SaaS B2B GTM Strategy: Building A Roadmap for Success

Launching a new product requires more than just a solid marketing campaign. With so many new and established software options on the market, the world of B2B SaaS has become extremely competitive. How you strategize bringing a new product or service to market or introducing your product to a new market is a critical make-or-break moment. Companies generally know to create a launch strategy when introducing a product to market, but that is only a piece of the puzzle. 

What is the difference between a launch strategy and a B2B go-to-market strategy? 

A launch strategy focuses exclusively on how you’re introducing your product to the market. A GTM strategy is more comprehensive than that. A B2B go-to-market strategy is about making a plan to get in front of the right businesses and deliver the right message at the right time. This plan is developed through thorough research of your audience and market and extends into the long term to bring success past the initial launch. Having a structured go-to-market strategy that aligns your sales and marketing efforts is essential for success. 

SaaS go-to-market strategies are even more tactical versions of B2B GTM strategies. They help companies create actionable plans for product launches that account for the nuances of the SaaS industry. There are a few key elements that are found in every successful SaaS go-to-market strategy. These elements will help you ensure that you’re optimizing your sales efforts and paving the way for you to see sustained success. 

These are the 3 key phases that will guide your SaaS go-to-market strategy:

• • Phase 1: Research and Strategy Development – Build a Successful SaaS Go-to-Market Strategy From The Ground Up
  • Phase 2: Implementation and Launch – Effectively Run Your Plan to Engage Your B2B Clients and Drive Early Success
  • Phase 3: Tactical Optimization – Monitoring, Improving, and Scaling Your GTM Strategy

What is a SaaS Go-to-Market Strategy?

A SaaS go-to-market (GTM) strategy is a clear and strategic plan for SaaS companies breaking into the market when launching a product, reaching new customers, or entering new markets.  A successful go-to-market strategy encompasses everything needed to make sure your product succeeds when brought to market and beyond the initial launch. This includes audience targeting, market research, pricing strategy, sales and marketing channels, and techniques for optimization.

Go-to-market strategies can be sales or marketing-focused and developed for B2B and B2C companies. Any person or company that has a new product or service to sell and wants to attract customers needs a GTM strategy. However, there are a few things that make SaaS go-to-market strategies unique.

• • Focus on Building and Retaining Customer Relationships: B2B SaaS companies predominantly rely on ongoing subscriptions for revenue, so the GTM strategy has to focus on retention just as much as acquisition.
  • Product-Market Fit Prioritization: A successful SaaS go-to-market strategy has to account for the need to deliver ongoing value. Not only does your software need to meet your user’s specific business needs but also integrates seamlessly into their existing systems.
  • Multiple Stakeholders and Longer Sales Cycles: SaaS deals are often more complex due to the common multi-stakeholder decision-making process. This makes sales cycles longer and the need for targeted messaging for different roles within the company more prevalent. 
  • Emphasis on Continuous Product Optimizations: Frequently SaaS companies will update their products and make constant improvements. Feedback loops have to be in place to be sure that your value proposition stays relevant and up-to-date to keep and attract customers. 

Benefits and Characteristics of a SaaS Go-to-Market Strategy

Before you can start building your B2B go-to-market strategy for your SaaS company, remember that the root goal of a GTM strategy is to take the guesswork out of your launch. When done correctly, it provides you with insight into the internal and external factors that may impact bringing your product to market. This encompasses attracting the right customers, creating a competitive value proposition with effective messaging, and creating seamless processes. 

The following are a few of the added benefits a B2B go-to-market strategy that is well executed through its strategy, implementation, and optimization phases will offer SaaS companies.

• • A Roadmap for Success: 95% of new product launches fail most often because of lack of preparation. A structured GTM strategy acts as a research-backed roadmap for launching your SaaS product. With everything from awareness, acquisition, and your path to retention mapped out, your strategy will help you avoid common pitfalls that come with being unprepared.
  • Scalability: A SaaS go-to-market strategy will provide you with data-driven insights to help you scale your operations effectively. SaaS companies have the added advantage of being able to meet increased customer demand with minimal friction. Tools like cloud platforms, gen AI, and other avenues for automation allow for flexible scaling.  
  • Focused Effort: B2B go-to-market strategies keep you focused on the metrics that matter. KPIs like lead conversion rate and customer acquisition cost are great for helping B2B companies measure their success. With that information, you can make data-based decisions on where your efforts need to improve.  

