A go to market strategy is also know as a GTM plan. It is a comprehensive plan which includes most aspects of a business associated with a product. A GTM strategy streamlines the processes involved to get a product into the market as quickly as possible. We have listed eight essential factors to be addressed while making a plan.
1. Pricing
Product pricing has a direct impact on the desirability of a product. This does not mean being the most cost-effective option but justifying the quoted cost. As long as the customer feels happy, the price doesn’t matter much.
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Review current market pricing to get a feel of the present costs.
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Offer lucrative incentives, different bundles, or packages.
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Special offers for new customers or one-time offers.
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Consider a freemium model with the right incentives to upgrade.
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In addition, to these provide complimentary deals.
2. Marketing
Marketing facilitates lead generation. This eventually develops into revenue-generating customers. Pitch to the right audience; it is the task of the marketing team to be strategic and resourceful. A confident pitch is essential in order to sway a customer. A go to market strategy should always have a dynamic marketing system. This means the approach adopted should vary consistently. It is essential to realize big corporates have a dynamic marketing strategy.
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Digital marketing creates awareness by targeting the social media platform.
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Direct mails and emails still work, Despite being old school.
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A sharp website speaks volumes, keep it clean and simple. At Workik, we provide boilerplate applications to kickstart your website.
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Targeted SEO and SEM because it’s a sure shot success. Creating product relevant blogs and videos that are product specific or at least in that ballpark.
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Conventional advertising such as newspapers, posters, radio, billboards, and sponsored events are great ways to market.
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Besides the rest, word of mouth is a very powerful organic tool. This is an excellent path to snag early adopters. Often the best sources are friends family and personal references.
3. Sales and distribution
Sales and distribution, never have two words held such importance. As a matter of fact, this is where all the revenue lies for physical products. Getting set up and ensuring smooth operations is no easy feat. but is totally worth the effort. A few ways to get you started are,
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Direct sales via the product website. It is the website you will manage and maintain.
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Sales by partnering with e-commerce websites like Amazon.
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Offer affiliate marketing. It is an equally good revenue generator as sales by partnering if done right.
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Sales via retail stores (can be a bit tricky).
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Have exclusive retail outlets (for established businesses). It is comparatively harder but is excellent for branding.
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Teaming up with distributors is a safer bet but a tough nut to crack.
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Sales personal either door-to-door or via calls.
4. Quality check
As a new product is launched, you always ensure it is of high quality. Then again, as the demand increases and operations scale up. As a result, it becomes hard to keep track and maintain quality. Regular quality checks ensure the set standards are maintained.
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Get quality certifications to verify the product is up to market standards.
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Create internal systems to test and regulate product quality.
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Regular randomised checks and checking every batch ensure consistency.
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Keep your quality certifications and approvals up to date.
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Aspire for international standards to hit the global market.
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In the case of a physical product, the raw materials must be tested as well.
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It’s equally important to run a performance check on the product if applicable.
5. Scheduled maintenance
Every business undergoes scheduled maintenance to ensure smooth operations. Furthermore, it enables to set a benchmark and adher to it.
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Create a checklist of items that need attention.
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Troubleshoot every operation.
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Prevents expensive repairs.
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Decreases downtime.
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Creates a standardised product.
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Improves business efficiency.
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You could outsource it to save time.
6. Appropriate legal documentation
Appropriate documentation and approvals required to start a business; this varies from place to place, but as a rule of thumb you must have,
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relevant licensing that are industry-specific which regulate businesses
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registered company and its operations.
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Sales tax licensing and permits
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Seller permits
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Building compliance and zone-specific licenses
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A permit from the department of health for food-based businesses
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Other documents that concern employees and customers are important as well. A detailed explanation can be found
here
.
7. Feedback and survey
To mould a product you must understand the needs and expectations of a customer. Customers needs always change and are dynamic. Make sure there is room for change, as the final desirable product seldom is the same as the launched product. Feedback is an integral part of a GTM strategy as it ensures a closed-loop system.
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Customer contact forms and emails to assist customer express their opinion
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Provide Onsite contact information and customer feedback
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Monitoring customers posts on social media platforms
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Conducting customer interview
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Analyse previous marketing approach to improve marketing
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Conduct surveys, google forms is a useful tool.
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Offer incentives for providing feedback
Feedback can either be internal or external. Internal feedback is those received from employees. This feedback can make internal working streamlined and provide a better work environment apart from being product-specific. Ensure its a two-way communication.
8. Branding and logo
An elegant brand name with a well-designed logo leaves a lasting impression on a customer. Incorporate it in the go to market strategy, this ensures a brand name is created at the early stages of a product.
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Keep the logo tidy and simple.
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Outsource the tasks for a new perspective.
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Take advantage of freelancer and freelancing websites like Fiverr, Upwork and 99designs.
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Pay importance to colour contrast and font.
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Make sure an appropriate domain name is available.
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Carry out a trademark search for the suggested business name.
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Rule out other legal issues associated with acquiring the name.
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Avoid hard to spell and complicated names.
Brand promotion and product marketing
is equally important to create brand awarness.
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