569 lines
11 KiB
Markdown
569 lines
11 KiB
Markdown
---
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name: go-to-market-playbooks
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description: Master product launches, positioning, messaging, and GTM strategies. Use when planning launches, entering markets, or positioning products.
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---
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# Go-to-Market Playbooks
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## Overview
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Comprehensive guide to go-to-market (GTM) strategies, product positioning, launch planning, and market entry tactics.
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## When to Use This Skill
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**Auto-loaded by agents**:
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- `launch-planner` - For GTM strategies, positioning, and distribution playbooks
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**Use when you need**:
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- Planning product launches
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- Positioning new products
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- Entering new markets
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- Rebranding or repositioning
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- Competitive differentiation
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## GTM Strategy Types
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### 1. Product-Led Growth (PLG)
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**Model**: Product drives acquisition, conversion, expansion
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**Funnel**:
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```
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Free Signup → Activation → Expansion → Paid → Advocacy
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```
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**Characteristics**:
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- Self-serve onboarding
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- Freemium or free trial
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- Virality built-in
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- Low-touch sales
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**Examples**: Slack, Dropbox, Notion, Figma
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**When to Use**:
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- Low price point (<$100/month)
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- Easy to understand product
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- Quick time-to-value
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- Network effects
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**Playbook**:
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1. **Frictionless Signup**: Email-only, no credit card
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2. **Aha Moment Fast**: <5 minutes to value
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3. **Viral Loops**: Invites, sharing, collaboration
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4. **Usage-Based Limits**: Paywall at usage threshold
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5. **Self-Serve Upgrade**: One-click payment
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---
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### 2. Sales-Led Growth
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**Model**: Sales team drives revenue
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**Funnel**:
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```
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Lead → MQL → SQL → Demo → Proposal → Close
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```
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**Characteristics**:
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- High price point ($10K+ annually)
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- Complex product
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- Custom implementation
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- Relationship-driven
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**Examples**: Salesforce, SAP, enterprise software
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**When to Use**:
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- Complex sales cycle
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- High contract values
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- Custom solutions
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- Long sales cycles (3-12 months)
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**Playbook**:
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1. **Lead Generation**: Events, content, partnerships
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2. **Qualification**: BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline)
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3. **Demo**: Customized to pain points
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4. **Proof of Concept**: Pilot/trial with champion
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5. **Procurement**: Legal, security, contracts
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6. **Onboarding**: CSM-led implementation
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---
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### 3. Community-Led Growth
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**Model**: Community drives adoption and revenue
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**Funnel**:
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```
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Awareness → Community Join → Engagement → Conversion → Advocacy
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```
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**Examples**: GitHub, HashiCorp, Figma, Discord
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**When to Use**:
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- Developer tools
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- Open-source foundation
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- Network effects
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- Passion-driven users
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**Playbook**:
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1. **Build in Public**: Share roadmap, engage users
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2. **Developer Advocates**: Evangelize, educate
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3. **Events**: Conferences, meetups, webinars
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4. **Content**: Tutorials, docs, blog posts
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5. **Open Source → Enterprise**: Freemium model
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---
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### 4. Partner-Led Growth
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**Model**: Partners drive distribution
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**Examples**: Shopify apps, Salesforce AppExchange, AWS Marketplace
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**When to Use**:
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- Complement existing platforms
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- Need distribution
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- Ecosystem play
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**Playbook**:
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1. **Integration**: Deep platform integration
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2. **Marketplace Listing**: Optimize for discovery
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3. **Co-Marketing**: Partner webinars, content
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4. **Revenue Share**: Align incentives
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5. **Partner Enablement**: Training, support
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---
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## Positioning Framework (April Dunford)
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### The 5 Components
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**1. Competitive Alternatives**
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What do customers use today if not your product?
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**2. Unique Attributes**
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What do you have that alternatives don't?
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**3. Value (Benefits)**
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What value do those unique attributes enable?
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**4. Target Customer**
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Who cares most about that value?
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**5. Market Category**
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What context makes the value obvious?
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---
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### Positioning Process
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**Step 1: List Competitive Alternatives**
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```
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Alternatives for Project Management Tool:
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- Asana, Monday.com, Linear
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- Spreadsheets
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- Email + meetings
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- Do nothing
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```
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**Step 2: Identify Unique Attributes**
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```
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What we have that they don't:
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- AI-powered task prioritization
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- Real-time async collaboration
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- Built-in analytics dashboard
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```
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**Step 3: Map Attributes to Value**
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```
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AI prioritization → Save 5 hours/week on planning
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Async collaboration → Works across timezones
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Analytics → Measure team productivity
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```
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**Step 4: Find Best-Fit Customer**
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```
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Who cares most?
