Steven Wardell, Presentation to MIT Enterprise Forum, Go To Market Strategy 2013-11-18

617.558.0210 | [email protected] | www.activatenetworks.net1 Newton Executive Park, Suite 100 | Newton, MA 02462

The Art of Developing Your Go-To-Market Strategy

Steven Wardell, VP Marketing @StevenWardellPresentation to MIT Enterprise Forum at MIT Tang Center, 18 Nov. 2013

© 2013 Activate Networks 2

• Entrepreneurial Background―Employee 8 of eYak, next-gen VOIP company, raised $74m and sold

to Sonexis―Co-founder of Artisan Pharma, a phase 3 biotech start-up, raised

$40m and sold to Asahi Kasei Pharma―Founding management team of Activate Networks, big-data social

network analytics, raised $15m, in growth phase―Prior: Citigroup and Microsoft

About Steven Wardell


• Desired outcome of this meeting – know that you could apply a GTM Strategy framework to your product and present the result to an investor

• More a discussion than a lecture; volunteers to work through their own Go-To-Market (GTM) Strategy

• Assume you’re all entrepreneurs; discuss entrepreneurial constraints (lack of time, budget, data)

Overview


• A Go-To-Market Strategy (GTM Strategy) is an action plan that specifies how a company will reach customers and achieve competitive advantage. Typically covers Whom, What, How much, How Promote, Where Promote

• The term is often associated with product launches, but it can also be used to describe the specific steps a company needs to take in order to guide customer interactions for existing products.

Definition


• Target: Older consumers (mass market)

• Product: Aspirin that is gentle on your stomach

• Price: Same as market leader (Bayer aspirin)

• Promote: TV ads on prime time network TV and shelf promotion at point of sale

• Channel: supermarket chains; drug store chains

• USP: gentler on your stomach than aspirin

OTC Drug


• Target: flower lovers (upper middle class, women)

• Product: premium decorative flowers that last longer

• Price: competitive with store-bought, if you subscribe for a year

• Promote: direct mail, direct email, infomercials, specialty magazines

• Channel: direct (and delivery by mail)

• USP: higher quality and last longer than anyone else

Premium flowers


• Target: young to early-middle-age men

• Product: razors / razor blades

• Price: discount, subscription purchase only

• Promote: search engine optimization, search engine marketing, online display ads, viral videos

• Channel: direct (and delivery by mail)

• USP: hip, discount, never run out of blades

Safety razors


• Target: middle class households, major metro areas

• Product: groceries

• Price: full / competitive price

• Promote: search engine optimization, search engine marketing, online display ads, billboards, ads on trucks

• Channel: direct and with partners (Stop & Shop in Boston)

• USP: Fill shopping cart on iPad, delivered to your home

Groceries


• Target: 20-45-year-old taste leading urban consumers (mostly men)

• Product: cable TV channel (including edgy new movies that feature actual movie stars)

• Price: premium extra cost among cable channels

• Promote: urban billboards (and other display), urban magazines, self promotion on cable

• Channel: through cable providers like Comcast

• USP: new, proprietary movies with actual movie stars

Premium Cable TV Channel


• Target: consumers of digital devices

• Product: unique screen technology (for devices)

• Price: competitive with existing options

• Promote: co-promotion with device manufacturers

• Channel: product is not stand-alone; sell through device manufacturers

• USP: draws little power, visible in strong sunlight

Hardware component


Market Analysis

Market Analysis

Go To Market

Strategy


• Product Overview

• Who would be interested in this solution?

• Users and their Current Problem

• Market Research

• Competitors, Competitive Landscape, SWOT

• Product Positioning

• Unique Selling Propositions

Market Analysis


Product Positioning 1. Who do we want to sell to (target)?2. What are we selling (benefit)?3. Why should they believe us (reason to believe)?4. What is the feeling that the brand evokes (brand DNA)?

