Having a strong GTM (Go to Market) plan can be crucial for a business or brand. Here are my top 3s to support a successful launch.
Project leadership
1. Appoint a string project LEADER, who can build a clear project plan, with realistic timings and the right influencing skills to get the plan endorsed throughout the business.
2. Create a cross-functional project TEAM, ensuring the right combination of experience and the inclusion of all relevant functions. Ensure that most of the team has experience in bringing products or services to market.
3. Communicate, communicate, communicate!
Building the business case
1. Build a robust P&L. Ensure all costs are included, raw materials, labour, packaging, distribution, and customer margin. Ensure you include both a best- and worst-case scenario for the financials and consider cost inflation & deflation that may occur. Understand the incremental value to the business (be clear on sources of revenue). Consider the ROI, specifically the payback time, breakeven volume, and margin impact.
2. Consider cannibalisation. Will the new product or service have an impact on your existing portfolio, and if so, what is the impact likely to be, again model the best- and worst-case scenario.
3. Be mindful of your forecast. If you are running promotional activity, you must account for the overlay effect in total demand, and the impact on margin and potential delay to re-purchase at the original commercial value. Map your promotional/seasonal trends carefully.
Target & position
1. Look everywhere for knowledge and information on your target customer. Use all the resources available to you.
2. Test your concepts and propositions, there are several companies out there that can help you get a steer on your ideas, companies such as Vypr.
3. Match your product/service to the needs and/or pain points of your customer Make it very clear why they should purchase your product. (Targeting and positioning are huge subjects that I will cover in future blogs).
Packaging
1. Start packaging concepts earlier than you think you need to believe me it always takes longer than you think.
2. Engage the multi-functional team to ensure you have everything you need for the packaging brief, format, materials, dimension, legal information, barcodes, case, and palletisation considerations and so forth.
3. ALWAYS attend the first production run of your packaging. Its key to ensuring the execution meets expectations.
Production & supply chain
1. Understand and actively manage all aspects of the product lifecycle. Sustainable and responsible sourcing, traceability, carbon footprint, environmental impact, end-of-life disposable and recyclability are all important when developing your products. You need to ensure your product or service is reflective of your company values.
2. Consider and know the supply chain of the product. Build time into your timeline to test palletisation and the supply chain process.
3. Keep an eye on everything, to avoid mistakes that may have negative impacts later. You want to see the packaging produced, see the product come off the line, test the user experience. Follow your product along its production journey through to the user experience to ensure it is delivering against expectations.
Commercial Strategy
1. Get the facts. Use data wherever possible to inform your commercial strategy, be especially mindful of 3rd party distributor costs and overheads to serve and ensure these are built into your P&L.
2. Consider your route to market, which distributors will your target and why? If D2C, how will you promote your proposition to ensure you are found?
3. Know where you want to position your product and the cost of goods of your product so you can build your pricing strategy.
Merchandising
1. Test your product in situ, be that on the shelf or on the digital page. Test for stand out. Can the intended purchaser find the product easily, can they read the key information? For physical on-shelf products, can you get the case on the shelf? Is it easy to shop? Where possible test to obtain shopper insights and maximise.
2. Smaller case sizes can often aid in obtaining higher levels of distribution. Shelf-ready packaging is the optimum as it saves staff time, especially in the FMCG arena.
3. Know where you will obtain space from; be it in the bricks and mortar space or within an e-store. Shelves are not elastic so make sure your pitch includes how your product can obtain space. Make decision-making easy for the buyer.
Execution
1. Develop an integrated marketing communication plan to support your launch. Consider owner, earned and paid media.
2. Start preparing how to engage your customers early and DON’T forget your internal customers. Make sure everyone in your business is aware and can support the launch.
3. DO NOT compromise. If you hit a bump in the road, slow down and look to overcome it safely, and for the benefit of the long term. Its better to launch right and late than fast and faulty.