Having recently joined Coppett Hill, I’ve quickly come to appreciate how central go-to-market (GTM) strategy is to the work we do. When I first started, I had a vague understanding of how this related to customer acquisition, but the specific processes and how to evaluate their effectiveness? Not so much.
This became apparent just a couple of months after starting when I was tasked with supporting a due diligence project focused on evaluating the GTM capabilities of a SaaS business. I needed a framework to better understand the factors underpinning a successful GTM strategy and the related best practices - enter the farmer analogy… I’m aware of the oversimplification here, but bear with me: think of your GTM strategy like the journey a farmer takes in bringing their harvest from the fields to the tables of hungry city-dwellers.
The process begins with planting and nurturing crops, just as a company starts by developing and refining a product to meet market demands. When the harvest is ready, the farmer must transport it efficiently to the chosen marketplace, much like how a business must select the right distribution channels to reach its target customers.
Once at the market, the farmer promotes the quality and value of their produce, similar to how a business uses marketing and sales strategies to create awareness and generate demand. The farmer might also negotiate prices to turn interest into sales, just as a business employs discounting and offers as one of the many strategies used to convert leads into customers. Finally, in the same way that the farmer learns from each season to improve future harvests, a company must continuously evaluate and refine its GTM strategy to enhance customer acquisition efforts.
Yes, once again, we’re calling upon ChatGPT’s limitless graphic design skills.
A rough analogy? Perhaps. But whether you’re a Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), or an investor evaluating a business pre-deal, this post explores how a similar framework can help you to assess the effectiveness of a GTM strategy, both in its focus and implementation. In doing so, we provide a template for identifying opportunities to build a competitive advantage in attracting, converting, and retaining customers.
Assessing your GTM strategy: where to focus?
At the core of any successful go-to-market strategy lies the answers to the following questions:
· Who is your target customer?
· What problem are you solving for them?
· What is their typical customer journey?
· Which channels and sales methods will best attract and serve these customers?
1. Who is your target customer?
When considering your target audience, we have found that going beyond the standard pen-portraits and creating an Ideal Client Profile (ICP) provides a more actionable framework for identifying and sourcing your most valuable customers.
A typical market segmentation analysis provides an overview of the demographic or firmographic traits of your target market, their behaviour patterns and their growth potential – generally, these segmentations should emphasize a series of ‘prospectable’ characteristics that your marketing and sales teams can target across your main channels.
While this kind of market segmentation highlights the ‘availability’ of potential customer groups, an ICP goes further by considering two additional factors: their ‘likeability’ and ‘likelihood’. Likeability references the lifetime value (LTV) of a customer segment, which is calculated as the total revenue generated by a segment over time minus the costs of acquiring and retaining those customers. As useful a tool as this is in evaluating the potential value of different segments, it provides no context on the likelihood of realising that value. To do so, you must also consider how well your offerings address the specific needs of each segment – a small SaaS business is unlikely to convert an enterprise client, no matter the product’s quality, due to factors such as limited brand presence or insufficient capacity to meet the demands of a larger client.
In combination, the size, expected customer lifetime value, and propensity to convert not only enhances your understanding of your target audience, but also provides a strategic framework for identifying and prioritising the most valuable segments. Over time, this process will enable you to refine your value proposition and optimise your marketing and sales efforts.
2. What problem are you solving for them?
When considering the value you provide to potential customers, it is important to clearly define how your offerings are differentiated from your competitors’ and how you can sustainably deliver this value over time. Doing so emphasizes an important caveat in defining your ICP – your offerings must solve specific problems for specific customers. A product or service that is sellable to ‘everyone’ is unlikely to win any customers from competitors and may also result in working with clients who are not well-suited to your business, leading to higher churn rates or engagement with less profitable segments.
Recently, I switched from a gym near my home to a PureGym near our office. Although this feels like a ‘downgrade’ in some ways – particularly the lack of a towel laundry service, which means dealing with wet towels in my work bag – it resolves several issues that my old gym couldn’t: the new gym’s proximity to the office significantly reduces my commuting time; its 24/7 availability allows for greater flexibility around my work schedule; and it’s more affordable (a growing consideration given the various restaurants and pubs outside our new office that are putting a dent in my budget…). PureGym understands the value of these product features and makes them clear throughout their marketing and messaging, and their transparent pricing makes joining a hassle-free process – so long as they can maintain their equipment and effectively manage capacity, it would take a lot for me to consider switching gyms again.
If you are unsure of the kinds of problems your customers face, the best thing you can do is ask! Conducting comprehensive customer research will provide valuable insight into the timings of the sales cycle, the triggers that typically lead to purchases, and any potential risks that may lead to the loss of customers. This research can also uncover any unmet needs and opportunities for product/service improvements, facilitating improved efficiency along every stage of the customer journey.
