1.
High-performance marketing method, training and tools.
Go-to-Market – Fast and True
“Go-to-market.” Why not just “marketing”?
Because “go-to-market” captures the thought of introducing or re-introducing your
product or service into a specific market context. It is more “action-y” than
“marketing” and can serve as a rallying point for you and your team. “We‟re not just
marketing this new Ninja-Master 9000 Training Shoes – we‟re going to market with
them!”
Three Principles for Effective Go-to-Market
First – Define your Objectives
If you don‟t know where you‟re going, it doesn‟t much matter which direction you take the organization.
Objectives are necessary in order to have a clear and clean cut view of where the organization is going.
There are strategic and tactical objectives, which document the future of the firm or a specific market roll-out.
They should be built around concept of messaging must be central, so both strategic and tactical objectives
support the validation, communication and execution of the product‟s Value Proposition– representing a set of
promises that your target market will agree is innovative, indispensable and inspiring.

2.
Strategic objectives are the high-level goals that drive strategy and long-term direction. These include
corporate goals (which lay out the major, grand-scheme plans of the organization), financial goals (the key
financial metrics that drive the firm‟s success), and market impact goals (the key metrics that will allow you to
measure your position or success in the marketplace, such as market share, markets served, number of
customers, etc.)
Tactical objectives aren‟t tasks, per se, but are more immediately tangible than strategic objectives. They
reflect the key areas of project management, overall efficiency and time management, and translate easily into
“to-do list” items for your Action Plan, and benchmarks for your timeline.
Keep objectives as clear and specific as possible. Use time-bound targets that are as measurable as possible.
For example: Sell 100,000 units by May of 20xx for revenue of $$$ million.
IT Industry research leader, Gartner, Inc. comments on the importance of tying goals to actionable strategy and
results: “Aspiring „to be the market leader‟ or „to be seen by our clients and partners in their success‟ is
admirable, but lacks the specificity and clear linkage to action and measurable results to propel go-to-market
efforts.”
Do you know where you’re going? Have you established major strategic objectives as well as tangible
tactical objectives? Are these goals clear, specific, and measurable?
Second – Ask the Right Questions
Former Avaya CEO Louis D‟Ambrosio‟s frames strategic planning this way: “We‟ve established three key
priorities: strategy, execution and culture. What‟s most important is the interrelations between the three.”
Given the formation of the your go-to-market strategy and its objectives, actions and resources, four question
areas will arise:

3.
What major issues must be faced?
What key decisions must be made?
What information are we missing?
What expertise or “know how” will we need to carry out this plan?
First, identify major issues as they surface, noting where “gaps” still exist. These issues are either internal or
external roadblocks to success. Some issues will require conversations or actions to mitigate their impact on
your plans. In other cases, these issues might not be obstacles but rather create other, unintended
complications. For example, a particular launch may negatively affect a long-term partner because it has
competitive elements within it. This doesn‟t necessarily hinder your go-to-market efforts, but it has
ramifications in other aspects of your business.
All issues require one or more decisions – even “do nothing” is a decision. So, break down these major issues
into key decisions that need to be made while going to market. Frame the decision along with its stakeholders
and its impact on the key factors in the overall strategy.
Finally, what information and expertise is needed to execute your plan? How will you fill these gaps? All
elements should be articulated and measured in terms of their relationship and interrelation to the strategic and
tactical objectives of your go-to-market messaging process.
Third – Don’t Get Stuck

4.
Ironically, the
least successful and most difficult task for companies is often not development of go-to-market strategy, but
actually the execution of those plans. It is critical that you keep the elements of your overall strategy at the
center of your conversations and current strategic discussions.
When you consider new business opportunities that might interfere with your current go-to-market tasks, ask:
Is this consistent with our overall objectives? Our timeline?Our goals? Will this take the focus off our strategic
business initiatives?
Also, go back to the four question areas. They are simple yet valuable tools. Consider the simplicity and power
of asking:
Is this an issue that really requires more discussion and understanding?
Do we need to make a decision which presupposes a defined set of outcomes to choose from?
Is this an information gap (a lack of appropriate or sufficient information)?
Do we have a “know-how” gap (the lack of a specific skill or domain expertise to fulfill the mission)?
Teams can develop a “shorthand” that moves them quickly from an emotional read of the situation to an
objectively based one. Be sure to round out your discussions and conversations with an action orientation. You
should always “map back” to your overall project plan, and stay rooted in your overall messaging strategy.

5.
Product Launch Strategies:
Three Principles for Effective Go-To-Market
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MAY 1, 2012
© Bella Sabbagh
―Aspiring „to be the market leader‟ or „to be seen by our clients and
partners in their success‟ is admirable, but lacks the specificity and clear
linkage to action and measurable results to propel go-to-market efforts.‖
— IT Industry research leader, Gartner, Inc.,
on the importance of tying goals to actionable strategy and results.
On December 3, 2001, the Segway was unveiled to the public. Dean Kamen’s new invention, the
now-infamous self-balancing motorized scooter, was surrounded by buzz twelve months before its
release. After the built-up hype, the Segway was expected to sell 10,000 machines a week, instead
of the actual 24,000 sold in the first year.

