At Aptivio, we specialize in helping businesses achieve successful launches time and time again—thanks to an AI-powered engine that not only pulls reliable customer data, but potential opportunities for future sales. Keep reading as we break down those seven steps above and show you how to plan a go-to-market strategy you can count on for years to come.

Below, you will find a breakdown of our seven-step process for creating a go-to-market strategy framework. We recommend you keep revisiting these seven steps as your GTM plans progress, using tools like Aptivio to support your data collection and decision making.

The first step is to know everything within your plan’s scope, including what it should (and shouldn’t) cover. When determining what format your go-to-market plan should take, you need to be clear on not only what is involved, but who is involved—to keep things organized and avoid duplicate efforts. This will look slightly different for each industry and product/service, but here are some relatively universal components to keep stock of:

KPIs get mentioned a lot in the business world, but they are often misunderstood and misused. These are not just flat numbers you show to stakeholders; they are data points that should drive your decision-making. Your KPIs shouldn’t be something you just collect to collect—or worse, something you collect because everyone else in your industry does. Really think about what data is going to be helpful to your plans, and what metrics can help spark innovation for your go-to-market strategy. For example, as you’re measuring customer satisfaction, are there any correlations or patterns you can draw from that data—perhaps, another ICP you should be selling to?

Much of this work can be automated with the right research tools. Solutions like Aptivio draw insights like these while collecting consumer data, turning your research into something that works for you, rather than just something you work for.

We somewhat touched on this in the previous step, but it certainly bears repeating. Whether you’re making a go-to-market strategy for a new product or just keeping tabs on your industry, collecting good data is vital to your efforts. But what exactly is “good” data, and how do you get it?

At Aptivio, we believe good data needs to be accurate, actionable, and inspiring. In other words, your data should:
1. Give you an accurate, real-time glance at your market opportunities.
2. Help you form actionable items that translate into your GTM plans.
3. Discover inspiring patterns, correlations, or potential growth opportunities.

This is more than simply saying “sell a lot of products” or “beat out the competition.” Use your KPIs to establish measurable metrics, then keep stock of those metrics throughout the entire GTM process. The more clear you get on your success metrics, the better you’ll understand what’s working (and not working) in your GTM strategies moving forward.

There’s not much to say about this step, other than “get after it!”

To reiterate, the better you do at Step 4, the more helpful this stage is. And like with success metrics, this step is more than just saying “we did it!” or “we failed!” Why did those things happen, and what can your data tell you about things like buyer intent or the execution of your plans?

No plan is ever perfect, so it’s critical to keep improvement a part of your organization. This is no different for GTM plans. Even when you’re successful at a launch, there’s always more to add. Keep in mind this is not meant to be negative, but a cause for celebration; if you’re successful, for example, maybe it’s time to raise the bar for your success metrics!

If data is at the core of your strategy (and it should be), you need the right tools to support your research. Aptivio knows what it takes to make your marketing data work for you—and we’ve proven so with a whole host of happy clients around the world. Using AI-powered analytics, we help clients collect real-time data that not only gives them a market baseline but helps them establish future opportunities for sales—opportunities they can then share with stakeholders through the platform. If you’re ready to see how much less work success takes with the right tools, get your free Market Snapshot today and start your journey with Aptivio!