Overview
A GTM strategy is the bridge between "we built it" and "people use it and pay for it." This skill produces a structured GTM plan that covers who you're targeting, how you'll reach them, what you'll say, and how you'll measure success.
Before You Start
Ask the user:
- What's launching? — New product, new feature, new market expansion, pricing change.
- Target audience — Who are the first users? Be specific about the segment.
- Business model — PLG/self-serve, sales-led, hybrid. This fundamentally changes the GTM.
- Timeline — Hard launch date or flexible? Any external dependencies (conference, funding round)?
- Budget/resources — Marketing budget, sales team size, growth engineering capacity.
- Competitive context — Who else serves this audience? What's our differentiation?
GTM Strategy Structure
# Go-to-Market Strategy — [Product/Feature Name]
**Launch date:** [date] | **Author:** [name] | **Status:** Draft
---
## 1. Market Opportunity
**Target segment:** [Specific description — not "everyone"]
**Segment size:** [TAM/SAM/SOM with sources]
**Why now:** [Market timing, competitive window, internal readiness]
**Key insight:** [The one thing we know about this market that others don't]
## 2. Positioning & Messaging
### Positioning Statement
For [target audience] who [need/pain point], [Product] is a [category]
that [key benefit]. Unlike [competitive alternative], we [key differentiator].
### Messaging Hierarchy
**Primary message (headline):** [10 words max — the benefit that matters most]
**Supporting messages:**
1. [Message pillar 1] — [proof point]
2. [Message pillar 2] — [proof point]
3. [Message pillar 3] — [proof point]
**Objection handling:**
| Objection | Response |
|-----------|----------|
| "[common pushback]" | [how to address it] |
## 3. Growth Model
### If Product-Led Growth (Aakash Gupta's 7 Layers):
**Acquisition:** How do users discover the product?
- [Channel 1]: [approach + expected contribution]
- [Channel 2]: [approach + expected contribution]
**Activation:** What's the "aha moment" and how fast do users reach it?
- [Define the activation event]
- [Target: X% of signups activate within Y days]
**Retention:** What brings users back?
- [Core loop description]
- [Target: X% D7 retention, Y% D30 retention]
**Revenue:** What triggers the upgrade from free to paid?
- [Monetization trigger]
- [Pricing strategy: freemium / free trial / reverse trial]
**Referral:** How do users bring other users?
- [Viral mechanism — built-in sharing, team invites, etc.]
- [Target viral coefficient]
### If Sales-Led:
- **ICP definition:** [Firmographics + technographics + buying signals]
- **Sales motion:** [Inbound, outbound, partner, or hybrid]
- **Deal size target:** [$X ACV]
- **Sales cycle:** [Expected length]
- **Required collateral:** [Demo script, case studies, ROI calculator, etc.]
## 4. Channel Strategy
| Channel | Role | Investment | Expected Outcome | Timeline |
|---------|------|-----------|-----------------|----------|
| [channel] | [awareness/acquisition/activation] | [budget/effort] | [metric] | [when] |
## 5. Launch Plan
### Pre-launch (T-4 weeks)
- [ ] [Action item] — [owner] — [date]
### Launch week
- [ ] [Action item] — [owner] — [date]
### Post-launch (T+4 weeks)
- [ ] [Action item] — [owner] — [date]
## 6. Success Metrics
| Metric | Target (30 days) | Target (90 days) | Measurement |
|--------|-----------------|-----------------|-------------|
| [metric] | [target] | [target] | [tool/method] |
### Kill Criteria
If [condition] by [date], we will [pivot/sunset/re-evaluate].
## 7. Risks & Mitigations
| Risk | Likelihood | Impact | Mitigation |
|------|-----------|--------|------------|
| [risk] | High/Med/Low | High/Med/Low | [plan] |
Save as GTM-STRATEGY-[product-name].md.