GTM unpacked: How to take your business to the market

The Greek philosopher, Heraclitus, once said, “change is the only constant in life." Well, I guess the adage rings true for all of us. I recently changed employers. It was a big shift because I moved from financial services to the retail industry. They are worlds apart as you can imagine and are underpinned by different marketing approaches. I was immediately thrown into the deep end. My first order of business was to craft a Go-To-Marketing Plan (GTM) for Xing Yung Global, a Chinese eCommerce platform that deals with consumer goods. The company has been in operation for the last six years. It has a presence in 72 countries globally, with a turnover of over 3 billion USD as of 2021. Kenya was selected as a launchpad into the greater African market. The company intends to invest 65 million USD in Kenya in the next three years.

Confusing Plans
From experience, I feel there's general confusion among practitioners and entrepreneurs alike between a business plan, marketing strategy and a go-to-market plan. While they are related, they are markedly different. A business plan is broader in scope and considers every aspect of a business. A go-to-market strategy, on the other hand, is focused specifically on delivering a product or service to an end customer. In simpler terms, a GTM strategy is how a company brings a product to market. It’s like a blueprint that measures the viability of a solution's success and predicts its performance based on market research, prior examples, and competitive data.

Onto the other bit of the confusion, a GTM plan and marketing strategy. What differentiates a GTM strategy from a typical marketing strategy is its place in the product's lifecycle. Whereas the marketing strategy focuses on the continuing campaigns and programs the company runs to increase demand for the product or service after it’s been introduced to the market, the go-to-market strategy is about creating the plan to introduce that offer to the market.

GTM Unpacked
The goal of a GTM strategy is to improve key business outcomes. This is mainly accomplished by aligning with the evolving needs of your customers. Developing a comprehensive GTM strategy is an investment in time and resources, but it can help illuminate and ensure a viable path to market success.

To create an effective GTM strategy for your business, you want to create a detailed plan which answers the questions about markets, customers, distribution channels, your product offerings, price and how to position yourself. If you can concisely and effectively answer these six questions, you’ll be in the position to formulate a winning GTM strategy.

Without sounding like a motivational speaker, GTM strategy, like any corporate strategy, is a matter of asking the right questions (and in the right order). The main difference between an overall corporate strategy and a GTM strategy is that the latter places greater emphasis on customer touchpoints.

Below is a step-by-step breakdown of what you can consider when developing a GTM plan for a consumer goods business or any other consumer-oriented business.

Step 1: Define the target market
The first thing to do when preparing your product for the market is to understand your industry. Every industry has different dynamics. The best tool for analysing an industry is Porter’s Five Forces, although others are equally good. It is a powerful model that will open your third eye to the levels of competition, various strategic groups plus their strategy (market structure), and barriers of entry/mobility. At the end of the analysis, you will have a bird's eye view of the entire industry and an idea of how to make an entry. At Xing Yung Global, our analysis focused on the commodity import-export industry.

Step 2: Know your target customer
Once you have defined your target market, you would be a step closer to identifying who they are. Clarifying your ideal customer is a vital element in formulating your GTM strategy. At this stage, you can employ the good old model Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning (STP) to demystify your to-be customer. It involves gathering extensive information about their behaviours, preferences, challenges, attitudes, goals, and needs.

For our case at Xing Yung Global, we are targeting large-scale importers of consumer commodities from China. So, our fishing net is set for supermarkets, big regional wholesalers and the like. It is also important to understand your customer journey. Issues like order fulfilment, taxes and regulations, and delivery were major factors for us, for example. This will further inform you about how your customer becomes aware of your brand, how they interact with it, and what they experience throughout the process.

Step 3: Developing your brand positioning
In this age of globalization and a highly competitive market, brand positioning is inevitable. It lets the company establish itself in the minds and hearts of its target customers. Put differently, it is how you differentiate yourself from your competitors. Brand positioning is about the key values and qualities that are synonymous with your company. A variety of methods are used for brand positioning. Some examples include voice, tones, and visuals as well as the impression that your brand creates.

The process of developing a brand requires a huge marketing investment both in terms of time and resources. As a company, you will need to do a lot of marketing and PR campaigns to achieve the desired positioning. Our brand positioning statement as Xing Yung Global is “Making Global Trade Easier”. It is a philosophy that the business abides by and summarizes what we do rather simply.

Step 4: Defining your unique value proposition
A unique value proposition (UVP), or unique selling proposition (USP), is a concise, straight-to-the-point statement about the benefits you offer customers. In other words, it's an explanation of what makes you different. A UVP or USP is not, however, a slogan, catchphrase, or positioning statement.

A good value proposition needs to be easily understandable, communicates concrete results a customer gets when they make a purchase or use your products, differentiates you from the competition. Our USP is, ‘Your One-Stop Shop For All Global Brands.’

Step 5: Pricing your goods
Here, you’ll want to define your product pricing and estimate costs associated with your GTM strategy. When coming up with the pricing strategy to adopt, several factors will be in play. Will you price your products low to attract more customers, or will your price be premium for maxim returns? The pricing strategy chosen will have major strategic impacts on your business and the direction your business will take off. Based on the first step we developed (market definition) what is your goal? Is it market penetration or market skimming?

Step 6: Select your distribution channels
The next step is figuring out your products will reach the customers you have identified. Here you look at where the customers are located, and the logistics required to get the products to their locations. Considering the nature of the business that Xing Yung Global is involved in, the most appropriate way to reach our customers will be by having warehouses and logistics at strategic locations.

Step 7: Formulating your promotion strategy
By now, you have adopted a path you want your new business or product line to take. So, it’s time to figure out how you will create extensive awareness in the market. When developing your promotion strategy, your goal at this formative stage will be to position your brand and create a competitive advantage of your offering. Also, it will be important to know that your marketing objectives and key performance parameters will be different at each stage of the product life cycle.

The development of a marketing communications plan will depend on a perfect understanding of your target audience and their motivations. Choice of mediums will also be crucial, and more emphasis should be placed on channels that are relevant and impactful.

Step 8: Resource allocation
Once you’ve defined your market, price, and channels, you’re now ready to build a budget. On this phase, you’ll want to define estimate costs associated with implementing your GTM strategy. During the initial stages of setting up a business or product line, a lot of resources will be needed. You should be able to mitigate risk by identifying the economic, competitive, and internal risks associated with the activities adopted.

Step 9: Evaluation and monitoring
For the GTM plan to work, you will have to adopt the Kaizen Philosophy of creating continuous improvement. It is based on the idea that small, ongoing, small changes can reap significant improvements. Evaluation and monitoring involve jotting down objectives and key result areas (OKRA), commonly referred to as key performance indicators (KPI). Remember, the measurements should be holistic, i.e., capture both qualitative and quantitative indicators of marketing activities.

Conclusion
In conclusion, an effective GTM should delight your customers and surprise your competition. Now, I would like to leave you with wise words from Sun Tzu’s classical text, the Art of war: “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself, but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”