Ask any startup founder you probably have a go-to-market (GTM) downside.
It is completely potential that the reply could be no as a result of startup founders and CXOs assume that GTM is a top-of-the-funnel (TOFU) downside, advertising downside, product use case downside, or gross sales group downside.
And that’s the issue.
GTM has been round for some time and its varied frameworks have principally remained medieval. Your GTM framework must be a residing doc that you simply and your group frequently replace and assessment each quarter, each six months, or at any time when organizations create their annual working plan (AOP). Sadly, most don’t.
Neglecting your GTM technique results in undesirable, unsold services, together with wasted time and assets. Then again, a well-defined GTM technique helps your organization goal the precise viewers and make effectivity throughout the group higher.
Consider GTM as an evolving roadmap. Discover a buyer phase the place a product is viable, a sale is repeatable, and a bonus is yours for the taking. In case your experiment succeeds, plan to scale with all drive, however hold the unique variables intact. In case your experiment fails, pivot until you get it proper.
What you will be taught on this article:
- The distinction between previous and new GTM methods
- What the GTM phases appear like from wherever your organization is
- What the EPIC GTM framework is
- How the EPIC mannequin differs from established GTM frameworks
- What the challenges are with regards to GTM frameworks
- Why it’s essential to tailor your GTM technique to the goal market
Legacy GTM vs. new GTM
GTM has undergone vital adjustments in recent times. The frameworks are evolving and so are the definitions.
Historically, firms centered on the overall addressable market (TAM) and serviceable addressable market (SAM) when creating their GTM framework.
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Nevertheless, in the previous few years, the main target has shifted to the serviceable obtainable market (SOM), the place firms decide the market measurement based mostly on the potential of their gross sales group.
So, at this time, in the event you as an organization have solely about 20 salespeople, every of these 20 salespeople can usher in 5 accounts each month. So, 100 accounts are doubtless obtainable by the corporate.
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This shift has led to a extra laser-focused strategy to GTM. Corporations now outline their and tailor their methods accordingly. For instance, if an organization is focusing on e-commerce firms, it would concentrate on promoting to firms like Flipkart and Myntra.
These firms are a great match for the corporate’s services, and so they have the assets to implement them. By specializing in a selected set of ultimate buyer profiles (ICPs), the corporate can extra successfully attain its goal market and obtain its gross sales targets.
The founder-led strategy to GTM has additionally turn into extra prevalent, with founders pulling varied levers, together with sales-led and account-based advertising (ABM), to drive development. Moreover, firms are specializing in product-led development (PLG), marketing-led growth, and community-led approaches to GTM.
Group-led advertising has turn into crucial within the new GTM frameworks. It’s a manner for firms to create worth for his or her prospects exterior of their services or products.
Up to now, firms would usually depend on conventional advertising channels, comparable to promoting and public relations, to achieve their goal market. Nevertheless, these channels have gotten much less efficient as shoppers turn into extra ad-blind and distrustful of conventional advertising messages.
Folks have fashioned bigger communities, whether or not it’s the browser stacks, Discord, or Slack communities. Answering the questions posed in these on-line communities is essential. When firms reply questions in a useful and informative manner, they present that they’re educated about their business and that they’re dedicated to serving to their prospects. This could result in elevated model consciousness, extra leads, and extra gross sales.
General, the push-focused strategy of the previous has given method to a extra knowledgeable and educated buyer base that requires a complicated avenue to GTM. Consequently, firms should adapt and evolve their GTM methods to succeed.
GTM phases as your organization takes off
Supply: Helix Consulting
The GTM technique is relevant throughout the assorted phases your organization is in. Let’s discover it intimately.
- Concept stage: Within the ideation stage, you’re but to find the right set of merchandise. You could use the basics of PLG to search out worth discovery. You could have a fundamental web site with minimal inbound site visitors and faucet into accelerators or companion assist for development.
- Minimal variable product (MVP) stage: You could have a few prospects, which implies that the product, in some form and type, is effectively established. Persons are shopping for that product, and the MVP has been set. Exploring varied PLG fashions and determining what’s working is significant. Gross sales are founder-led, and you’ll experiment to search out what’s repeatable and worthwhile. Right here nonetheless, you’ve gotten a fundamental web site with restricted inbound site visitors.
- Seed stage: Your PLG fashions are working effectively, with the implementation of varied frameworks just like the pirate framework. Your web site has advanced to get inbound leads, and also you write blogs and do web optimization. The main focus shifts to demos, level of contacts (POCs), and addressing buyer issues. Right here is the place it’s essential to guarantee consistency of demos, even with a small group.
- Collection A stage: Now you’ve gotten respectable gross sales and assist groups with buyer success in place. The product or platform turns into a development driver. Inbound leads are vital; outbound and efficiency advertising experiments would possibly start. The main focus is on repeatable gross sales, upsells, and cross-sells and also you begin fascinated about account-based advertising to focus on bigger accounts.