Phase 1: Research and Strategy Development

Research and define your target audience

Having a general idea of the audience you want to reach isn’t enough when bringing your product to market. Your understanding of your ideal users will directly impact the success of your launch. A SaaS go-to-market strategy has to start with developing a detailed ideal customer profile that includes demographics, preferences, buying behaviors, and firmographic information. Further narrow in on your audience based on their industry, company size, roles, and geographical location. With that information, you can create buyer personas and dive deeper into your research on them and the market you’re entering.

Questions to Ask:

• • What are their pain points? 
  • What are the current trends in the market? and How can my software solve for them?
  • Which of their needs aren’t currently being met by a product on the market? 

The information you gather in response to these questions will give you a deeper understanding of your audience and equip you to tailor your messaging and approach. Not only will this be a contributing factor in acquiring new customers but also in retaining them. Your product needs to address their unique needs and deliver ongoing value. That starts with identifying their pain points and confirming how you address them. This research on your audience sets the foundation of your GTM strategy, so be sure your research is thorough, and your audience is clearly defined.

Conduct competitive research to identify market gaps

Competitor analysis is another aspect of your research you won’t want to skip. The next research question you have to answer when strategizing how to build your SaaS go-to-market strategy is: Who are the major players in the market? These are your competitors. Look at their product and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses. Identify what would make someone choose your product over theirs and vice versa. This will help you identify your own strengths and weaknesses. You’ll also be able to then anticipate if there may be a barrier to your entry into the market. 

Pro Tip: Gen AI tools like ChatGPT are great resources to take advantage of when in the research phase of your go-to-market strategy. They can help you collect information faster, acting as a thinking partner. Remember, ChatGPT is only as smart as the questions you ask it. Do some of the groundwork for your research and use AI as a supplemental tool so you can be sure you’re asking the right questions.

Competitive market research builds on the foundation you set with your ideal customer profile. The added market context you gain from your competitive research will help move you forward toward creating your launch plan. B2B go-to-market strategies have such a heavy emphasis on research because they inform every step forward you take in bringing your product to market. This is true more so for businesses operating in the SaaS market. You want to make the best decisions for your company, but by starting with research, you can compare your decisions against what’s already present in the market. This will give you a head start in positioning yourself ahead of the competition when you launch. 

Determine your unique value proposition

From the information you gather about your audience and your competitors in the market, you can then go on to craft a compelling unique value proposition. Your value proposition should clearly communicate how your product can solve for a specific need your users have. This is called a “problem-solution fit” approach. Emphasize the features and products you offer that your competitors lack that speak to the unique needs of your target users. 

Pro Tip: Build a value matrix to make sure your value proposition resonates with your audience. A value matrix outlines your product’s features and maps them to the pain points they address. Taking this approach will help you make sure your unique value proposition is aligned with the real needs of your ideal users. 

The unique aspects of the SaaS industry greatly come into play at this step. A strong value proposition as part of a SaaS go-to-market strategy should include how your product integrates with the user’s tech stack. Focus on aspects like how it will save your user’s time, help drive growth, or even reduce their costs. Then, as you make product updates, be sure that your value proposition reflects that. Your unique value proposition is important to your go-to-market strategy because it’ll be used by your sales and marketing teams. This makes alignments between the departments for this aspect crucial to your success.  

Choose the right pricing strategy

Pricing strategy will play a pivotal role in the success of any SaaS go-to-market strategy. Maximizing your market penetration and profitability are the goals when setting up your pricing strategy. However, the pricing strategy has to reflect the value of your product while also aligning with market conditions. Your competitive market analysis and audience research will be an asset to you at this stage. 

SaaS companies commonly take on a subscription-based pricing model because it fuels recurring revenue. Take a look at some of the pricing model options and the value they present to you and your users.

