Having a well-developed go-to-market (GTM) strategy is important in today’s business landscape. A GTM strategy is used to determine the best ways to engage with customers to inspire them to purchase your company’s products or services.
A thoroughly defined GTM strategy includes features related to pricing, sales and channels, product branding, and the introduction of a product to a new customer market.
There are four basic types of GTM strategies that businesses use to market to their customers, including:
Each of these strategies addresses the target market for the product, the competitive demand for the product, how the product fits in the market, and its appropriate distribution. Here’s how.
An inbound strategy is driven by generating brand awareness. The marketing leadership team can use a variety of options to drive business growth organically, including content marketing, blogs, events, and social media.
Inbound strategies seek to attract specific types of customers who are more likely than others to purchase the company’s products. To accomplish this, the company must:
A sales enablement strategy focuses on providing specific training to those who operate as sales professionals for the company. This training is designed to enhance the sales team’s knowledge of their products as well as coach them on the best ways to sell to customers.
This strategy is best used by companies with products that are sold in a storefront. A good example is a cell phone company that sells phones as well as monthly usage plans to its customers.
Sales associates are expected to know the features of all of the phones available in the store as well as the details of monthly cell phone plans. Using this knowledge, they can get to know each customer’s needs and make appropriate recommendations for products and services.
Account-based marketing strategies are generally used by companies that have a B2B business model. These strategies are designed to attract large customers who can add a significant amount of revenue to the company’s profits.
Using an account-based marketing method, the marketing and sales teams work together to identify potential customers through strategic research. Once those potential clients are identified, the sales team will use a variety of methods to attempt to bring the clients on board.
An example of account-based marketing is an IT company that sells software designed to improve the productivity of businesses. This company would market its software exclusively to businesses that fit a certain profile, such as a particular industry.
In doing so, the company could find much success using content creation, events, or one-on-one meetings between sales team members and the leadership of its potential client.
Demand generation strategies usually don’t target specific demographics or businesses. Instead, they are limited to cold calling, email blasts, TV commercials, and sponsored webinars.
Since they tend not to focus on a specific part of the market that would be interested in purchasing the company’s products, their success may not be as great as with other strategies.
Demand generation can be used by just about any type of business. It works best for companies with customers who are spread across several demographics.
For example, a pizza chain that offers home delivery is appreciated by a wide variety of customers. By virtue of that, it may have more success through television advertising than a company whose clients represent only one specific portion of the population.
A chief marketing officer, or CMO, is usually responsible for developing an effective marketing strategy to drive sales. When selecting a CMO to help your company establish a strategy that brings in new customers, you’ll want to look for someone who has skills in the following areas.
A great CMO should understand how to resonate with a company’s customers. Once the target demographic has been identified, and the CMO fully understands the products the company has available, they can develop an appropriate sales approach.
This will differ from company to company. However, a good CMO will know the best ways to approach the customer to gain the best chance of a sale.
The CMO must be able to adopt an appropriate GTM strategy that best fits the business. The CMO must be able to look at the products and understand what the customer is attracted to when they purchase them.
Using this knowledge, the CMO can decide which GTM strategy is best: inbound, sales enablement, account-based marketing, or demand generation. In some cases, a combination of methods may work best.
Most businesses rely on repeat customers to solidify their business and continue to attract new ones. To do this, they need a CMO who pays attention to the customer’s needs and wants.
Whenever a customer decides to stop shopping with the company, they need to find out why. Is it related to the product? Is it because of pricing? Are there better options with competitors?
Determining what keeps customers and what makes them leave is key to keeping a business functional and growing.
Developing a GTM strategy takes time and effort. Finding a CMO who knows their stuff — and can translate their knowledge into an effective business strategy — is key to enhancing the success of the business.
If your company is looking for a new CMO, focus on finding someone who is able to translate the products or services that the business offers into a successful advertising and all-around marketing strategy.
The experienced CMO and marketing executive recruiters at Cowen Partners have a long-standing reputation for excellence when it comes to connecting companies with the brightest marketing minds in their industry.
We are up to date on the latest marketing strategies, as well as executive search trends, best practices, and technologies, and we take exceptional care while applying deep expertise to identify the best candidates for our clients’ needs.
That is why the marketing executive headhunters at Cowen Partners are the recruiters who companies trust and rely on for their marketing and demand generation recruitment needs. It is also why Cowen Partners is one of the top marketing recruitment agencies in the U.S.
Don’t miss our other exclusive marketing executive search resources for more insights — and to see why Cowen Partners is a top sales and marketing executive search firm in Atlanta, St. Louis, Anchorage, Denver, New York City, Chicago, Seattle, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Diego, and beyond:
Cowen Partners Executive Search provides marketing recruitment and executive search services to all major and minor industries including:
Accounting, Advertising, Aerospace & Defense, Biotechnology, Banking, Credit Unions, Board and CEO Services, Computer Hardware, Construction, Consulting, Consumer Products, Computer Software and Hardware, Education, Energy & Utilities, Entertainment & Sports, Finance, Financial Services, Food Products, Government, Human Resources, Health Care, Hospitality & Tourism, Insurance, Industrial, Internet & New Media, Legal, Tax, Crypto, Bitcoin, Private Equity, Journalism & Publishing, Marketing, Manufacturing, Medical Device, Non-Profit, Pharmaceutical, Private Equity, Real Estate, Retail & Apparel, Sales, Technology, Telecommunications and Transportation.
Fill out the email request form to learn more about our approach.