Let's face it: 

Products don't sell themselves. 

And good ideas alone are not enough to sustain your business.

Even if you are running a highly advanced tech startup in Silicon Valley with a software solution that could transform your industry, there is no guarantee of success. 

According to studies, half of startups and small businesses fail within five years, and 65% do so within ten years. One of the main reasons for this failure is entering the wrong market, lack of research, and poor marketing strategies.

Don't shoot your business in the foot with poor planning and execution. 

Instead, create a thought-out B2B go-to-market (GTM) strategy. 

Think of your GTM strategy as a guiding lighthouse that illuminates the path for launching your product and ensuring it reaches the right customers at the right time and in the right way.

Your innovative solution is not just another item on the shelf—it is a transformative tool that can make a real impact in the hands of your ideal customers.

Don't let your hard work go to waste by leaving your product on the proverbial shelf waiting for customers. 

Instead, use this guide to create a GTM strategy that acts as your beacon, ensuring your product not only sells but also stands out in the competitive marketplace.

Before digging into the nitty gritty, let me make sure we’re on the same page, first.

What is a go-to-market strategy for B2B?

A B2B go-to-market strategy is your guide to not just launching a product but ensuring it reaches the right people at the right time, in the right way (think marketing channels). It's your pathway to winning new and continued business.

Your B2B GTM strategy will include:

• Goal setting and strategy
• Identifying your target market
• Positioning your product
• Action plan for distribution
• Getting your product to customers
  

If this is new to you, there's no need to overcomplicate things. I'll walk you through a step-by-step guide to creating your B2B go-to-market strategy.

How to Create a Go-to-Market Strategy

There are three phases to creating a custom, effective, and successful plan for your company, including:

1. Planning
2. Execution
3. Optimize & Scale
   

Here's how:

Phase 1: Planning

The planning phase—not starting with strategies and tactics—is where you lay the groundwork for success. 

It's all about setting clear goals, understanding your resources, and pinpointing your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). 

Think of it as setting the coordinates for your journey—without this critical navigation, even the best ideas can drift off course. 

But starting here–and not strategies and tactics–will set your B2B go-to-market strategy up for success. 

a. Define the Goal

What is your organization's primary goal for your B2B go-to-market strategy? 

Your organization's primary goal is what's called your North Star Metric. 

Think about it as the guiding light illuminating your path to success by aligning your organization's efforts toward a singular, overarching objective. 

This singular focus ensures that every team, from product, marketing, and sales, is working harmoniously towards a common goal–much like sailors navigating by the North Star to reach their final destination. 

But how do you pick this North Star Metric? 

The best explanation I've found of North Star Metrics is at Reforge.

At Reforge, they suggest there are three primary North Star Metrics–acquisition, retention, and monetization– and they include three components:

• Unit of Value
• Quality
• Frequency
  

Here's a hypothetical example they shared:

If this is new to you, read the post above.

But whatever you do, take the time to define a clear and measurable outcome—North Star Metric—before you do anything else. This will give your GTM plan a focused direction, driving every team towards a common goal.

b. Allocate Resources

When crafting your B2B go-to-market strategy, realistically assess and manage your resources.

Take a clear-eyed look at your time, budget, and team size.

These aren't just numbers—they're keys to running your plan. 

To do this, you first must create alignment with your leadership team. Clear communication about available resources and expectations sets the stage for effective planning. 

Ask yourself:

• Do we have enough budget for our marketing initiatives?
• Is our team adequately staffed, or must we recruit more talent?
• Could partnering with an agency or contractor fill any gaps efficiently?
  

If resources seem tight, don't view this as a setback.

Instead, see it as an opportunity to get creative and extract maximum value from what you have.

Here are a few ways to do that:

• Prioritize tasks that directly contribute to achieving your North Star Metric
• Initiate small-scale pilot projects to test strategies before a full-scale roll-out
• Be agile and ready to reallocate resources as priorities shift
  

Effective resource allocation is more than having everything but making the most of everything you have.

c. Identify Your ICP (Ideal Customer Profile) and Target Accounts

You're introducing something new – a product, service, or significant update – and are eager to hit the market.

But first, consider who will appreciate your offering the most.

This is where defining your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) becomes crucial.

Ask yourself: Who will benefit the most from what you offer?

Understanding your ICP is akin to having a treasure map in a competitive marketplace.

Creating an ICP involves more than knowing someone's gender, age, or job title. It's about diving into what makes your ideal customer tick. What challenges are they facing? What goals are they pursuing? Understanding these aspects can transform your product from just another tool they use into a solution for their real problems.

