Brainstorm Your GTM System
Now let's think about what you need to do to get your product to your customers.
Consider the journey your customer takes from the moment they first become aware of your product, through to purchase.
What activities have to occur? From seeing an ad, to removing any barriers to purchase, what needs to happen? List the necessary activities below. Treat this as an initial brain dump. It doesn't have to be perfect.
Start a new google doc or use a pen and paper to write down your ideas. Set a timer for 5 minutes and see how many ideas you can capture!
Brainstorm Review
You've now brainstormed a list of activities you know need to happen to get your product/service in front of your customers. But were they the right activities? Review the list below and think through which you feel were specifically addressed in your initial brain dump.
Note that not all items will be applicable to all products/services, but you should consider all that are applicable to you.
Interest Creation Activities (Interest creation activities help your customers become aware of your product or service and their desire for it.)
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You generate awareness for product/service/business
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You Locate your customers and their needs
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You create a desire for your product
Pre-Purchase activities (Pre-purchase activities help your customers see the features and benefits of your product/service, and how they compare with competing products/services.)
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You prove the usefulness of your product
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Communicate the features and benefits
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Explain how to use the product
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Compare the product to alternatives
Purchase Activities (Purchase activities support the customer's decision to purchase your product/service and may include a "take-it-or-leave-it" price offer, opportunities for negotiation, or delivery of a proposal.)
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Negotiating Purchase Terms
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Product Proposal
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Closing the transaction
Post-Purchase Activities (Post-purchase activities answer customer questions or address their needs such that your customers are able to use and are satisfied with your product/service.)
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Repair and or maintenance
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Answering Customer Questions
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Maintaining relationships
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handling complaints and or returns
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payment collection
Get organized
As you prepare to implement your GTM strategy into a GTM system, spend some time thinking about the journey your customers need to take and the decisions that will lead them to their ultimate purchase.
At each step of the customer’s journey, you have the opportunity to step in and frame their thinking or motivate action that gets them closer to buying your product/service.
Open up your workbook to Activity 5, or download the workbook and move on to the next step "Create Your GTM System," where we’ll guide you through developing your own Go-to-Market System.
Create your GTM system
Now it’s time to use the template to develop a Go-to-Market system for your business that accurately reflects your customer’s journey to purchase.
There are two core elements in your Go-to-Market system:
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Essential work. These are the marketing and sales activities required at every stage of convincing a customer to purchase your product/service. You can build on the ideas you brainstormed earlier to create a comprehensive list of essential work that needs to be done.
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GTM Participants. These are the people who will do the essential work required to move customers through each stage of their purchasing journey. You need to identify who will perform each marketing and sales activity along the way.
Your GTM system may engage one participant or many. Either way, the incentives must be aligned so that it’s in the best interest of all participants to do the work that moves the customer to purchase. (Think back to the Aqualisa example from the video n step 1!) Whether the essential work is performed by a direct employee or a channel partner, there is a trade-off between your cost and level of control. Be sure that the value you create and capture with your product/service is sufficient to cover the costs of your Go-to-Market system.
There is one person at the heart of your Go-to-Market system: your customer.
Customers go on a journey that may begin with an ad on social media or their own product research. Like you, your customers weigh the pros and cons of a product/service before ultimately making a purchase decision.
Focus on your customer’s journey and consider:
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Where you find your customers (online vs. offline).
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What you know about customer habits and decision-making.
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If your product is an impulse buy or a considered purchase.
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The roadblocks your customer may have to go through to get your product.
Keeping all this in mind, start filling out the template and developing your Go-to-Market system.
Recap
Professor James Lattin provides a recap of the activity and shares a few tips for moving forward with the work you've done.