6.
On January 27, 2010, the iPad was revealed to the world. The revolutionary tablet computer was
also released amidst a flurry of anticipatory buzz. Within 80 days, Apple sold three million iPads, and
once again changed the way people use technology.
Two products. Two releases. Two (drastically) different outcomes.
These stories remind us of the basic questions: What are the key ingredients to a successful product
launch? How can you protect your product from failure?
One quick Google-search of ―Product Launch Strategies‖ will reveal that these arethe questions
people are asking – no matter the business, no matter the product, no matter the current strategy.
Although there are a variety of ideas and quick tips out there for perusal, I really think your Go-To-
Market strategy can be boiled down to three simple rules. Now, there’s an important distinction
between the terms ―Go-To-Market‖ and ―Marketing‖ – at least in the common understanding of most
professionals I deal with. “Go-To-Market” captures the thought of introducing a specific
product into a specific market context. It is more ―action-y‖ than ―marketing,‖ which can be
applied more broadly to all the activities traditionally associated with strategy, pricing, positioning
and so on. ―Go-to-Market‖ can serve as a rallying point for your team as it is generally seen as very
time-bound (―now‖) and results oriented (―launch this product‖). (I realize this is not exact – but it is a
reflection of how I’ve heard these terms used over the years.)
So here are the three overarching principles for effective Go-To-Market strategy:
1) Define Your Objectives Carefully
If you don’t know where you’re going, it doesn’t much matter which direction you take the
organization.
Objectives are necessary in order to have a clear and clean-cut view of where the organization
is going. They should be built around a central concept of messaging, representing a set of
promises that your target market will agree is innovative, indispensable, and inspiring (I3). Keep
objectives as clear and specific as possible. Use time-bound targets that are measurable. (For
example: Sell 100,000 units by May of 20xx for revenue of $$$ million.)
 Strategic objectives are the high-level goals that drive strategy and long-term direction.
These include corporate goals, financial goals, and market impact goals.
 Tactical objectives aren’t tasks, per se, but are more immediately tangible than strategic
objectives. They reflect the key areas of project management, overall efficiency and time
management, and translate easily into ―to-do list‖ items.

7.
2) Ask the Right Questions
Throughout the formation of the your go-to-market strategy, four question areas will arise:
 What major issues must be faced?
 What key decisions must be made?
 What information are we missing?
 What expertise or “know how” will we need to carry out this plan?
First, identify major issues as they surface, noting where ―gaps‖ still exist. These issues are
either internal or external roadblocks to success. Some issues will require conversations or
actions to mitigate their impact on your plans. In other cases, these issues might not be
obstacles but rather create other, unintended complications. For example, a particular launch
may negatively affect a long-term partner because it has competitive elements within it. This
doesn’t necessarily hinder your go-to-market efforts, but it has ramifications in other aspects of
your business.
Next, make the necessary decisions. All issues require one or more decisions – even ―do
nothing‖ is a decision. So, break down these major issues into key decisions that need to be
made while going to market. Frame the decision along with its stakeholders and its impact on
the key factors in the overall strategy.
Finally, determine what information and expertise is needed to execute your plan. How will
you fill these gaps? All elements should be articulated and measured in terms of their
relationship and interrelation to the strategic and tactical objectives of your go-to-market
messaging process.
3) Don’t Get Stuck
Ironically, the most difficult task for companies is often not development of go-to-market
strategy, but actually the execution of those plans. It is critical that you keep the elements of
your overall strategy at the center of your conversations and current strategic discussions.
When you consider new business opportunities that might interfere with your current go-to-
market tasks, ask: Is this consistent with our overall objectives? Our timeline?Our goals? Will
this take the focus off of our strategic business initiatives?
Also, go back to the four question areas. They are simple yet valuable tools.Consider the
simplicity and power of asking:

8.
 Is this an issue that really requires more discussion and understanding?
 Do we need to make a decision which presupposes a defined set of outcomes to choose
from?
 Is this an information gap (a lack of appropriate or sufficient information)?
 Do we have a “know-how” gap (the lack of a specific skill or domain expertise to fulfill the
mission)?
Teams can develop a “shorthand” that moves them quickly from an emotional read of the
situation to an objectively based one. Be sure to round out your discussions and
conversations with an action orientation. You should always ―map back‖ to your overall project
plan, and stay rooted in your overall messaging strategy.
Do you have any success/horror stories about product launches?
How have you seen marketing strategies either help or hinder the product’s success?
Related Posts on the Strategic Propositions Blog
 You Need Disagreeable People on Your Team
 Marketing Process: Necessity, Not Luxury
 Objectively Speaking
 Strategic Questions
 Don't Get Stuck