- Scale-up stage: A bigger group types with the addition of your VP of gross sales, head of promoting, and CRO. Your goal checklist expands with a bigger group, and ABM methods play an important position. Right here, the neighborhood pulls and occasions turn into distinguished. It is a essential stage for 5-10 million annual recurring income (ARR) firms.
Notice: Churn is a vital concern as you scale up. GTM methods should stay constant inside their respective phases for efficient development.
Introducing the EPIC GTM mannequin
Within the context of GTM frameworks, it is important to know the gross sales cycle and the way it has advanced.
Historically, the gross sales cycle would take round 8 to 12 months. You could have loads of TOFU, the place you attempt to do the product demos, and make the discoveries. Then you may get into the POC and the pricing proposal. You then both win or lose.
Supply: Helix Consulting
Nevertheless, in at this time’s market, this strategy is not sustainable, and corporations try to crunch the timeline by including extra TOFU and specializing in SOM. The method now includes shopping for teams, a better variety of interactions earlier than a sale, and knowledgeable consumers who’ve their very own analysis. They don’t robotically belief the salesperson anymore.
With these adjustments, it turns into all of the extra essential for firms to mix PLG and a GTM technique to realize this.
As entrepreneurs or CXOs search midmarket and enterprise prospects, they face the challenges of partaking leads, enduring lengthy gross sales gestation intervals, and maximizing buyer lifetime worth. The GTM strategy, which used to work in 2020, is ineffective at this time. With the need of mixing PLG and GTM fashions, I’ve created the EPIC mannequin framework.
Supply: Helix Consulting
The EPIC mannequin strategy to GTM aligns an organization’s 4 essential pillars in order that they run in sync. These pillars embody ecosystem or sales-driven effort (E), product-led development (P), inbound and outbound demand technology (I), and community-led engagement (C).
EPIC framework turns into the backbone of your GTM technique and aligns your complete firm’s efforts into a method that propels you into the following galaxy. A profitable strategy prioritizes storytelling by way of all 4 pillars to draw TOFU leads, speed up alternatives within the center and on the backside of the funnel, and construct neighborhood word-of-mouth.
Ecosystem and account-based advertising
The gross sales group leads the ecosystem and account-based advertising (ABM) pillar. They decide the ICPs and exterior companions, comparable to analyst companies, commerce associations, and publications, that may affect choice making.
For instance, in the event you’re going to promote to the US market, the very first thing a CIO will wish to know is whether or not you’ve gotten a presence on the G2 Grid. Exterior companions turn into all of the extra essential while you wish to affect choice making.
Gross sales can’t do it alone. Gone are the occasions of celebrity salespeople. These days, they should REACT within the ecosystem to satisfy their quotas.
Ecosystem stimulus utilizing REACT framework
| Analysis (R) | Interact (E) | Adjacencies (A) | Chase (C) | Contact (T) |
| Qualitative Analysis | Occasion and Exhibitions | Companion Advertising | Consulting Companies | Account Primarily based Expertise (ABX) |
| Voice of Buyer | Workshops | VAR/VAD/Reseller Program | PR and Analyst | T-O-P-S Account Analysis |
| Prime-of-the-mind consciousness (TOMA) or Spontaneous (SPONT) Consciousness | Roundtables | OEM Companions | Commerce Our bodies | Custom-made Gross sales Enablement |
| Buyer Satisfaction (CSAT) Analysis | Advisory Councils | Referral and Affiliate Companions | G2 and different Peer Evaluate websites | Exec Sponsor Program |
Product-led development
When you land an account, PLG will present you the place it’s essential to onboard, generate worth, experiment, and increase. Whereas different GTM channels are prime to backside, PLG strikes from the underside up. In India, many firms are including newer merchandise, so this upward motion turns into all of the extra essential.
Strive utilizing PLG to take away the POC stage in gross sales and change it with placing the product within the consumer’s fingers. This expertise truly reduces the time and prices of acquisition.
Equally, you’ll be able to goal the shopping for cupboard with ABM, the tip customers with PLG, and the influencers with content material. Together with eliminating smaller points that eat time, disturb the product roadmap, and delay the precise worth supply, you’ll be able to flip your 360° PLG strategy right into a self-serve mannequin.
Inbound and outbound
The third pillar is inbound and outbound, pushed by advertising. This consists of efficiency advertising, thought management content material, and social media. The advert campaigns you run by way of LinkedIn and Google fall right here, as effectively.
The model ingredient right here is an integral a part of GTM frameworks. If the model is well-known, it generates inbound and outbound site visitors, and prospects will acknowledge and consider your product. Nevertheless, the model supplies outcomes over an extended interval and so we exclude it within the present mannequin, which is results-focused.
Group-led planning
The ultimate pillar is community-led planning, which incorporates data sharing, phrase of mouth, and peer evaluations.
The main focus has shifted from buyer assist to success previously 5 years. In hand with this, the necessity for neighborhood engagement by way of buyer advisory boards, or advocacy channels has grown. For example, firms at the moment are turning to advisory boards to assemble suggestions on their merchandise and be certain that they tackle buyer issues successfully.
