Key Considerations in Developing Your Go To Market Strategy

No Market Need 42%

Ran Out of Cash 29%

Not the Right Team 23%

Get Outcompeted 19%

Pricing/Cost Issues 18%

Poor Product 17%

Need/Lack Business Model 17%

Poor Marketing 14%

Ignore Customers 14%

Product Timing 13%

Lose Focus 13%

Team or Investors 13%

Pivot Gone Bad 10%

Lack of Passion 9%

Bad Location 9%

No Financing/Investor Support 8%

Legal Challenges 8%

Don’t Use Network/Advisors 8%

Burn Out 8%

Failure to Pivot 7%

5. KNOW YOUR COST OF ACQUIRING CUSTOMERS

4. ESTABLISH PRICING STRATEGY

3. DEFINE YOUR BRAND MESSAGE

2. KNOW WHERE THEY ARE

1. DEFINE YOUR AUDIENCEKey Steps in Developing Your Go To Market Strategy

DEFINE YOUR AUDIENCE

• Biggest, most urgent pain and how well you solve it

• Gaps in the market• Segment size• Alignment with your strategy

and competencies• Competition

DEVELOP YOUR MARKET PROFILE

It’s not about who you want. It’s about who

wants you.

Tip!

WHERE TO FOCUS?

What customers

want

What your brand does

best

What your competition does best

Win Zone

Dumb ZoneRisk Zone

Losing Zone

BUYER PERSONAUnderstand his needs• Objectives• Challenges• Support Needs• Motivation

Communication• Industry• Informational • Interaction Types

WHERE DO YOU FIND THEM?

IDENTIFY THE RIGHT MARKETING CHANNELSWhere they are• Associations• Web sites• Trade shows• Blogs• Influencers• Social media

Marketing Channel Average ROI

Average Effort

Average Cost

Tier 1

Conversion Rate Optimization High High MidSearch Engine Optimization High High MidEmail Marketing High Mid Mid

Tier 2

Viral Content Campaigns Mid High LowPPC Advertising Mid Low HighAffiliate Marketing Mid Mid Mid

Tier 3

Display Advertising Low Mid HighSocial Media Marketing Mid High MidOnline Public Relations Low Mid Mid

DETERMINING THE RIGHT MIX

DEFINING YOUR BRAND MESSAGE

WHAT’S IN A BRAND MESSAGE1. Target Customer2. Market Definition3. Brand Promise4. Reason to Believe

BRAND PROMISEWhat is the most compelling (emotional/rational) benefit to your target customers that your brand can own relative to your competition?

WHYHOWWHAT

The Golden CircleSimon Sinek

REASON TO BELIEVE

What is the most

compelling evidence that

your brand delivers on its

brand promise?

PRICING

PRICING CONSIDERATIONS• Positioning: premium brand vs.

value brand• Audience: Broad audience vs.

highly targeted audience• Methodology: Cost-based

model vs. a market-based model

The most common pricing error in

startup business plans is pricing too

low

Tip!

Maximization (Revenue Growth) - maximize revenue growth in the short term. This is done when there are no clear differences in customers willingness to pay, and when the optimal short term and long term prices are equal. Penetration (Market Share) - price the product at a low price to win dominant market share. Skimming (Profit Maximization) - start with a high price and systematically broaden the product offering to address more of the customer base at lower prices.

PRICING STRATEGIES

Once you choose your pricing

strategy, make sure that your

sales, marketing, product and engineering

efforts fall in line.

Tip!

COST OF ACQUIRING CUSTOMERS

WHAT IS CAC?Total

Marketing Campaign

Cost

Wages Associated

with Sales & Marketing

Cost of Sales & Marketing Tools/Softwar

e

Any Other Professional

Services Used

(consultants)

Other sales and

marketing overhead

+ + + +

Total Customers Acquired

Lifetime Value of a Customer (CLV)The Gross Margin expected to make from that customer over the lifetime of your relationship. Gross Margin should take into consideration any support, installation, and servicing costs.

CAC IN RELATION TO CLV

-1:1 = Terrible. Bleeding money

1:1 = Danger! You’re losing

money on every transaction

3:1 = Ideal. Thriving business!

4:1 = Great! Get more

aggressive

IMPACTING CACSocial MediaInbound MarketingFree TrialsTouchless conversionStrategic partnershipsPR

High Churn RatesLow Customer Satisfaction

Field SalesOutbound Marketing

Recurring RevenueScalable PricingCross Sell/Up SellProduct Line Expansion

Cost to Acquire a Customer

(CAC)

Lifetime Value (LTV)

“Understand your users. That's the key. That's the reason to launch early, to understand your users. Evolving your idea is the embodiment of understanding your users. Understanding your users well will tend to push you toward making something that makes a few people deeply happy. The most important reason for having surprisingly good customer service is that it helps you understand your users. And understanding your users will even ensure your morale, because when everything else is collapsing around you, having just ten users who love you will keep you going.”

Paul Graham, Co-Founder of Y Combinator

THANK YOU

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