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- Remote-first startups (20-100 people)
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- Product/engineering teams
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- Fast-paced, data-driven culture
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```
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**Step 5: Choose Category**
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```
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Options:
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A. "Project Management" (crowded)
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B. "AI Productivity Platform" (new category)
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C. "Team Operating System" (abstract)
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Choice: B - Differentiated, clear value
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```
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---
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### Positioning Statement Template
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```
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For [target customer]
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Who [need/opportunity]
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[Product] is a [category]
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That [key benefit]
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Unlike [alternative]
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We [primary differentiation]
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```
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**Example**:
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```
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For remote product teams at fast-growing startups
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Who struggle with async collaboration and context switching
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Acme is an AI-native team productivity platform
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That automates busywork so teams ship faster
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Unlike Asana or Monday which are just task trackers
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We combine planning, collaboration, and intelligence in one tool
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```
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---
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## Messaging Hierarchy
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### Structure
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**Level 1: Company Messaging**
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- Mission/vision
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- Brand positioning
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- Core values
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**Level 2: Product Messaging**
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- Product positioning
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- Value propositions
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- Key differentiators
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**Level 3: Feature Messaging**
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- Feature benefits
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- Use cases
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- Proof points
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---
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### Messaging Formulas
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**Before-After-Bridge (BAB)**
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```
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Before: [Current pain]
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After: [Desired state]
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Bridge: [How product gets them there]
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Example:
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Before: "Teams waste 10 hours/week in status meetings"
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After: "Imagine if everyone knew what's happening without meetings"
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Bridge: "Our AI generates status updates automatically from your work"
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```
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**PAS (Problem-Agitate-Solve)**
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```
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Problem: [Identify pain]
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Agitate: [Make it worse]
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Solve: [Your solution]
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Example:
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Problem: "Your team is drowning in Slack messages"
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Agitate: "You miss critical updates, decisions get lost, and new hires can't find context"
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Solve: "Acme organizes all team knowledge automatically"
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```
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---
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## Launch Strategy
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### Launch Tiers
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**Tier 1: Major Launch**
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- New product
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- Major rebranding
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- Strategic pivot
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- Full PR, events, marketing
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**Tier 2: Feature Launch**
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- Significant new capability
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- Blog post, email, social
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- Targeted outreach
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**Tier 3: Improvement**
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- Bug fixes, small features
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- Release notes, changelog
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---
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### Launch Timeline (Tier 1)
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**T-minus 8 weeks: Preparation**
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- [ ] Define positioning and messaging
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- [ ] Create launch plan
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- [ ] Assemble launch team
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- [ ] Set goals and metrics
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**T-minus 6 weeks: Asset Creation**
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- [ ] Landing page
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- [ ] Product video
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- [ ] Demo scripts
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- [ ] Sales collateral
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- [ ] Press kit
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**T-minus 4 weeks: Beta Program**
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- [ ] Recruit beta users
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- [ ] Gather feedback
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- [ ] Capture testimonials
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- [ ] Refine product
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**T-minus 2 weeks: Enablement**
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- [ ] Train sales team
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- [ ] Train support team
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- [ ] Internal launch
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- [ ] Press briefings
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**T-minus 1 week: Final Prep**
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- [ ] Go/no-go decision
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- [ ] Asset review
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- [ ] Monitoring setup
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- [ ] Rollback plan
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**Launch Day**
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- [ ] Feature flag on
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- [ ] Announcement (blog, email, social)
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- [ ] Press release
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- [ ] Monitor metrics
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- [ ] War room for issues
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**Post-Launch (Week 1-4)**
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- [ ] Daily metrics review
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- [ ] Feedback triage
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- [ ] Bug fixes
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- [ ] Amplification (webinars, case studies)
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---
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### Launch Channels
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**Owned**:
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- Website/landing page
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- Blog
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- Email list
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- In-app notifications
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- Social media
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**Earned**:
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- Press (TechCrunch, VentureBeat)
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- Product Hunt
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- Hacker News
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- Industry publications
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- Influencers
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**Paid**:
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- Google Ads
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- Social ads (LinkedIn, Twitter)
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- Retargeting
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- Sponsored content
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**Partnerships**:
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- Co-marketing
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- Integration announcements
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- Channel partners
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---
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## Market Entry Strategy
