Getting GTM right can drive sustainable growth in a crowded market.

This week I am delighted to have a guest writer - Ian Crumpton. Ian shares his insights on effective Go To Market strategy and its application in the Payments Industry. I admire Ian’s ability to rigorously find hidden data and insights which can prove transformative in the growth of organisations. Thank you Ian for sharing the following wisdom.

?The new buzz phrase in the payments industry over the past couple of years…..GTM (Go-To-Market).? Whether scrolling through LinkedIn, checking the job vacancy boards or within the four walls of office space – we are continually hearing that organisations in our industry ‘need to get better at GTM’ or ‘we need a robust GTM strategy’.

But what does it actually mean?

?From the commoditised, bank owned era of the early to mid noughties we have seen an explosion of card and alternative payments globally, driven by technology, innovation, start up disruptors and big brands moving into an adjacent space to take a piece of the payments pie.? The way consumers want to pay has come a long way, and with that has come a plethora of new players disrupting the status quo resulting in legacy providers frantically defending the portfolios they have built and the new guard wowing consumers & partners with their perceived superior solutions.

?One thing has remained constant though – the B2B pool remains relatively small and the increase in competition has driven a sales focused culture in most organisations – ‘we need more customers – HIRE MORE SALES PEOPLE’, ‘our customers are leaving us for our competitors – HIRE MORE SALES PEOPLE’.? This, it seems has been the strategy for many payments businesses over the past few years to bridge income gaps, satisfy investors and get more business through the door.

?On top of that, organisations have piled pressure on their sales, marketing & product teams to ‘just get things done quicker’ – this is where the whole GTM craze was born.? GTM In many people’s eyes is simply a phrase used to just do the same things but faster to keep up.?

?Where in fact, organisations (regardless of industry) that understand what GTM is are those that spend more time focusing on the following as a priority:

?1.???? Understanding where their niche and tangible opportunities are, is what they then build their products and services around.?

2.???? They use data to pinpoint priority verticals, segments & markets.

3.???? They take time to understand the pain points and needs of their target audience.

4.???? ?With this data and insight they build compelling solutions and proposition sets that will make them stand out to both customers and enablement partners.

5.???? ?They have a deep understanding of how to acquire their target customers – whether that be through traditional marketing efforts, referral partnerships or the evolving importance of the ISV and strategic partnership channels.

6.???? They build effective sales strategies and plans that reflect where the business has identified their targets.

?This is real GTM – it is being super clear both to target customers & partners, engraining this within strategy, planning and culture.? Having a clear view on all of this in turn enables businesses to deliver quicker, react quicker, reduce cost and create specialism in the market. This ultimately results in delivering on every organisations main aim of driving incremental revenue and outgrowing their competition.

?Having an effective GTM process to feed and support business strategy is becoming ever more critical in our industry. It continues to become more? overcrowded – just simply doing what you have always done but quicker may drive short term revenue but will not enable a sustainable business. Yet a robust approach to GTM planning will.

?As someone who has spent nearly two decades in the payments industry, a lack of an effective GTM strategy and appropriate focus is something I have seen hold many great organisations back.? Today, I help organisations bridge the GTM gap to drive short, mid and long term results using a very simple, but proven model.