How to Build a Go-to-Market Strategy for a New Launch
We have the movie Field of Dreams to thank for some of the worst business advice ever: “If you build it, they will come.” In the real world, plenty of brilliant products have been built—and promptly ignored—because nobody knew they existed, or because the story didn’t land with the right people.
A go-to-market (GTM) strategy is how you avoid that trap. It ensures you know your audience, differentiate your brand, tell a story that sticks, and choose the channels that drive adoption.
At Belmondo, we’ve helped startups, nonprofits, and growing companies bring new offerings to market with confidence. Here’s how to approach your own GTM strategy step by step.
Step 1: Audience Research → Knowing Your Market
Juicero raised $120 million to sell a Wi-Fi-enabled juicer, only for customers to discover they could squeeze the juice packs by hand. Audience research is how you avoid building something nobody asked for.
Every great launch begins with clarity on who you’re trying to reach. Audience research goes beyond surface demographics. It’s about understanding customer motivations, pain points, and behaviors.
- What problems are they trying to solve?
- How do they currently solve them?
- Where do they go for information or inspiration?
Methods can include customer interviews, surveys, focus groups, and digital analytics. By combining qualitative and quantitative data, you’ll uncover insights that guide not only your launch but also your long-term growth strategy.
Step 2: Positioning — Differentiating Your Offering
While most airlines fought for business travelers with first-class perks and global routes, Southwest went the other way. They positioned themselves as the airline for budget-conscious flyers who valued low fares and a fun, no-frills experience. That simple shift in positioning carved out a loyal audience that competitors weren’t even chasing. Differentiation is about claiming the ground your audience actually cares about, not the one your competitors assume matters.
Once you know your audience, you need to stand out in their minds. That’s where positioning comes in. Effective positioning answers the question: Why should a customer choose you over other options?
- Define your unique value proposition (UVP).
- Identify the “white space” your brand can occupy.
- Align positioning with both functional benefits and emotional drivers.
Strong positioning isn’t just about being different; it’s about being different in a way that matters to your audience.
Step 3: Messaging — Crafting the Story That Sells
As every college freshman knows, vodka is about as undifferentiated as it gets. In blind taste tests, most people can’t tell one brand from another, and once it’s added to another liquid it’s basically just ethanol. But Absolut turned a clear liquid in a clear bottle into a global icon with one of the most successful ad campaigns of all time: Absolut Perfection. By consistently framing their bottle as the star of witty, clever print ads, they built a cultural identity around a product that wasn’t meaningfully different from the competition. That’s the power of messaging. Even if your product looks like everyone else’s, the right story can make it unforgettable.
Keys to effective launch messaging:
- Highlight emotion, not features. People remember how your brand made them feel, not the spec sheet.
- Create a story that feels like an invitation to a place no-one has seen before.
- Use repetition and consistency. A message doesn’t stick until you’ve said it 100 different times, in 100 different ways.
A well-crafted message builds trust and creates emotional connection. These are the key ingredients for early adoption.
Step 4: Channels — Where and How to Reach Your Audience
Casper broke into a commodity market (mattresses) by inventing a better way to buy them. By skipping showrooms and selling direct-to-consumer online, Casper turned a sleepy commodity into a disruptive category. The channel was the innovation.
A great story and product mean little if your audience never encounters them in the right place. Choosing the right mix of owned, earned, and paid channels can be as important as the product itself.
- Owned channels: Website, email, blog, social media.
- Earned channels: PR coverage, influencer partnerships, word of mouth.
- Paid channels: Digital ads, sponsored content, targeted campaigns.
The right mix depends on your budget, audience habits, and launch goals. Start where your audience already is, then expand to build reach.
Step 5: Metrics → Measuring Success from Launch to Growth
As cinephiles, we at Belmondo bought MoviePass as soon as it launched. But it seemed too good to be true: unlimited movies for $10 a month. The company exploded in signups and quickly became a media darling. But they were measuring the wrong thing. Subscriber growth looked fantastic on paper, but the economics didn’t add up. The more people used the service, the more money MoviePass lost. By the time they faced reality, the model had collapsed.
That’s why defining the right success metrics before launch is critical. Vanity metrics like downloads, signups, or page views don’t prove growth is sustainable. The real questions are:
- Customer acquisition cost (CAC): How much does it cost to win a customer?
- Customer lifetime value (CLV): How much is each customer worth over time?
- Conversion rate: How efficiently are you turning interest into revenue?
- Engagement & retention: Are people sticking around or just testing and bailing?
- Brand awareness & credibility: Are you gaining traction beyond your first audience?
Measuring the right metrics keeps you honest, helps you iterate, and ensures your launch builds into something that lasts.
Bringing It All Together
If you’ve made it this far, you’ve got an understanding of just how complex GTM can be. But a little time invested in this strategy upfront could save you a lot of pain down the road. From audience research to positioning, messaging, channels, and metrics, each step builds on the last to create momentum.
At Belmondo, we’ve partnered with companies like Collab Fertility and Atlas to bring new offerings to market with clarity and impact. If you’re preparing for a launch, our team can help you imagine boldly, execute strategically, and drive lasting growth.
Explore our Go to Market services and see how Belmondo helps ambitious brands launch with confidence.
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