Go-to-Market Strategy Prep – Key Questions to Ask Before You Go
One of the most exciting inflection points in the life of a start-up is when we roll up our sleeves, get out our sticky notes, white board, and sit down to brainstorm, strategize, and plan the go-to-market.
This is the time when we settle on the best way to take that great idea, product, and technology to town.
But before we do – there are some key questions that we must ask, and answer. Namely:
Who are we?
What are our strengths?
What are we good at?
What are our core competencies?
What is our domain expertise?
Who needs what we’re good at? I.e. who is the buyer persona?
Answering these questions will bring us to the very important understanding of what we should focus on selling, how to sell it, and to whom we can sell.
When it comes to “what we’re good at” – the answer we may find does not always align with (a) what we think and say we’re good at, and (b) what we tell prospects and investors we’re good at. And if we’re not completely aligned – we could be going off to a product development and marketing strategy that will be skewed and may ultimately falter.
Additionally, does “what we’re good at” align with market needs? This is super critical. First, there is a problem, not a solution. Because if there isn’t a problem or need, it doesn’t matter how amazingly brilliant the solution is – no one will pay for it. Budgets get approved to run the business better, more efficiently, open new markets, generate cash, save cash. If “what we’re good at” doesn’t address one of these – we need to sit down and re-align.
Of course, there are more questions that must asked and answered before defining and executing a go-to-market. However, if we don’t address the very foundation of who we are and what is our very essence, then the rest of it will likely be based on misconceptions, false assumptions, and a misunderstanding of what the potential is and how to achieve start-up greatness.
Want to get started with a killer go-to-market discovery? Get in touch and let’s do great marketing together >>