5. Example: Activate Networks Retention Connect Solution


Product Overview / Description

E.g., IBM® Sterling B2B Integrator enables the security-rich integration of complex B2B processes with diverse partner communities. It provides a single, flexible B2B gateway that enables companies to meet a wide

range of B2B integration needs. IBM Sterling B2B Integrator can improve business processes beyond enterprise boundaries and increase

visibility into and across supply and demand chains.


Current Problem of Potential Users ?Identify Current Problems faced by Potential Users that the

Product/Solution is expected to address

E.g., Users of thick-client office productivity software typically have problems accessing the same documents together at the same time.

Cloud-based office productivity applications finally allow users to access the same documents at the same time


Pricing: HBS Value Thermometer

A. Objective valuei. $100 (seller calculates that it saves 4 hrs labor at $25/hr)

B. Perceived valuei. $90 (buyer would be willing to pay up to $90 cash upfront for opportunity to save $100)ii. Marketing & Sales can drive up the perceived valueiii. Substitutes also affect perceived value

C. Product price

i. $80 (seller prices close to perceived value; buyer is getting a deal!)

D. Cost of goods sold

i. $40


Pricing: Solution SellingFor custom engagements – identify pain points, track the pain

throughout the organization, calculate total $ cost of pain, show value of solution, and price solution


Sustainable Competitive AdvantageIdentify Tangible Advantages - IPs and Patents, etc.

Intangible Advantages - First in business to offer a certain feature, cost advantage, etc.


Market Analysis

Market Analysis

Go To Market

Strategy


• End Goal in a Year; Metrics and Measurement

• Strategy― Whom to target in the market (regions, segments, industries, budgets, personas)?― What product portfolio offered to target customers?― How much will we charge for our products for different customers?― How will we promote our products to target customers (inbound marketing;

direct, field-based sales force; sales channel partner)?― Where will we promote and sell our products to target customers (trade shows,

website, trade journals, email, mobile ads)?

• Identify specific programs and prioritize by cost and impact

Go-To-Market Strategy


Your Startup

Whom do we target?

What is our product?

How much to charge?

How to promote?

Where to promote?

Exercise – Go-To-Market Strategy

617.558.0210 | [email protected] | www.activatenetworks.net1 Newton Executive Park, Suite 100 | Newton, MA 02462

Thank You !

Steven Wardell, VP Marketing @StevenWardellFeel free to use and repurpose this template for your

needsHat tip to @RajivNetra for original template


Appendix


Who would be interested in this Product / Solution ?

Small, Medium, and Large Enterprises?Industry, business unit, job title, buyer persona?


Market ResearchIdentify the overall market size for product/solution, market

segmentation, user base, price and pricing comparables, growth trends, etc.

E.g., Oracle CRM market potential is Oracle existing customer base; market sizing provided by market research and equity-research analysts;

market size for new product categories may be unknowable


CompetitionIdentify Direct Competition and Indirect Competition;

SWOT analysis


Product Positioning Positioning is key. Describe how product can be positioned and some of

the advantages it has in terms of positioning.“Positioning is also the first body of thought that comes to grips with

the problems of getting heard in our overcommunicated society.“ – Ries & Trout


Competition: Key DifferentiatorsIdentify the competing products / solutions with description.

List how your product is differentiated from them.Products Product Description Your Product Differentiators


End Goal in a YearTarget in volume and revenue


Whom to Sell to? Regions - Segments – Industries – Etc.


Marketing StrategiesIdentify and Detail your Marketing Strategies with clear Timelines –

When to start and How long to execute them?Prioritize the Marketing Strategies based on their impact and budget


Partnership StrategiesWhat sort of Partners to tie up for GTM ?

What unique benefits do they bring ?


Pricing StrategiesStudy the competition and market, and identify some unique pricing models that will entice and hook the

customers.


Metrics and MeasurementMeasure the marketing impact and reach with metrics.

Identify the ROI.Refine the strategy.


Channel Partnership StrategiesGoing the Channel Partner route?

List strategies for Choosing the right Partners,

Supporting Channel Partners, Making them work, etc.

Business

Steven Wardell, Presentation to MIT Enterprise Forum, Go To Market Strategy 2013-11-18