• • Freemium: Offering basic features for free and paid tiers for premium features. Helps to attract a large user base early on, giving you time to nurture the relationship and build their interest in the paid features.
  • Flat Rate: A set price for all users. This works best for simple, all-in-one solutions.
  • User-Based Pricing: Charging based on the number of users, making it scalable as teams grow.
  • Tiered Pricing: Offering different packages with varying features that accommodate different customer needs and budgets.
  • Pay-as-You-Go: Charging customers based on their usage of your product which offers flexibility for businesses with changing needs​.

Related Content: Driving Revenue in 2024: Embracing RevOps & End-to-End Visibility to Maximize Performance

Phase 2: Implementation and Launch

Marketing and distribution channels

Now that you’ve done your research on the audience and the market, created your value proposition, and selected your pricing strategy, you’re now ready to move forward with your launch plan. A SaaS go-to-market strategy can leverage a mixture of marketing channels to reach the proper audience. These can include content, email marketing, social media, or other digital channels. The channels you choose should align with your product and your audience. 

Most SaaS companies lean on content marketing and SEO to generate demand for their product and build authority in the market. However. Other channels like email and social media marketing can also be effectively used to support the launch of your product. Once you’ve specified your channel or channel mix, make sure to create target messaging for the audience you will reach via that channel.

Define KPIs

Your understanding of the success of your GTM strategy is dependent upon you choosing the right KPIs to track and measure. As part of any B2B go-to-market strategy, before you launch your product, you need to define your KPIs. Instead of getting misled by volume metrics, focus on measuring outcomes. Synching your KPIs will help keep everyone on the team focused on the goals that really matter.

These are the key metrics SaaS companies should be paying attention to as part of their go-to-market strategy:

• • Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): The total cost of acquiring a new customer.
  • Customer Lifetime Value (LTV): The total revenue expected from a customer over their lifecycle.
  • Lead Conversion Rate (LCR): The percentage of leads that convert into customers.
  • Lead Velocity Rate (LVR): The percentage increase (or decrease) of leads month over month

Another key metric that will be helpful to track in order to make data-based optimizations to your GTM strategy is channel-wise revenue and spending. This metric will identify which of the channels you chose is giving you your best return on investment. Tracking data like this helps to determine if you are reaching the right audience and aligns you for long-term growth.

Track, review, and report your insights

Tracking your metrics, reviewing the data, and reporting your key findings are part of the implementation phase because it’s an ongoing task. While the information you collect will support your future optimizations, it’s key that this data isn’t something pulled once every three months. Make sure you are regularly checking your KPIs and make adjustments in real-time if needed. If an area is underperforming, don’t wait until the next quarter to try to pivot when you have the data now to adjust your approach to ensure continued profitability.

Consistency in your tracking, reviewing, and reporting will have to be a prevalent piece of your GTM strategy. A SaaS go-to-market strategy has to have room for your team to adjust before minor setbacks become major roadblocks. Set up recurring performance reviews to evaluate results and make data-driven improvements to your GTM strategy as your business scales.

Related Content: GTM Shift: Focusing on Outcomes Over Volume Sales Metrics Can 3X Conversion Rates

Phase 3: Tactical Optimization

Develop feedback loops

Consistent performance optimization is a principle of innovative selling that appears in everything from crafting buyer journeys to building a B2B go-to-market strategy. Optimization has to be seen as an ongoing process that requires consistent monitoring. Establishing a feedback loop will help you gather valuable insights from your customers so you can make sure your GTM strategy stays effective. Real-time feedback can be collected via customer support tickets, in-platform feedback forms, and other surveying methods. The response you receive will help you identify any problem areas from your users. 

Listen to the feedback you receive and implement changes based on the insights you collect. Updates are expected in the SaaS industry, but updates that are driven by feedback users provide take it a step further. It shows a level of care and consideration for the user experience that will help increase satisfaction. As a result, you could see an increase in customer retention and form more long-term customer relationships to secure recurring revenue. Both of these are critical for SaaS success.

Pro Tip: Automate your feedback loops so that you are constantly receiving feedback and gathering insights to help inform future updates and improvements without requiring extra work from your team.

