GTM Strategies w.r.t Product Management

A good product must be in the intersection(sweet spot) of Feasibility, Desirability, and Viability.

Feasibility: Refers to the strengths and weaknesses of the current product line, including but not limited to the tech stack and the ecosystem which might be needed to drive product success etc. Positive feasibility refers to building on the strengths of our current operational capabilities.

Desirability: Your product might have a great tech stack, and might solve an important problem, but if the user experience isn't good or if the solution is very feature-heavy, would any user consider it? Desirability isn't just something that the customer needs but should be happy using it.

Viability: Is the solution scalable? Are you low on TCO? TCO is a vital part of viability. Every product has a few needs. The good-to-haves are always going to be the cherry on top. Good-to-have will be the door opener, but what will land the deal and ensure stickiness in the market are the must-haves.?This is what will ensure customer retention.

B2B-B2C:

In B2C, the focus is given more on brand awareness. Customer targeting is done mostly on a "Capturing the emotion" basis. More focus and budgets are spent on marketing and customer segmentation. Switching costs are minimal, but customer switching can happen instantaneously, hence the need to constantly innovate and keep delivering value is high. B2C is a more democratic process w.r.t. the switching process.

B2B is a more complex, relationship-based process. Multiple stakeholders often influence the buying process. B2B sales teams need a deep understanding of how customer industries function. There is a higher switching cost in B2B, but the timelines are a little longer. We have to deliver value to the customer within the renewal cycle, which could be 1 year or 2 years.

?

1. Market intelligence: Understanding of how the market moves. Have data-driven conversations with customers. Market intelligence is not just about building cool products, it's about building cool products which are consumable, scalable, and adaptable.
2. Market segmentation: Use the market intelligence gathered earlier to create a buying centre and buyer personas. Find out who the influencers are in customer companies for each of your modules or your product as a whole to push adoption in customer companies.
3. Product positioning: 5 key differentiators from the other competitors. SWOT analysis of competitors vs our products. Focus on value creation. For example, by adopting this solution, you're going to see X amount of value over the next two, three or four-year horizon. Credibility is built using customer testimonials/showcases. Net new product users are influenced by testimonials.
4. Inculcate a digital-first mindset: The positioning should be such that we know to ensure that customers move up the ladder in terms of experience. As product companies, that is in our interest as well. We often need to go back to the drawing board in terms of understanding that perspective and building in that digital-first mindset.
5. Strategic partnership framework: Focus on the strengths of the product and the company and create an amazing user experience for those users. We have to engage partners to evangelize the product suite, to land the message. We can talk to the partners, to nail down a specific set of use cases which they build, which could be our touch point for synergy and furthering the relationship.
6. Sales enablement: If sales cannot drive the product story, the product/feature/story fails. The relationship between Sales and PMs is extremely critical. It's not necessarily about doing a sales enablement activity, but rather it could even be like a regular call where we can share updates and conversations, and build on that personal relationship that can become extremely integral to that conversation. The moment they pass on the first lead from a customer, PMs become a part of the journey.