Practically speaking, this involves:

• Analyzing data
• Conducting surveys and interviews
• Researching the market
• Creating personas
• Establishing feedback loops
  

With a well-defined ICP, your organization can create a targeted list of accounts. An individual or single department should not undertake this task alone. Instead, it should be a collaborative effort within your GTM Team, notably involving your marketing and sales teams.

Remember, your ICP isn't set in stone. Markets evolve, as do people. Keep your finger on the pulse and continually adjust your understanding of your ICP.

d. Conduct customer research

Effective customer research is a mix of quantitative (numbers-based) and qualitative (interpretation-based) approaches.

Here's how to dive in:

Quantitative Data:

• Gather Numbers (e.g., ACV, CAC, churn rate)
• Leverage your CRM and analytics tools to mine this data
• Look for patterns
  

Qualitative Data:

• Engage with customers (e.g., interviews, surveys)
• Create a Customer Advisory Board
• Listen actively to feedback
  
  

Both data types offer invaluable insights. 

Quantitative data gives you the 'what,' while qualitative data explains the 'why.'

Together, they paint a comprehensive picture of your market and customer base.

During my tenure at PhoneBurner, we leveraged both data types effectively. Analyzing our quantitative data, we identified a segment of our customer base that outperformed others. Further investigation revealed vital characteristics, such as their preferred CRM. This insight led us to develop a targeted campaign, attracting more customers from this segment.

e. Analyze your competition

Unless you're entering a brand-spanking new category, you're not the only player in the game. 

You will have competition, and that's alright and good. 

Knowing who you're against will help position you and your team for a successful go-to-market strategy. 

Depending on your resources, here are easy ways you can get the lowdown on your rivals:

• Check out their website
• Read reviews and comments (e.g., G2, Capterra)
• Conduct a feature analysis
• Assess their user experience (UX)
• Examine their digital presence
• Evaluate their customer support
• Analyze their success stories
  

Remember to keep your cool and stay objective when you're gathering all this intel. Look at who they are with you with a level head. Don't think too highly or lowly of them or yourself. Keep everything as objective as possible. 

This process is more than just finding chinks in their armor—this is about understanding the battlefield. And with this knowledge, you must compete–you'll be ready to lead. 

Phase 2: Execution

At this point, you're ready to create and implement your B2B go-to-market strategy. 

Now is the time to craft a compelling narrative for your product through strategic positioning and messaging. This stage is where you articulate what differentiates you in the marketplace. 

Finally, create your distribution plan, align your teams, and launch into the marketplace.

a. Create your positioning and messaging 

This is where the fun begins. 

After planning your B2B go-to-market strategy, it's time to flesh out your plans. 

How do you talk about what you're bringing to market? 

The answer to this question is where your messaging comes into play.

Much discussion has been had on this topic, and I cannot do it justice in one section of this blog post. However, its importance in your B2B go-to-market strategy must be considered.

Here's why:

Your messaging is the anchor for every customer-focused action you take.

It serves as the standard by which every team member in your organization talks about what you're launching – including marketing, sales, customer success, product, and customer support. This covers everything from your product releases and product pages to the copy in your ads, blog posts, and case studies.

What I've found helpful at the beginning of any go-to-market strategy is creating a message deck. A message deck is a document you create that serves as your organization's standard to define how they talk about whatever you're launching. At a minimum, this should include:

• Product name
• Product tagline
• Features and benefits
• FAQ

There's no right or wrong way to do this. The best method is to figure out what works best within the context of your organization.

What is more, it's also best to create a messaging guide to ensure your positioning and messaging is consistent.

b. Align internal teams

Do you know who takes a product or service to market? 

Your entire organization. 

Everyone is involved in some capacity, from your executive team and product to marketing, sales, and customer support.

Here's how you can do this without overcomplicating things:

• Start with your GTM goal
• Create a marketing implementation plan
• Regularly sync and provide updates
  
  

Let me explain.

Start with your GTM goal

Aligning your go-to-market (GTM) strategy with your company's business objectives isn't just important – it's essential. It ensures that everyone is not just moving but moving forward together.

Clarifying the goal of your go-to-market strategy and how every department contributes will focus everyone's efforts toward this end. Start here and ensure everyone is on the same page.

Create a marketing implementation plan

Next, you want to create a marketing implementation plan. 

While I've outlined how to do this here, I want to reinforce that you must have a visible and manage the work of your go-to-market strategy that everyone involved can reference. This step keeps everyone in sync. Remember, coordination and collaboration aren't just buzzwords—they're the foundation of a successful GTM strategy.

Regularly sync with your team and provide updates

Regularly syncing with your team is a critical part of the implementation process.

Depending on the scope of your go-to-market strategy, key team members involved regularly must meet. This ensures you stay aligned as you prepare for your launch and remain in sync to review, discuss, and optimize your go-to-market strategy.

Finally, providing regular updates and insights is crucial. 

