• by Michael Baer , March 10, 2025

Most companies approach go-to-market (GTM) like a checklist of tactics: Launch a campaign, send out some emails, do some conferences.

But that’s not a strategy -- that’s a to-do list.

A real GTM strategy isn’t just about what you’re doing. It’s about why, where, and for whom you’re doing it.

And a good one becomes your blueprint for how to win in the market -- connecting product, marketing, sales, and customer success into a repeatable, scalable approach to attract and convert the right customers.

A strong GTM strategy answers three fundamental questions:

• Who, as specifically as possible, are we selling to?
• What message will resonate with them, based on what they care about and need?
• How do we reach them efficiently, knowing as much as we can about how they explore and shop the category?

Here are the key steps in building a strong GTM strategy:

Define your ideal customer profile (ICP). If you’re trying to sell to everyone, then you’ll likely resonate with no one. So, before you start marketing, clarify who are your best-fit customers and what challenges, needs and expectations they have. There’s no better way to answer this than talking with prospects and customers, seeking input and insight.

Build positioning that provides value to your customers. Buyers don’t care about your product’s features. They care about what it does for them. Frame your value in a way that speaks directly to their needs.

• Weak: “We offer AI-powered documentation and analytics.”
• Strong: “We eliminate hours of manual reporting and give teams time back to focus on the work they want to do.”

Map the customer’s buying journey and align your messaging. Customers don’t go from never having heard of your company to signing a contract overnight. A strong GTM strategy maps the stages they go through on their way to making a decision. It should articulate the type of information they need when they first realize they have a problem, the kinds of messaging that helps sustain their interest over time, and the types of proof they’ll want, and objections you’ll need to overcome, to close the deal.

Choose the right acquisition channels. Don’t just choose channels because they’re expected, have worked for you before, or are the new hot channel. Instead, identify the marketing vehicles that influence buyers. And don’t spread yourself thin by investing in lots of channels. Focus where you can make an impact, based on your budget and team’s bandwidth.

Ensure alignment across teams. Even the best GTM strategies fail when sales, marketing, and product operate in silos, which can create inconsistent messaging, competing value propositions, or disparate audience-focuses. Instead, work cross-functionally with a shared GTM plan that clearly defines roles and responsibilities, with regular meetings to align teams, and shared goals and KPIs.

The extra time it takes to do all this work won’t actually slow you down, because companies that take the time to get their GTM right win faster and scale more predictably. Those that skip it? They end up fixing their mistakes later -- at a much higher cost.

So, before you jump into tactics, ask yourself: Do we have a real strategy -- or just a to-do list?