties.
10. Launch and Monitor. Finally, it’s time to launch your product or service and begin executing your GTM strategy. Regular monitoring of your KPIs will help you track your progress and make any necessary adjustments to ensure success. You will need a range of analytics tools for this, the most basic one being Google Analytics. This is a whole separate topic but one you need to fully explore in order to fully get a grip on your marketing activities and how they are working or where improvements and adjustments may be needed.
Conclusion
A successful GTM strategy requires careful planning and execution. When done well, it can be the difference between a successful and unsuccessful new business launch.
By following these steps, you can increase your chances of success and bring your product or service to market with confidence.