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Startup Camp Video 6:

Go To Market Strategy

Copyright © 2012, Oregon Technology Business Center

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Go to Market Strategy

How will you:

• Market: create awareness & leads• Sell: convert leads to orders• Support: help customers succeed

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Go to Market Strategy• To start:•Understand customers•Understand the competition•Understand potential partners/channels• Develop marketing/sales/support plan• Choose metrics and a CRM

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Understand Customers

• What is the pain? (Value)• How do they describe? (Messaging)• How do they find? (Awareness)• How/where do they buy? (Sales process)• Who has what role in buying?• What post-sales help do they need?

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Understand Competition

• Strengths; Weaknesses• Positioning• Sales channel; Partners• Pricing

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Understand Potential Partners

• Who provides complementary solutions?• Who might help you market?• Who might help you sell?

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Understand Available Sales Channels

• Web• Direct• Distributor• OEM• Retail• Value Added Reseller• TeleSales

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Go to Market Strategy• To start:•Understand customers•Understand the competition•Understand potential partners/channels

• Develop marketing/sales/support plan• Choose metrics and a CRM

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Marketing Plan• Launch plan• Trade shows• Conferences• Articles• Email newsletters• Press releases• Social media

• Testimonials• Advertising• Search Optimization• White papers• Referrals• Blogs• Associations

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Choosing a Sales Channel

• Cost• Reach• Difficulty of sale • Amount of training• Channel conflict• Fit now versus later

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Support StrategyPersonal assistance

Dedicated Personal Assistance

Self-Service

Automated Services

Communities

Co-creation

Metrics: Sales Funnel

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PR, Ads, Web,Trade shows,Email marketing,Newsletter

Suspects Prospects Qualified Quoted Purchase

Create Awareness

CustomerRelationshipManagement

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Metrics: Web Example

Acquisition: users come to site

Activation: users enjoy 1st visit

Retention: users come back

Referral: users refer others

Revenue: users spend $Dave McClure Startup Metrics for Pirates

Metrics: Sales Funnel

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Activation Retention Referral RevenueAcquisition

PR, Ads, Web,Trade shows,Email marketing,Newsletter

Suspects Prospects Qualified Quoted

Create Awareness

Purchase

CustomerRelationshipManagement

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More Metrics

Cost of customer acquisition

Length of sales cycle

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Go to Market Strategy• To start:•Understand customers•Understand the competition•Understand potential partners/channels

• Develop marketing/sales/support plan• Choose metrics and a CRM

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Develop Customers from the Beginning

Early on: focus on learning/validating

Later: optimize cost-per-order

To start: the CEO is the lead sales person

Don’t hire a sales professional too early...

Understand the sales process first

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The First Year: How will you Start?

Be concrete!

Initial Market Segment?

Initial Geography?

Initial Sales/Marketing Channels?

Who are your first 10 customers?

Month-to-month: what will you do?

Get Help

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Your Go-to-Market Mission:Get a sales/marketing advisor

Understand Customers, Competition,Partners

Decide on Marketing & Sales tactics

Define the sales process & metrics & CRM

Prepare your Go to Market Slide

List your first 10 accounts

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Resources: OnlineStartupCamp.com

Discussion forum “Go to Market” topicDownload slidesDownload OTBC investor pitch deck

otbc.org/tag_cloud:marketing, sales, metrics, customer_development

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Meetup: Thursday, July 26

Topic: Go to Market

3pm - 5pm (+ networking) at OTBC

Food + beverages

Share what you learned

Get/give feedback

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Startup Camp Video 6:

Go To Market Strategy

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