A go-to-market strategy describes how a company will bring a product to its target customers and turn them into revenue. It covers the target market, positioning, pricing and packaging, the sales motion, and the acquisition channels. SaaS companies write one for a new product, a new segment or a new region, and revisit it as they learn what actually works.
What a go-to-market strategy covers
A useful go-to-market strategy answers a short list of questions with enough specificity that teams can act on them. Vague answers such as “small and medium businesses” or “content marketing” do not give anyone a direction.
- Who: the ideal customer profile and the people involved in buying.
- Why: the problem, the alternatives buyers use today, and the positioning.
- What: packaging and pricing, including free or trial options.
- How: product-led, sales-led or hybrid, and the handoffs between them.
- Where: the channels expected to reach the market, such as search, partners, outbound or communities.
- Measures: the metrics that show whether the plan is working.
Choosing channels
Channel choice follows from where buyers already look for solutions and from what each customer is worth. Organic search suits markets where people actively search for the problem or category. Outbound suits markets with a small number of identifiable buyers. Partnerships and marketplaces suit products that sit inside another platform's ecosystem.
A first go-to-market plan usually commits to one or two channels and tests them properly, rather than spreading effort thinly across many.
Treat it as a hypothesis
A go-to-market strategy is a set of guesses about a market. Write down what you expect to happen, such as which segment converts best and which channel produces the cheapest qualified pipeline, and check those expectations against data after each quarter.
Example
Launching into a new segment
Hypothetical company Tallowmere sells inventory software to restaurants and wants to enter the catering market. Its go-to-market document names the target customer (catering firms with a central kitchen), the main competitor (spreadsheets), pricing (a new plan per kitchen), the motion (self-serve with an onboarding call) and two channels to test: search content on catering inventory problems and a partnership with a catering trade association.
Common mistakes
Targeting everyone
A strategy aimed at every possible buyer gives teams no basis for decisions. Narrow the first target and expand once it works.
Writing it once
Markets and channels change. Review the strategy against results on a fixed schedule.
Questions
A marketing plan covers marketing activities and budget. A go-to-market strategy is broader: it includes the target market, pricing, sales motion and product packaging that the marketing plan supports.
