market research to create a winning go-to-market strategy

When it comes to launching a new B2B product or service, the choices you make can mean the difference between success and stagnation. These choices encompass critical aspects such as identifying target markets, articulating your USPs, selecting the right sales channels, and marketing campaigns. These go-to-market (GTM) decisions impact how well your offering resonates with potential customers and how effectively you can capture market share.

Let’s look at the top 7 cool and effective market research techniques. You may have evaluated some, while there may be others that you have not considered, even though they are fairly simple to execute. These techniques can give you fresh and rich insights that help you define the go-to-market strategy for a successful product launch.

  • Secondary Research: Simple but Effective

Most of us start with a simple Google search when conducting research, but are you approaching it systematically enough to uncover the best insights? Published reports, industry whitepapers, and competitive analyses can provide data on customer pain points, spending capacities, and competitive landscapes. You can use these resources to estimate market size, growth trends, and competitor strength.

But, the real advantage comes when you go beyond the obvious. Don’t just look at top search results; dive deep into niche industry reports, government data, and thought leadership articles that highlight specific market challenges and opportunities. These specific data sources contain the most specific and actionable insights that you can incorporate into your go-to-market plan. Combining these data points allows you to understand whether you’re entering a growing or shrinking market, identify competitors’ weaknesses, and gauge the true demand for your offering.

  • Primary Research: The Most Powerful Tool in Your Armory

Primary market research is still the best way for B2B companies looking to gain a deeper understanding of their target market. Whether through surveys, focus groups, or in-depth interviews, primary research uncovers valuable insights into buyer behavior, decision-making processes, and triggers that lead to purchasing decisions.

For companies with global aspirations, partnering with a market research agency that specializes in B2B and has the tools to conduct research in your target regions can be incredibly powerful. These agencies will help navigate cultural nuances and regional buying behaviors, giving you an edge over competitors who don’t adapt their strategy to local markets. While this type of research may require investment, the insights you gain can be transformative—allowing you to craft a go-to-market strategy that resonates in your priority markets.

  • Email Marketing: Test Your Messaging

You may not think of email marketing as a research method, but it can be incredibly effective in identifying what aspects of your offering resonate most with potential buyers. A simple email subject line can be used to gather extremely valuable insights. For example, if you have a fleet management product that has three key benefits – it helps reduce fleet costs, improve driver safety, and extend vehicle life, you may want to know which of these will resonate with prospects. You can divide your database into 3 parts, and send 3 different versions of your launch email – each with a subject line linked to one specific benefit. Now when you see email open rates, you’ll quickly learn which benefit strikes a chord with your audience.

This type of testing can help you tailor your GTM messaging and communicate effectively right from the start. You can incorporate these learnings into your broader content and advertising strategy, and create a go-to-market plan that aligns your messaging across all channels.

  •  Keyword Data: A Goldmine of Market Intelligence

Founders and senior leadership often miss the insights that keyword data offers, as it is usually seen only in the context of SEO and by the SEO specialists. By analyzing keyword volumes in your target markets, you can discover what folks are thinking, and even gauge demand for specific solutions. Keyword data can throw up surprising insights that will shape your go-to-market plan by identifying the specific phrases that resonate most with your audience.

For example, if you are launching a cloud-based data security solution and discover that “data breach prevention” is being searched far more than “cybersecurity,” you can tailor your messaging and product positioning accordingly. This type of insight gives you the ability to address customer concerns in a language they understand, making it easier to get on their radar from the start.

  • Product Demos and Trials: Understanding the Product-Market Fit

Before a full launch, getting qualitative feedback by offering product demos or trials allows you to gather real-time feedback on usability, features, and pain points. This direct interaction gives you a clearer understanding of how well your product solves your target audience’s problems, so you can refine your go-to-market plan with a sharper value proposition and messaging.

You don’t need an agency to conduct these trials, you can reach out to your existing customers, some prospects, and even lost customers, but try to get objective feedback from all these respondents.

  • Industry Events: On-the-Ground Research Opportunities

Industry events, whether virtual ones like webinars or in-person events such as trade shows, seminars, and conferences, offer a prime opportunity for market research. You can visit these events to test market interest, engage with prospects, and gather feedback. If your budget allows, consider setting up a booth where you can directly interact with potential buyers and conduct mini-surveys or product demos. If a booth isn’t feasible, simply attending the event and striking up conversations with industry peers or potential customers can provide informal yet valuable market intelligence. You can also organize webinars, if you have the capability to generate participation using email marketing and social media.

Conversations at these can reveal the latest industry trends, customer pain points, competitor activities, and untapped opportunities that you may not have uncovered through other methods. By gathering insights directly from the field, you can tweak your GTM strategy to better align with current trends and market demand.

  • Identifying Sales Channels: Mapping the Customer Journey

In today’s B2B landscape, understanding where your customers prefer to engage and buy is critical. A solid go-to-market strategy must account for the channels your prospects are using to research and make purchasing decisions. Now, more than ever, there are a variety of channels even in B2B markets—including direct sales, eCommerce platforms, and distribution networks. Mapping your customer journey helps identify the best channels for your product or service.

For example, certain B2B products, once only sold through distributors or direct sales teams, are now being purchased on platforms like Amazon Business. By identifying the right channels, whether it’s selling directly, using a distributor, or leveraging eCommerce, you can align your strategy with how your target audience prefers to purchase.

 

Look into these 7 ways to conduct research to define your go-to-market strategy. Smart, actionable research will help you define the right positioning, choose the best channels, and tailor your messaging to resonate with buyers both domestically and internationally.

Speak to experts to create your go-to-market strategy or conduct structured market research by reaching out to sales@marketaxisconsulting.com.

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