The 3 Steps of a B2B Go-to-Market Strategy Formula

So you have a kickass new product you want to introduce to the marketplace. Unfortunately, the hardest part is yet to come. Obviously, that's not the news you want to hear, but it's true. Luckily, it doesn't have to be so hard.

In this article, we will briefly discuss how to bring a new product to the market -- with a bang! Creating a B2B go-to-market strategy is actually a pretty simple process, but even the best marketers have a tendency to overcomplicate it. You don't need to reinvent the wheel. Be straightforward and honest with potential clients because your expertise is what will win them over. Repeat the mantra, "Stick to the formula" and you will do great. And just what is this formula?

The B2B Go-to-Market Strategy Formula:

Successful Go-to-Market = Niche Research + Shrink Your Niche + Differentiate Yourself

1. Niche Research

Start by researching who your ideal customer is. Ideally, you do this research as you build and craft the product to fit perfectly with your ideal customers. When doing your niche research, you will want to find out as much as you can with data and cold-hard facts.  Look at your target market and find out what stage of life the market is in. Hopefully, before the product is built, you'll have found and thoroughly researched your competitors in regards to price, functionality, and so on. The point is, there are a million things to research here and the more you know (facts), the better your product positioning will be. Please take the time to research this even if you already think you know it perfectly. Facts can be refreshing.  

2. Shrink Your Niche

Now that you have found your niche, you need to do something that sounds just plain dumb: make it smaller. From your niche research, you should have found a pocket of potential customers. From within that niche, filter out all of the people who want your product until you're left with only the people who need it. This is your sweet spot. Your list should be small and very manageable now. The idea here is to break down your niche to people who need your product and are going to buy for sure. In B2B, the purchase price of the products can sometimes be huge, making the first few sales really, really tough.  Once you have successfully launched your B2B product, after your B2B go-to-market strategy has successfully played out, then you can expand your scope and get into your more typical B2B marketing.

3. Differentiate Yourself

Finally, all you need to do now is carefully differentiate yourself from your competitors. This part of the B2B go-to-market strategy formula should be left for last because you have to first become uber familiar with your niche. Take the research and the sweet spot you found earlier and find a way for you to stand out among the crowd. In the popular show Mad Men, they helped a cigarette company differentiate itself by emphasizing a single step of their process: toasted tobacco. The tobacco company featured adds showing how they toasted the tobacco before putting it in the cigarette and it quickly became part of the brand. If you can craft a message that is different enough from competitors but still resonates with the target market, you'll have done your job.

Once these three elements of the B2B go-to-market strategy formula are established, every decision should be aimed at reaching your target market to help keep you different from everyone else. For further ideas on how to differentiate yourself from your competitors, or for more tips on putting together a successful go-to-market strategy, schedule your free digital marketing audit today.