Go-to-Market Playbooks

Overview

Comprehensive guide to go-to-market (GTM) strategies, product positioning, launch planning, and market entry tactics.

When to Use This Skill

Auto-loaded by agents:

launch-planner - For GTM strategies, positioning, and distribution playbooks

Use when you need:

Planning product launches
Positioning new products
Entering new markets
Rebranding or repositioning
Competitive differentiation

GTM Strategy Types

Four core GTM motions. Pick based on product complexity, price point, and distribution model.

Motion	Model	Best For	Examples
Product-Led (PLG)	Product drives acquisition, conversion, expansion	Low price (<$100/mo), quick time-to-value, network effects	Slack, Dropbox, Notion, Figma
Sales-Led	Sales team drives revenue	High contract values ($10K+), complex sales cycles	Salesforce, SAP
Community-Led	Community drives adoption	Developer tools, open-source, passion-driven users	GitHub, HashiCorp, Discord
Partner-Led	Partners drive distribution	Platform complements, ecosystem plays	Shopify apps, AWS Marketplace

Deep dive: See references/gtm-strategy-types-guide.md for full playbooks, funnels, and step-by-step tactics for each motion.

Positioning

Use April Dunford's 5-component framework:

Competitive Alternatives - What customers use today
Unique Attributes - What you have that alternatives don't
Value - What those attributes enable
Target Customer - Who cares most about that value
Market Category - What context makes the value obvious

Positioning Statement Template:

For [target customer]
Who [need/opportunity]
[Product] is a [category]
That [key benefit]
Unlike [alternative]
We [primary differentiation]

Deep dive: See assets/positioning-statement-template.md for the full 5-step positioning process with worked examples.

Messaging

Three-level messaging hierarchy:

Level 1: Company messaging (mission, brand, values)
Level 2: Product messaging (positioning, value props, differentiators)
Level 3: Feature messaging (benefits, use cases, proof points)

Key formulas:

Before-After-Bridge (BAB): Pain -> desired state -> how product bridges the gap
PAS (Problem-Agitate-Solve): Identify pain -> make it worse -> your solution

Deep dive: See assets/messaging-formulas-template.md for full formulas with examples.

Launch Strategy

Launch Tiers

Tier 1: Major Launch - New product, major rebranding, strategic pivot. Full PR, events, marketing.

Tier 2: Feature Launch - Significant new capability. Blog post, email, social, targeted outreach.

Tier 3: Improvement - Bug fixes, small features. Release notes, changelog.

Launch Channels

Channel Type	Examples
Owned	Website, blog, email list, in-app, social media
Earned	Press (TechCrunch), Product Hunt, Hacker News, influencers
Paid	Google Ads, LinkedIn/Twitter ads, retargeting, sponsored content
Partnerships	Co-marketing, integration announcements, channel partners

Deep dive: See assets/launch-timeline-template.md for a Tier 1 launch checklist from T-8 weeks through post-launch.

Market Entry Strategy

TAM/SAM/SOM

TAM (Total Addressable Market): Everyone who could use product
SAM (Serviceable Available Market): Segment you can reach
SOM (Serviceable Obtainable Market): Realistic target

Beachhead Strategy (Geoffrey Moore)

Dominate one narrow segment before expanding.

Identify Beachhead: Narrow, winnable segment
Dominate: Become #1 in that segment
Expand: Adjacent segments

Examples: Facebook (Harvard -> Ivy League -> all colleges -> everyone), Amazon (books -> electronics -> everything)

Market Entry Checklist

Competitive Strategy

Competitive Intel

What to Track: Product features/roadmap, pricing, marketing messages, customer reviews, funding/news

Sources: Competitor websites/blogs, G2/Capterra reviews, LinkedIn (hiring = roadmap hints), earnings calls, customer conversations

Battle Cards

For each competitor, document:

Overview (size, funding, target customers, strengths)
When they win vs. when we win
Feature comparison and positioning
Objection handling scripts
Proof points (customer wins, case studies)

Pricing & Packaging

Five core pricing models: Freemium, Free Trial, Usage-Based, Tiered, Per-Seat.

Pick a value metric that scales with customer value (per user, per event, per API call, storage).

Deep dive: See references/pricing-packaging-guide.md for pricing model details and 3-tier packaging strategy.

GTM Playbook Summary

Choose GTM Motion:

Low-touch, self-serve    -> PLG
High-touch, complex sale -> Sales-Led
Developer product        -> Community-Led
Platform complement      -> Partner-Led

Then:
1. Position (find differentiation)
2. Message (communicate value)
3. Launch (create awareness)
4. Optimize (iterate and scale)

Key Success Factors:
- Clear positioning
- Focused beachhead
- Aligned team
- Measured results

Resources

Books:

"Obviously Awesome" - April Dunford (positioning)
"Crossing the Chasm" - Geoffrey Moore (market entry)
"Product-Led Growth" - Wes Bush (PLG strategy)
"The Mom Test" - Rob Fitzpatrick (customer discovery)

Frameworks:

April Dunford positioning canvas
Jobs-to-be-Done framework
Lean Canvas (market fit)

Tools:

Competitors: Crayon, Klue
Launches: Product Hunt, BetaList
Analytics: Mixpanel, Segment

Deep Dive Files

File	Contents
references/gtm-strategy-types-guide.md	Full PLG, sales-led, community-led, partner-led playbooks
references/pricing-packaging-guide.md	Pricing models, 3-tier packaging, value metrics
assets/positioning-statement-template.md	April Dunford 5-step positioning process with examples
assets/messaging-formulas-template.md	BAB and PAS messaging formulas with examples
assets/launch-timeline-template.md	Tier 1 launch timeline checklist (T-8 weeks to post-launch)

go-to-market-playbooks