Scale

A successful SaaS go-to-market strategy should have the ability to scale as your customer base grows. A strategy that can’t be adapted for the success it brings is not effective. Automation tools will be key in helping you scale without friction. 

Scaling as part of a SaaS go-to-market strategy will include the incorporation of cloud platforms, automated onboarding processes, and AI-powered customer support tools. Insights collected from your automation platforms will help you determine the effectiveness of your acquisition channels. From there, you can address inefficiencies and allocate resources to where they would be best utilized. 

Optimization is essential to your ability to scale. Your ability to scale efficiently will help you drive and sustain growth while improving your sales funnel. 

Related Content: The 4-Point Checklist for Customer Retention & Growth

Go to Market Strategy for Startups

B2B go-to-market strategies for SaaS startups differ from large companies in a few key ways. 

• • Target Audience: For startups, there is a greater emphasis on establishing a niche target audience early on as they often are not able to spare the resources that larger companies can to cast wider nets. This results in a more focused effort to reach specific industries, business sizes, or roles within those businesses.
  • Marketing Channels: Startups often operate with more limited resources than established SaaS companies. This means that their GTM needs to be cost-efficient and agile, often relying on organic growth channels.
  • Pricing Models:  Utilizing freemium or low-cost trial models helps startups attract early users and gain traction quickly.

Feedback loops have an even greater importance in the world of startups. Adapting quickly to iron out any areas of contention amongst their users is of extremely high importance as they build their user base and develop their product. Competition is high for startups. That’s why most prioritize speed-to-market. This way, they can capture early market share and possibly compete with larger and more established offerings in the market.

Example of a Successful GTM SaaS Strategy

Microsoft – IoT Central Go-to-Market Strategy

Skaled worked with Microsoft to develop a go-to-market strategy for their Internet of Things (IoT) Central business unit Microsoft’s goal was to make sure their deployment plan positioned their product property and prioritized customer experience. As a result, they would see an increase in their sales outcomes and efficiency. With hundreds of offices worldwide, Microsoft is dominant in the market. Even so, with the rollout of a full suite of services to come, they knew to assess their current plan and pursue a more effective go-to-market strategy.

Phase 1: Research and Strategy Development 

The first step Skaled took to transform Microsoft’s go-to-market strategy was to meet with the top IoT partners globally. Through research and conversations, their strengths were identified and four common rules for success when selling an IoT-based solution were identified.

1. We partner Line of Business (LOB) Leaders, then IT
2. Our solutions are business-centric
3. We define ROI and potential business impact pre-POC
4. Our sales team is strategic, not technical

Phase 2: Implementation and Launch

From there, Skaled developed a large-scale training program for Microsoft’s top 500 IoT-focused partners. This program’s objective was to define how Sales and Technical Leaders would structure their IoT go-to-market and sales strategies to be more effective. These workshops also set the groundwork for how to sell proof of value when speaking to a real buyer.

Phase 3: Tactical Optimization

Skaled also removed barriers in the sales process that were slowing down the sales process for Microsoft’s IoT-focused partners. This optimization helped to reduce the duration of the proof of concept process while increasing conversion rates to production.

>> Read the full case study: How Skaled Transformed Microsoft’s IoT Central Go-to-Market Strategy to Increase Sales

B2B Go-to-Market Strategy Template

B2B SaaS companies have to be strategic about bringing new products to market. A SaaS go-to-market strategy will give you a comprehensive and well-informed plan to do just that. It goes beyond just launching your product and digs deeper to give you tactical steps for positioning yourself ahead of the competition. Each of these three phases is interconnected and works together to build a B2B go-to-market strategy that accounts for the nuances of the SaaS industry.  

• • Phase 1: Research and Strategy Development 
  • Phase 2: Implementation and Launch 
  • Phase 3: Tactical Optimization 

These strategies for creating, running, and optimizing a successful GTM marketing plan will help you optimize your sales funnel and drive growth with your product launch. If you’re looking for a template to follow for your B2B or SaaS go-to-market strategy, consider using our detailed guide. It guides you in understanding your target market, boosting the effectiveness of your GTM strategy, and avoiding common flaws in your go-to-market strategy.