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### New Market Assessment
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**TAM/SAM/SOM**:
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```
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TAM (Total Addressable Market): Everyone who could use product
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SAM (Serviceable Available Market): Segment you can reach
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SOM (Serviceable Obtainable Market): Realistic target
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Example:
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TAM: All project management users = $50B
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SAM: Remote startups 20-100 people = $2B
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SOM: 1% market share in 3 years = $20M
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```
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**Market Entry Checklist**:
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- [ ] Market size validation
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- [ ] Competitive landscape
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- [ ] Regulatory requirements
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- [ ] Localization needs (language, currency, compliance)
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- [ ] Distribution partners
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- [ ] Pricing for market
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---
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### Beachhead Strategy (Geoffrey Moore)
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**Concept**: Dominate one narrow segment before expanding
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**Process**:
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1. **Identify Beachhead**: Narrow, winnable segment
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2. **Dominate**: Become #1 in that segment
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3. **Expand**: Adjacent segments
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**Example**:
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- Facebook: Harvard → Ivy League → All colleges → Everyone
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- Amazon: Books → Electronics → Everything
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- Salesforce: Sales teams → All CRM → All cloud software
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---
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## Competitive Strategy
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### Competitive Intel
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**What to Track**:
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- Product features and roadmap
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- Pricing and packaging
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- Marketing messages
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- Customer reviews
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- Funding and news
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**Sources**:
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- Competitor websites, blogs
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- G2, Capterra reviews
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- LinkedIn (hiring = roadmap hints)
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- Earnings calls (public companies)
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- Customer conversations
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---
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### Battle Cards
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**Format**:
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```
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# Competitor X
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## Overview
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- Company size, funding
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- Target customers
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- Key strengths
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## When They Win
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- [Scenario where they're strong]
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## When We Win
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- [Our advantages]
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## Differentiation
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- Feature comparison
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- Positioning vs them
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## Objection Handling
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Q: "Why not use [Competitor]?"
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A: "[Response emphasizing our unique value]"
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## Proof Points
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- Customer wins from competitor
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- Case studies
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```
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---
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## Pricing & Packaging
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### Pricing Models
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**Freemium**:
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- Free tier + paid upgrade
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- Examples: Slack, Dropbox, Notion
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**Free Trial**:
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- 14-30 day trial + paywall
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- Examples: Netflix, SaaS tools
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**Usage-Based**:
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- Pay for what you use
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- Examples: AWS, Stripe, Snowflake
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**Tiered**:
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- Good/Better/Best packages
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- Examples: HubSpot, Salesforce
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**Per-Seat**:
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- Price per user
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- Examples: Zoom, Asana
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---
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### Packaging Strategy
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**3-Tier Model (Good-Better-Best)**:
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```
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Starter: $10/user/month
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- Core features
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- Email support
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- Target: Small teams
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Professional: $25/user/month
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- All Starter features
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- Advanced features
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- Priority support
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- Target: Growing teams
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Enterprise: Custom pricing
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- All Professional features
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- Custom integrations
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- Dedicated support
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- SLA
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- Target: Large organizations
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```
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**Value Metric**: What you charge for
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- Per user (Slack)
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- Per event (Segment)
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- Per API call (Stripe)
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- Storage (Dropbox)
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Choose metric that scales with value delivered
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---
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## GTM Playbook Summary
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```
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Choose GTM Motion:
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Low-touch, self-serve → PLG
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High-touch, complex sale → Sales-Led
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Developer product → Community-Led
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Platform complement → Partner-Led
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Then:
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1. Position (find differentiation)
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2. Message (communicate value)
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3. Launch (create awareness)
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4. Optimize (iterate and scale)
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Key Success Factors:
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- Clear positioning
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- Focused beachhead
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- Aligned team
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- Measured results
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```
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---
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## Resources
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**Books**:
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- "Obviously Awesome" - April Dunford (positioning)
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- "Crossing the Chasm" - Geoffrey Moore (market entry)
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- "Product-Led Growth" - Wes Bush (PLG strategy)
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- "The Mom Test" - Rob Fitzpatrick (customer discovery)
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**Frameworks**:
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- April Dunford positioning canvas
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- Jobs-to-be-Done framework
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- Lean Canvas (market fit)
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**Tools**:
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- Competitors: Crayon, Klue
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- Launches: Product Hunt, BetaList
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- Analytics: Mixpanel, Segment
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