top of page
Failure-Proof Your Go-to-Market Strategy With a Built-In Backup Plan
Whether a startup, enterprise, or anything in between, every organization with a customer base should have a go-to-market (GTM) strategy. TechTarget defines go-to-market strategy as, “an action plan that specifies how a company will reach target customers and achieve competitive advantage.”
Some may arise from a combination of market trends research, customer buying process analysis, and previous success metrics, while others may be sparse or hard to translate, leaving sales and marketing teams to interpret them or fly by the seat of their pants. In either case, the go-to-market engine is, at least, being driven by “something”.
When your go-to-market efforts are off the rails
“Build it and they will come” may have worked in the movie, Field of Dreams, but what if that doesn’t apply to your target customers? What if your customer acquisition attempts are just not resulting in conversions, and nobody is buying what you’re selling, yet a vast amount of operating cash is flying out the window? When your go-to-market approach isn’t working, what is your backup plan? Could you pivot in time to salvage the quarter? The year? What about recovering losses and what it means for next year’s budgets and revenues?
Signs your go-to-market strategy may be vulnerable
Even the most well-planned go-to-market strategy can suffer under inhospitable conditions. A variety of influences, from natural disasters to global pandemics, can create market instabilities for your business model, sales cycle, and your go-to-market strategy. In volatile market conditions, all industries are susceptible to setbacks in revenue performance.
To ensure the best chance that your go-to-market strategy will deliver the results you’re hoping for, some fundamental elements must be examined and included. The following 12-point checklist can help you uncover areas where your go-to-market strategy may be vulnerable.
-
Lack of up-to-date research for current target market(s)
-
Absence of available research for new market(s)
-
Shifting roadmap
-
No sales plan
-
Lack of sales team continuous improvement training plan
-
Unidentified decision makers / buyer personas
-
Limited understanding of customer pain points
-
Underdeveloped value proposition
-
Poor product-market fit
-
No or few measurable key performance indicators (KPIs)
-
Incorrect marketing channels
-
Lack of demographics research or a clearly defined ideal customer profile
The best time to develop a GTM backup plan is before you need one. A formal policy that governs when and how your backup plan will be implemented will help ensure predictable and sustainable revenue performance, even in changing market conditions.
What to include in your GTM backup plan
A backup plan is, after all, advance thought about how to get your business back UP—in this case, how to get your GTM strategy on track after unexpected events have derailed it. As such, there are many components to consider.
A well-developed backup plan should be official, including a policy statement approved by the company’s leadership, clearly defined objectives, and a chart of roles, responsibilities, workflows, and activities necessary to flawlessly pull it off. A formal backup plan should be incorporated into each go-to-market strategy as a requirement, subject to leadership approval.
Development of this plan should demand the same rigor that goes into the original plan, including your detailed target audiences and segment definitions; buyer persona; competitive positioning; market plan; differentiated messaging; field training; collateral development, design, and optimization; digital and social media plan and content; and demos. Real-time development of a backup plan during crisis just isn’t feasible; it will be too late to do this when your original GTM strategy is failing.
Responsible parties and active GTM monitoring
A risk management team should be pre-assigned to track the multiple layers of functions and facets involved in execution, and document and mitigate risks as they arise. Your backup plan should guide the activation of key actions, including personnel training, inside and outside communications, and caring for customers that may be impacted. There should be a documented process for alerting your team to market and business activity developments that could potentially necessitate putting the plan into action, along with an escalation and approval process.
Backup plan execution
Upon activation of the backup plan, a notice should be disseminated to defined stakeholders, along with approved communications from the highest levels of the organization. Backup plan procedures for management should be mapped out in detail. Alternate marketing content should be ready for distribution with little need for modification. A pre-defined media strategy should be included with details outlining who will be contacted, when, and in what order. And finally, the entire operation should be well funded and pre-approved by financial leadership.
No substitute for preparedness
We truly hope you never have to use a plan like this. But, in the event you do, it will be much less stressful, and you’ll be far better positioned to recover if you’ve prepared a well-thought plan, in advance.
Need help incorporating a GTM backup plan into your existing go-to-market strategy? Connect with us to schedule a consultation.
Motum is a market leader in revenue performance consulting, working with clients from large enterprises to entrepreneurial organizations across five continents to create sustainable revenue growth and develop an “unfair” competitive advantage for the long term. Please connect with us on LinkedIn and get services details at www.motum-us.com.
bottom of page