3. What is your typical customer journey?
Consider your most recent significant purchase: how many different providers did you consider? Which search engines did you use, or perhaps something on social media caught your attention? Which review sites did you look at? Did you look for discount codes or promotions? How many different devices did you use in doing this? You may even have visited in-store to investigate further. This simple exercise highlights the growing complexity of contemporary customer journeys: linear models of buying journeys which move straightforwardly from awareness to decision and then to retention, provide little use beyond theoretical modelling.
To better understand how customers discover and interact with your brand, developing an attribution model is a powerful strategy. Recently, we collaborated with a holiday letting agency to create a multi-touch attribution model that more accurately reflects the incremental value of non-branded media channels throughout their customer journey, as opposed to relying solely on first-touch and last-touch models. This approach has enabled the agency to optimise their non-brand paid search activity based on ROI, while also uncovering some of the nuances associated with their customers’ behaviour. By analysing complex customer journeys, we refined the model by adjusting the weight given to different touchpoints, considering both preceding and subsequent actions. This iterative process, validated through practical feedback from Management, helped develop an attribution model that was both sufficiently complex and easily explainable – testament to the importance of stepping into your customers’ shoes.
Additionally, mystery shopping serves as another effective method for gaining insights into customer engagement with your brand: when carried out properly, it should uncover any pain points potential customers might encounter. Combined with customer research, this approach provides a holistic view on the factors driving brand awareness, who else you’re being considered alongside, and the reasons customers might be walking away from your offering, enabling you to take effective action across the customer journey.
Building on these insights, it’s important to remember that while acquiring new customers is crucial, retaining those who have already engaged with your brand is just as important. Alongside strengthening customer loyalty and driving word-of-mouth referrals, a well-thought-out retention strategy increases the number of opportunities for upselling and cross-selling: repeat customers are more likely to explore the additional products or services that you offer, driving incremental revenue without the costs associated with acquiring new customers.
This not only improves your bottom line, but also enhances key financial metrics, such as the quality of earnings, by providing a more predictable revenue stream - an attractive factor for potential investors. By acting on customer feedback, incentivising repeat purchases, and explicitly targeting cross-sell/upsell opportunities, you can better address the needs of your customers and consistently deliver value.
4. Which channels and sales methods will best attract and serve these customers?
Once you better understand how customers discover, evaluate, and engage with your brand, it’s essential to align your sales model accordingly. Are your customers proactively seeking out solutions like yours, or is it likely that they need to be made aware of the type of product or service you offer? This distinction will shape the focus of your sales strategies and the channels you use.
If you find that customers are actively searching for products like yours, an inbound sales model might be most effective. This involves creating compelling content, optimising for search engines, and leveraging social media to attract and nurture leads who are already aware of their problem. The goal is to be visible at the relevant stage of their journey, providing valuable information that guides them towards choosing your product or service.
In contrast, if you’re looking to expand into new verticals, such as shifting from selling to SMEs to targeting enterprise clients, an outbound focus is likely the most effective strategy for generating awareness in this new market. The longer sales cycles and involvement of multiple decision-makers make it crucial for your sales team to proactively reach out to prospects, offering a consultative approach that educates them and builds relationships through direct engagement.
In our recent GTM due diligence, the SaaS business in question was looking to make a similar shift: after steady progress in acquiring customers from a select few sectors, the company sought to change the mix of its customer base by moving into new verticals. Our assessment highlighted the importance of identifying and aligning on one or more ICPS within these new verticals and embedding them throughout the customer journey to support a more deliberate, targeted outbound focus. Additionally, we identified the need for increased organic search visibility and proactive partnerships with vertical-specific specialists to broaden their routes to market and generate better qualified leads.
It’s important to note that inbound and outbound strategies are not mutually exclusive. A company focused on enterprise customers could still use inbound strategies such as SEO to build brand awareness; however, understanding the types of customers you want to acquire, and their typical journeys should guide you in prioritising your sales and marketing resources – whether it’s deciding which channels to invest in or where to focus your training efforts.
Regardless of the sales strategy you choose, driving customer advocacy should always be a central consideration when evaluating your GTM strategy. By creating positive customer experiences, offering excellent support, and actively engaging with your audience, you can turn satisfied customers into powerful brand ambassadors and leverage the trust and credibility that people place in peer-to-peer recommendations as a powerful form of organic marketing. In turn, when customer advocacy remains a key focus in your GTM strategy, it strengthens your brand’s reputation while simultaneously fostering a loyal customer base that will promote your products long after the initial sale – a powerful driver of sustained growth in competitive markets.