Similar to regularly syncing with cross-functional teams, providing updates ensures everyone is aware of how things are progressing with your strategy and how you're adjusting to changes in the marketplace.

So, as the conductor of this GTM symphony, your goal is to ensure each team member knows their part in the plan. When everyone is in harmony, the magic happens—a successful go-to-market strategy that hits every note.

c. Develop your distribution plan

This stage is where you put your B2B go-to-market strategy into action. 

Now is the time to think about the strategies and tactics you will implement to bring your product or service to market.

For this part, the best and simplest framework I've found is what's called GST:

• Goals
• Strategy
• Tactics
  

Let me break it down.

Goals

The goal of your go-to-market strategy should align with the goal you established earlier. 

Strategy

As for the strategy component of your plan, these are the 1-5 strategic bets (depending on the scope of your project) you're making to accomplish your goals. These are the primary levers you can pull to influence your goal and are also known as leading indicators or inputs. 

For instance, these strategies might include:

• Generating a certain number of marketing qualified leads (MQLs) in Q1 2024.
• Decreasing customer acquisition cost (CAC) by a specific percentage in Q4 2023.
• Improving the Closed-Won rate by a certain percentage in Q2 2024.

Tactics

Next, you need to decide on your tactics to achieve your strategy. 

For example, if your goal is to generate a specified number of marketing-qualified leads, you need to determine your tactics to generate those leads. The right approach will depend on your resources and current marketing and sales efforts. And your tactics can include anything from a B2B podcast, growth marketing, and more.

At this point, you have set your go-to-market strategy in motion. But it doesn't stop here. This is just the beginning, leading us to the next phase.

Phase 3: Optimization & Scale

This phase is pivotal as it involves fine-tuning your go-to-market strategy based on real-world feedback and performance data. It's about evolving and enhancing your approach to ensure sustained success in the marketplace.

Establish Feedback Loops 

Your go-to-market strategy is like a living and breathing organism.

Now that you've taken your product or service to market, you must tend to it regularly to ensure its success. If you neglect your efforts after launch or pay them little attention, your go-to-market strategy may eventually fail.

Here's what I'm trying to say:

There's no "set it and forget it" with your GTM plan.

You must do the following three things to ensure success:

• Manage and monitor your KPIs
• Regularly review and report
• Introduce feedback loops
• Scale your efforts
  

Here we go:

Manage and monitor your KPIs

You need to manage and monitor the KPIs of your go-to-market plan. You would have identified these during your planning phase (think North Star Metric) and in the execution phase when you created your strategy and tactics.

Now that you've launched your product or service, you must strive to understand your marketing data and metrics. This is the only way to know whether your efforts as an organization, including marketing, sales, and customer success, are effective.

Practically speaking, this may look like:

• Meeting with your marketing team to review data
• Sharing with your executive team your results
• Meeting individually with team members to review performance and tactics
• Keeping a daily eye on your performance
  

Regularly review and report

You must regularly review and report your KPIs with your executive team, cross-functional teams, and the rest of your organization. The approach depends on your organization. I've shared GTM performance updates weekly with your leadership team, reviewed your work numbers with your marketing and sales team, and met regularly to discuss progress with everyone involved.

For more on this topic, check out 9 Essential Steps to Building a Data-Driven Marketing Team.

Introduce feedback loops

You will also need to incorporate feedback loops into your go-to-market strategy. 

This allows you to include input from your data, team members, and cross-departmental leaders. One helpful system you can use to do this is what’s called the ICE Framework. Remember, there's no "set it and forget it" with GTM.

Another idea to incorporate is A/B testing. 

Whether going to market for the first time or optimizing your GTM plan, you must test what is and isn't working. You aim to find traction in one or more marketing channels to ensure your efforts achieve your goals. Remember, you aim to optimize your work, adapt strategies or tactics that aren't working, and scale your successful efforts.

Scale your efforts 

As you manage and monitor your work, you will identify marketing tactics and strategies that are effective and those that are not. For those that work, your goal is to scale them as much as possible. As you observe traction, find ways to scale your efforts in whichever marketing channel you use (e.g., Google Ads, B2B SEO, event marketing).

In Phase 3, your goal is to build on your established foundation, leveraging data and feedback to optimize and scale your efforts. This is not a one-time effort but an ongoing process that keeps your go-to-market strategy dynamic and responsive to market changes.

Making this work for you

Embarking on a B2B go-to-market journey can seem daunting, but it becomes an exciting path to success with the right strategy. 

Remember, a GTM strategy isn't a one-size-fits-all solution—it's a dynamic process that evolves with your business and market. By staying focused on your goals, actively engaging with your target market, and being ready to adapt, you position your product and company for sustained success in the competitive B2B landscape. 

Happy navigating!