These are the 4 pillars of the EPIC GTM technique.
Like DNA, each firm’s GTM is exclusive. You may’t cut-copy-paste it or replicate it in a silo.
How does the EPIC framework differ from established fashions?
Let’s take the GTM Companions’ and GTM Alliance fashions, two established and common frameworks, and have a look at how the EPIC mannequin differs from them.
GTM Companions mannequin vs. EPIC mannequin
GTM Companions’ mannequin requires inbound, outbound, product-led, channel-led, and ecosystem-led development as the important thing parts of a profitable GTM technique. The EPIC framework is designed for rising markets like India, the Center East, and APAC.
The EPIC framework has quite a few notable variations from the GTM Companions’ mannequin
- Channel-led development: The GTM Companions mannequin features a devoted element for channel-led development, whereas the EPIC framework retains it throughout the Ecosystem REACT framework. It’s because channel partnerships aren’t as frequent in rising markets as they’re in developed markets. The channel margins in these areas aren’t conducive to SaaS gross sales so it doesn’t often undergo channels in India or different related markets. Nevertheless, this may increasingly change as these markets advance over the following decade.
- Outbound gross sales: The EPIC framework emphasizes outbound gross sales greater than the GTM Companions mannequin. Outbound gross sales are nonetheless a really efficient method to attain new prospects in rising markets. Whereas many SaaS firms in India emphasize inbound advertising, I imagine outbound methods additionally maintain vital potential. In my expertise, outbound ways have contributed considerably to the success of firms on this market, and the EPIC mannequin displays this.
- PLG: The GTM Companions mannequin locations a heavy emphasis on PLG to realize success sooner or later. The EPIC framework, however, acknowledges that PLG is just not but mature sufficient in rising markets and that it’s essential to have a extra balanced strategy that features outbound gross sales and channel partnerships.
GTM Alliance mannequin vs. EPIC mannequin
The GTM Alliance mannequin emphasizes the importance of ecosystem-led development (ELG) as the first strategy. It additionally highlights the roles of gross sales, content material, and neighborhood inside this framework. Nevertheless, I discover the case is totally different when contemplating the Indian market.
In India, once we observe SaaS firms, solely a choose few have reached a sophisticated stage of PLG. Whereas PLG is extremely efficient within the early phases (0 to 1 and 1 to five), it turns into much less prevalent as firms transcend that. Due to this fact, relying solely on PLG could not assure success. That is the first distinction between the EPIC and GTM Alliance fashions.
Content material performs an important position in several parts of a GTM technique, comparable to ecosystem-based gross sales, gross sales enablement, and ABM. Nevertheless, it can’t perform as an unbiased lever. Look at the way you form and tailor your content material for varied channels. It can’t have a one-size-fits-all lever. Every channel calls for particular content material methods to be efficient, which is what the EPIC mannequin advocates.
What are the challenges to making use of GTM frameworks?
The primary essential step is admitting the challenges you face. Should you speak to 10 founders, no person will say, “I’ve a GTM downside.” They’ll speak about TOFU challenges, gross sales closure points, or product shortcomings. It is a slender, fragmented perspective. Leaders want to know that their downside isn’t a person one, however collective. It’s a GTM downside.
One other problem is the silos that exist between totally different groups. Leads and closures are sitting in two totally different locations. Advertising offers out these leads after which you haven’t any clue what occurs to them.
Whereas some entrepreneurs take delight in going after the leads, most don’t. And gross sales tends to solely pursue the nice leads. What occurs to everyone else? You – and all management – want to have a look at the method holistically and ensure your complete crew works on it collectively from begin to end.
You even have to think about the dearth of assets and inconsistent literature out there about these methods. Whereas the market has modified, academic establishments and data shares haven’t caught up. It’s nonetheless tough to pinpoint a useful resource for studying about GTM frameworks.
Tailor your GTM framework to the goal market
Whereas each framework guides your GTM technique, figuring out the wants of the market you’re catering to and doing every little thing you’ll be able to to satisfy them lie on the basis of this course of.
It is best to function from an area market perspective irrespective of the place you’re. So in the event you’re in North America, sure practices maintain true for that market. Take the related elements of the GTM framework which are relevant to the North American market and exclude the remaining. For instance, the EPIC framework applies to Indian markets, so I’ve taken the related points from the general framework and appropriately tailor-made it.
And that is how you must strategy your GTM framework. There will not be a one-size-fits-all strategy as a result of the markets aren’t uniform.
Charting your GTM course
Experiment and fail and take a look at once more when constructing a GTM framework that works for you. As you make choices about your framework, take resilience, productiveness, and profitability into consideration. As soon as your experiments are profitable, you’ll be able to scale.
With these fundamentals in place, you clearly outline your ICP and your GTM will fine-tune itself.
After you have a GTM framework that works to your firm in place, how will you use AI developments to reimagine a greater method to interact your prospects and develop extra effectively? Discover the solutions to those questions and extra as you find out about a new AI framework for GTM groups.
