The Good, the Bad, and the Failed: GTM learnings for B2B Tech Startups

If you’ve tried and failed to launch your product or service in foreign markets, you’re not alone. The reality is that 80% of all new launches?fail. Building an effective go-to-market (GTM) strategy requires establishing a delicate balance between a number of different factors simultaneously. However, if you can get it right, you can unlock enormous growth potential and take your business to new heights.

Like the Wild West, you have to be rugged and determined to survive. In fact, the struggle to achieve success through GTM strategies can be compared to the most iconic spaghetti western of all time, ‘The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly’, where three titular characters are relentless in their pursuit of hidden treasure. For us driving GTMs, our goal is often simplistic - Predictable Sustainable Revenue Growth.

A good GTM strategy lets you

• identify and target ideal customers more effectively
• attract better quality leads
• highlight unique aspects of your product and market it in a way that resonates with customers,
• and most importantly aligns your sales and marketing strategies in a manner that delivers maximised results.?

A GTM is often never a straight journey from point A to point B with guaranteed results. It is often a series of experiments, learnings and quick pivots that helps us solidify “What we know”, “what we don't know” and how we can combine this dual knowledge in a manner that delivers forward momentum for our startup.

Let’s discuss some of the reasons why startups fail/ succeed in their GTM journeys. We have viewed this from a sales centric lens. It’s an excellent opportunity to learn from others to incorporate these learnings in our next GTM planning.

The Bad & The Ugly: “il brutto, il cattivo”

• Lack of Market Research and Understanding:? 34% of failed small businesses have a weak or non-existent product-market fit. Failing to do thorough market research or misunderstanding the target audience can lead to a misalignment between your offering and customer needs. Most CEOs with failed GTMs often leverage assumptions and personal biases during decision making. At times, we have also witnessed aspirations driving investments without validation/ tests to de-risk these investments.
• Unaligned Ideal Customer Profile (ICP): Most GTMs fail due to inaccurate segmentation. An ICP is a great way for startups to assess their customer segments in detail. But without a clear ICP, it is difficult to target, research and personalise your marketing and sales activities. Unclear buyer personas result in an increase in false negatives. This can potentially be disastrous while assessing GTM campaigns.?
• Unclear Messaging & Value Proposition: Unclear messaging, often where founders are trying to position their offering to a large prospective segment (Want-it-all approach) can lead to an ineffective value proposition for the ideal buyer. Potential clients often have limited time and attention, making the need for a concise and compelling message paramount. When the value proposition lacks clarity or fails to resonate with the target audience, it becomes a formidable obstacle to success. Trying to be everything to everyone is practically impossible. Personalised messaging is a critical foundation of sales success in 2024, more so when we consider the AI world we live in.
• Leadership: An often overlooked reason for GTM failure has been the leader's behaviour at the helm. Leadership commitment falters when founders, influenced by biases and impatience, embark on too many experiments concurrently. This lack of strategic focus can lead to false positives or negatives. Additionally, a fear of failure can also seep into decision-making, hindering bold moves essential for success. I have often seen unrealistic Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) compounding the issue,often focussing on lag indicators as the most critical, rather than lead indicators.
• Unaligned marketing & sales activities: Mismatched sales and marketing efforts across digital channels can derail go-to-market success. Ineffective value statements confuse prospects, eroding trust. The absence of social proof weakens credibility. Disjointed collaterals dilute the brand. When messaging between marketing and sales diverges, the brand identity suffers, hindering recognition. Without harmony, leads generated may be mishandled, resulting in missed opportunities and revenue loss. A cohesive strategy, incorporating aligned messaging and robust collaterals, is essential for a successful go-to-market campaign.?

The Good: “il buono”

In a recent Mickinsey’s survey of B2B GTM outperformers, the five key elements that set winners apart:

1. Advanced sales tool usage
2. Highly personalised marketing
3. Hybrid sales teams and capabilities
4. Tailored strategies on third-party marketplaces
5. Already invested in the owned marketplace

Specifically, they focused on the need for B2B companies to embrace technology and create a seamless buying experience for buyers that is much more similar to the B2C process that consumers have long enjoyed.?

Below, we’ve highlighted some of our top #3 recommendations for ensuring your GTM strategy is a success. Here is how we can truly experience the ecstasy of “Hidden gold” that awaits us.

#1 Fail Early So That You Don’t Fail Later

It’s critical to be willing to experiment and test your assumptions as early as possible in a GTM strategy. In order to do this, you need to be willing to fail early. This enables you to quickly learn and adapt your strategies as you go. If you can pivot early, you can save yourself time and money by avoiding putting resources into a strategy that turns out to be ineffective later.

# 2 Leverage Digital Tools

You don’t have to attempt to build a go-to-market strategy all on your own. Use digital tools to help automate processes, gather data, and provide valuable insights to inform your decision-making. For example, social media tools can help businesses understand customer sentiment, online behaviour and feedback in real-time while marketing automation tools can help streamline lead generation and customer acquisition efforts.?

#3 Acquire Early Customers To Plant The Seeds For Future Growth

The ultimate goal of a GTM strategy is to get a cohort of customers quickly that can provide social proof for local expansion in international markets. You start small and then build off the foundation to reach new heights. It’s about building credibility and trust so that you can build your reputation with customers and achieve sustainable growth. 87% of buying decisions begin with research conducted online before the purchase is made.

Penetrate Foreign Markets With The Right Strategy

Building a winning GTM strategy is difficult but not impossible. With the right methods, you can ensure your go-to-market strategy is successful in foreign markets. You can grow your business and take advantage of all the opportunities international markets offer. Bottom line? Avoid the bad and the ugly and take advantage of all the good that comes from developing an effective GTM plan.?

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