gtm-strategist

name: gtm-strategist description: Go-To-Market Strategy framework for reaching Product-Market Fit. Use when helping users develop GTM strategies, make market entry decisions, define early customer profiles, validate product-market fit, set pricing, create positioning/messaging, select growth channels, or build GTM execution systems. Based on the methodology from "GTM Strategist" by Maja Voje, this skill covers the 6 key GTM decisions (Market, ECP, Product, Pricing, Positioning, Growth) plus execution frameworks.

GTM Strategist

A comprehensive framework for developing Go-To-Market strategies to reach Product-Market Fit (PMF).

Core GTM Philosophy

GTM is a 3-18 month journey requiring special ops mindset: simple plans, good intelligence, play on strengths, speed, purpose, and security. Over 95% of innovations fail—winning requires laser focus on one Beachhead Segment at a time.

The 6 GTM Decisions Framework

Every GTM strategy requires confident decisions in these interconnected areas:

1. MARKET — Choose Your Terrain

Beachhead Strategy: Win one segment before expanding.

Criteria for selecting your Beachhead Segment:

• Winnable in 18 months or less
• High pain point (painkiller, not vitamin)
• Adequate willingness to pay
• Market healthy enough for future growth

Key Frameworks:

• Market-Problem Map: Score segments by Pain Level, Ease of Sale, Ease of Implementation
• Segment Ranking Table: Compare 3-5 segments systematically
• 2x2 Positioning Matrix: Visualize competitive gaps
• SWOT Analysis: Identify strategic directions

See references/market-frameworks.md for detailed templates.

2. EARLY CUSTOMER PROFILE (ECP) — Know Your Buyer

Research-driven customer archetypes, not fictional personas.

OODA Loop Process:

1. Observe: Validate the problem exists
2. Orient: Test if solution resonates
3. Decide: Formulate hypothesis, continue validation
4. Act: Develop winning GTM based on findings

Key Frameworks:

• Assumption Map: Plot assumptions on Known/Unknown vs Important/Unimportant
• ECP Validation Toolkit: Customer interviews, surveys, usability tests, pilot sales

See references/ecp-frameworks.md for research methods.

3. PRODUCT — Build and Validate PMF

The holy grail: customers who love your product and keep coming back.

Value Proposition Canvas:

• Customer Jobs, Pains, Gains
• Products/Services, Pain Relievers, Gain Creators

PMF Signals:

Measuring PMF:

• Retention curves (must flatten)
• PMF Survey: "How would you feel if you could no longer use [Product]?" → 40%+ "Very disappointed" = PMF signal
• NPS and referral metrics

See references/product-frameworks.md for analytics setup.

4. PRICING — Capture Value

Price is the currency of value exchange. 72% of innovation fails due to pricing/monetization flaws.

Four Pricing Inputs:

1. Added Value: What are they paying for? (Find your value metric)
2. WTP: How much will they pay? (Van Westendorp, Gabor-Granger)
3. Competition: What do alternatives cost?
4. Your Position: What do you need to charge?

Pricing Strategies:

• Penetration: Lower price to optimize adoption
• Skimming: Higher price to capture more value from early adopters
• Competitive: Within 20-30% of alternatives

Common Mistakes to Avoid:

• Setting prices too cheap (destroys perceived quality)
• One price fits all (different segments have different WTP)
• Giving away too much for free
• Waiting too long to monetize
• "Set it and forget it" (revise every 3-6 months)

See references/pricing-frameworks.md for WTP research methods.

5. POSITIONING — Control the Narrative

What makes your solution different AND better for your target market.

Positioning Steps (by Andrej Peršolja):

1. Define target audience (ECP)
2. Identify alternatives and market gaps
3. List your assets (features, team capabilities)
4. Turn assets into benefits ("So what?" 5x)
5. Build USP (unique + valued by customer)
6. Merge into story (UVP + USPs)
7. Test position (landing page A/B tests)
8. Make practical for team (checklists)

Messaging Principles:

• Clear and concise (max 3 key points, ideally 1)
• Speaks to specific needs, desires, pain points
• Authentic tone of voice
• Uses storytelling and emotion
• Backed by social proof

Branding Essentials:

• Brand strategy (purpose, values, personality)
• Brand guidelines (visual identity, tone)
• Brand expression (how it comes to life)

See references/positioning-frameworks.md for templates.

