The two minute go-to-market (GTM) plan

In my last article, I identified why you need to hire a go-to-market (GTM) owner. I received a lot of feedback from folks who wanted clarification on what go-to-market actually means. Others reached out to tell me that go-to-market was central to their product launch but they wanted the abbreviated two minute version and a summary of the most important questions to ask.

The clock starts now. So let’s get started.

According to the wiki, Go-to-market is defined wiki as “the plan of an organization, utilizing their inside and outside resources to deliver their unique value proposition to customers and achieve competitive advantage”

Here is my definition: Go-to-market answers the what, the why, the how, the when, and the where for a product launch.

1. The What:

• What does this product comprise of?
• What problem does it solve?
• What are the feature sets?
• What is the value proposition?
• What does success look like in alpha, beta and GA (KPI Dashboard)
• What exists today?
• What is main alternative to this product today?
• What price should we charge?

2. The Why:

• Why are we building this product?
• Does this product answer the needs of the market?
• Why does it makes sense to build the product now?
• Why does this product matter to our users?

3. The How:

• How does this product work for users today?
• How will it functionally work and interact with users (apps, hardware, software, data)?
• How does it help customers today?
• How many times will customers use the product (X a day, week, etc)?
• Do users need data points or historical information to make sense of the product? (ie is there a time lag)
• How will internal teams need to interact together to actually create this product?
• Do customers have to turn on the product or activate the product?
• Do we have to educate the customer or industry on using the product?
• Do we need a partnership or third party capability or functionality to offer this product (if platform)?
• How will this work with respect to regulatory concerns and timelines?

4. The When

• When should we launch and become GA (Generally Available)?
• When should we start testing beta, early access and pilot?
• When should we align our commitments with key stakeholders?
• When do we need to have legal agreements signed with partners?
• When do internal teams need to be trained?
• When will we operationally be ready to launch (Marketing, PR, Finance, BD, Legal, Product, Engineering, Ops alignment)

5. The Where

• Where should we host our beta?
• Where should the product launch occur first? (local, domestic, international)
• Where do partners offer their solutions today? (limits, restrictions)
• Where can partners access the products?

Lastly, there is no one size fits all solution, and each go-to-market plan should only be created after gathering user insights and creating success metrics. Asking these basic go-to-market questions and keeping it all in a central accessible repository forces companies to recognize their strategic goal and creates alignment across all cross-functional teams.

We’re definitely over the two minute mark but if you want more information on the entire go-to-market and commercialization process, I suggest you read “The similarities between playing goalie and commercializing a product”.

As always, stay in touch!

If you enjoyed this article, stay in touch! If you’re seriously interested in go-to-market, I am launching a 4 week virtual live interactive “build your go-to market” course.

And my book “Product Marketing Debunked. The Essential Go-To-Market Guide” is available on Amazon!

My latest book, The Launch: A Product Marketer’s Guide — 50 key questions and lessons for a successful launch is now available on Amazon.