Evaluating Execution: Key Enablers and Metrics for Successful Implementation
While the CMO or CCO may be responsible for orchestrating the GTM strategy, its successful implementation requires the involvement of the whole business. This requires aligning internal teams with the strategy’s goals, establishing robust processes, and leveraging technology to assess how effectively you are reaching your target audience.
When evaluating your GTM strategy, the LTV:CPA ratio is a crucial metric for understanding the ROI of your marketing efforts and identifying which customer segments to prioritise.
1. Aligning Teams and Setting Processes:
The first step in effectively implementing a GTM strategy is defining the roles and responsibilities of all the teams involved, including marketing, sales, customer service, and product development. After which, the focus should shift to aligning the marketing and sales team, with a particular focus on how leads will be generated, nurtured, and converted. It is crucial for both teams to agree on key definitions, such as what constitutes a qualified lead, and to set target metrics that align with the overall business goals – for example, if the goal is to increase the revenue share generated by repeat purchases or renewals, this should be reflected in the sales incentives.
Effective implementation extends beyond the sales and marketing teams, requiring collaboration and proper handover between all divisions involved. For instance, product improvements that meet customer needs can only be developed if there is effective communication between customer service and product development teams. To prevent breakdowns in this process, several steps should be taken to set clear procedures:
Establish communication channels: this can include regular interdepartmental meetings or the use of shared project management tools.
Set handover protocols: develop and document handover protocols to ensure smooth transitions between stages of the customer journey.
Implement feedback loops: these should enable the flow of data and insights across teams, supporting continuous improvement of a service that is aligned with customer needs.
Monitor these processes: set a series of key performance indicators (KPIs), such as the frequency of sales and marketing meetings and utilisation metrics of customer relationship management tools.
By establishing and refining these processes, you set your team up for success in working towards common objectives, enabling them to most effectively utilise the tools at their disposal in attracting new customers.
2. Leveraging Technology:
In deploying your GTM strategy, several key technologies can help streamline processes, enhance communication, and provide valuable insights to drive decision-making. These include:
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems: tools like Salesforce and HubSpot are essential for managing customer interactions, tracking sales activities, and generating insights into the sales pipeline
Marketing automation tools: platforms such as Mailchimp automate repetitive marketing tasks, like email campaigns and social media postings, ensuring consistent engagement with your audience
Analytics platforms: tools like Google Analytics and Tableau can be used to monitor performance metrics and provide actionable insights to optimise campaigns and strategies
3. Tracking and Optimising Key Metrics:
At the core of any successful GTM strategy lies an understanding of several critical metrics:
The LTV to cost per acquisition (CPA) ratio: this highlights the return on investment (ROI) of your marketing spend. It helps you determine whether increasing marketing spend to accelerate customer growth from a specific cohort is justified or if you should focus on optimising conversion rates and LTV.
Conversion rates: these should be tracked at every stage along the sales funnel, providing insight into the percentage of prospects who take a desired action. This could highlight any potential revenue leakage due to inefficiencies in the sales funnel (e.g., delayed follow-up, poor handover between the sales and customer success teams, or using outdated CRM systems that fail to track interactions correctly).
Churn rates: when and why are customers leaving? Developing retention strategies is vital for sustained growth and maintains a pool of customers to target with cross-sell and upsell strategies.
Net Promoter Score (NPS): a measure of customer satisfaction and loyalty, gauged by the likelihood of customers to recommend your product or service to others. A higher NPS will promote organic growth through word-of-moth referrals, and better retention.
To supplement these metrics, additional analyses such as attribution modelling or A/B testing of aspects of your marketing and sales activities enable an iterative approach to refining your GTM strategy. At Coppett Hill, we often help clients build robust GTM data platforms that support this cycle of experimentation, measurement, and adjustment. By leveraging these platforms, organisations can systematically test new ideas, assess their impact, and refine their strategies in real-time – an essential component in generating actionable insights for management teams and others involved in executing the GTM strategy.
Conclusion:
Put simply, your go-to-market strategy encompasses everything that happens between having a product or service and having money. There is no standard playbook for what your GTM strategy should look like; however, an effective evaluation of one requires a thorough understanding of your customers, how your products are best suited to solve their problems, and how you are best positioned to engage with them. Whether it is a startup wondering how best to prioritise limited resources or an established enterprise launching new products and/or entering new verticals, maintaining these focuses will help to develop a GTM strategy that is well-defined, supported across the business, and effectively put into practice
If you’d like to talk about Go-To-Market strategy and how to optimise your efforts, please Contact Us.
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