6. GROWTH — Reach Your Market

Select channels relevant to your audience and fuel with Growth Loops.

7 GTM Growth Channels:

1. Inbound: Content → leads (SEO, ebooks, tools)
2. Paid Digital: SEM, social ads, influencers, PR, affiliates
3. Outbound: Cold email/calls to targeted prospects
4. ABM: Personalized campaigns for high-value accounts
5. Community: Value creation in communities
6. Partners: Joint marketing/sales with complementary companies
7. PLG: Product delivers value before monetization

Channel Selection Criteria:

• Customer research (where do they go?)
• Competitor research (what works for them?)
• Your resources and strengths
• Unit economics (CAC < LTV within your timeline)
• Untapped opportunities

Demand Strategy:

• Demand Capture: Solution-aware customers actively searching
• Demand Generation: Meet prospects earlier, educate market

5 Growth Loop Archetypes:

1. Usage-Based (Loom: record → share → others see)
2. User-Generated Content (Google: content created → indexed → found)
3. Collaboration (Figma: share file → collaborator onboards)
4. Viral (Spotify Wrapped: emotional content → shared)
5. Distribution (Calendly: share link → exposure → new users)

See references/growth-frameworks.md for channel selection guides.

GTM Execution System

Goal Setting

• North Star Metric (NSM): Single metric measuring value delivered (leads to revenue, reflects customer value, measures progress)
• OKRs: Quarterly objectives with 3-5 measurable key results

GTM Canvas

One-page summary covering:

• Mission/Vision/NSM
• Market (TAM, SAM, SOM)
• ECP description
• Value Proposition
• Pricing strategy
• Positioning statement
• Growth channels
• Timeline and milestones

Execution Essentials

Timeline: Define clear lifeline (3-18 months) with milestones

Team (jobs to be done):

• Product management with execution power
• Product marketing
• Sales enablement
• Data analyst
• Channel experts

Organization:

• Single source of truth (metrics dashboard)
• One project management tool
• One communication channel
• Documentation/knowledge base
• Weekly GTM meetings (45-60 min)
• Monthly retrospectives

Tools (lean stack):

• Analytics: GA, Amplitude, Mixpanel
• Project management: Jira, Trello, Asana
• Communication: Slack, Teams
• Testing: VWO, Optimizely

Budget Categories:

• Labor (30-70%)
• Marketing/Sales/Growth
• Technology/Tools
• Contingency (10%)

Experimentation Loop

Inception Stage (initial proof):

• Observations, expert advice, competitor research
• Customer interviews, surveys
• Market and data analysis

Experimentation Stage (stronger evidence):

1. Hypothesis creation
2. Setup and launch
3. Data collection and analysis
4. Insight mapping
5. Implement or iterate

Prioritization: Impact vs Ease matrix for selecting experiments

Workflow: Creating a GTM Strategy

When helping with GTM strategy, follow this sequence:

1. Clarify Objectives: What does success look like? What's the timeline?
2. Assess Market: Analyze market size, trends, competition
3. Define Segments: Use Market-Problem Map to identify best beachhead
4. Profile ECP: Research-based customer archetype with validation plan
5. Articulate Value: UVP that addresses ECP's core problem
6. Set Pricing: WTP-informed pricing strategy
7. Craft Positioning: Differentiated message with USPs
8. Select Channels: 2-3 channels matched to ECP and resources
9. Build System: Team, tools, budget, timeline
10. Plan Experiments: Prioritized tests to validate assumptions

Key Metrics to Track

References

• references/market-frameworks.md - Market analysis and segmentation tools
• references/ecp-frameworks.md - Customer research and validation methods
• references/product-frameworks.md - PMF measurement and analytics
• references/pricing-frameworks.md - WTP research and pricing models
• references/positioning-frameworks.md - Positioning and messaging templates
• references/growth-frameworks.md - Channel selection and Growth Loops
• references/gtm-canvas.md - One-page GTM plan template