What is GTM strategy?

The simplest explanation is,

• What are the objectives of the strategy?
• What are the values that your products/services bring to your customers?
• What challenges can you solve with your products/services and what are the competitive advantages of your products/services against your competitors?
• To which target markets and customers can you deliver those competitive values?
• How do you deliver those competitive advantages to your target markets and customers?
• What are the metrics by which you can judge whether you have realized the objectives of our strategy?

A plan that integrates and organizes all of those elements stated above is called a GTM strategy. Incidentally, GTM strategy is not unique to the IT industry but can be used in all industries and for all kinds of products/services.

The Product Marketing Manager is responsible for developing a GTM strategy for products/services for which he/she is responsible after conducting various types of research, and then working closely with a Campaign Marketing Manager (who is in charge of developing and executing marketing initiatives to realize the GTM strategy) to incorporate the GTM strategy he/she has developed into various marketing initiatives’ plans. The product marketing manager is sometimes referred to as a "mini CEO" because he/she is responsible for the appropriate allocation of resources (people, goods, money, information, etc.) required to implement the GTM strategy.

Although this may sound very complicated and difficult, a GTM strategy can be drawn with minimal omissions by using a framework. Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all framework. The GTM strategy framework will vary depending on the products/services to be targeted, the markets to be served, target customers, etc. It is most effective and efficient to start with a basic framework to draft a GTM strategy and then customize it.

It is not easy for a single person to research, think, and incorporate so many things into a strategy. Also, working alone may result in a strategy with a narrow viewpoint. Therefore, we suggest you enjoy brainstorming and discussion with multiple project members.

This is the beginning of the first step on your journey to further growth of your company and business! Have fun!

From Silicon Valley! What is the Product-Led Growth Strategy?

Product-Led Growth strategy is a unique strategy advocated by Wes Bush, founder of Product-Led Inc. and author of the best-selling book "Product-Led Growth: How to Build a Product That Sells Itself. Under this strategy, a company's SaaS solution is offered on a free trial basis (a business model that allows potential customers to use all features for free for a limited time) or freemium (a business model that allows potential customers to use basic features for free and then pay to use additional features). This satisfies the "wants" of the potential customer who wants to try the solution first (it’s similar to trying on clothes first when buying them) and allows the potential customer to easily experience the value provided by the product. The ability to try the solution for free before buying lowers the barrier and widens the market, and as a result, many prospective customers will see the benefits of adopting the solution. The solution provider can strategically monetize the paid version of the product by conducting in-product promotions that encourage potential customers to upgrade to the paid version when they begin to feel the values of the product. In other words, a product-driven growth strategy incorporates a series of processes of "trial → marketing → sales → onboarding" into the product itself and conducts them within the product itself. The sooner prospective customers feel the benefits of adopting the product, the shorter the time it takes for them to switch from free trial users or freemium users to paying users. This is exactly the strategy of selling products through products, not sales.

　　　

A product-driven growth strategy has many advantages that can enhance the competitive advantage of your SaaS solution. For example, it allows you to expand faster than with a sales-driven growth strategy. Free trials and freemiums have a very low barrier to entry for potential customers, as they can try all or part of the product for themselves for free. As a result, more potential customers can be captured at the earliest stage of the customer journey (TOFU: Top of the Funnel) when they come into contact with the product (awareness → interest → comparison → purchase → repeat). In addition, the product-driven growth strategy incorporates a series of processes such as "marketing → sales → onboarding" into the product, so that you can offer your SaaS solution to prospective customers around the world faster than with a sales-driven growth strategy where the above series of processes are done one by one in a linear fashion. Incidentally, by conducting the series of processes "trial → marketing → sales → onboarding" within the product, the time-to-value and sales cycle can be significantly shortened resulting in lower customer acquisition costs (CAC: Customer Acquisition Cost) and a higher profit margin per customer.

A major paradigm shift is now taking place from the era of "sales (sales) selling products" to the era of "selling products with products. If your company is developing SaaS solutions and you are considering expanding into the global markets in the future, we strongly recommend that you build your solution development, product management, marketing, sales, onboarding, etc. in line with the Product-Led Growth strategy that is currently attracting attention globally.