Do you have a one-of-a-kind business but aren’t sure how to take it to the next level? In an ‘always on’ online world, knowing where to start with scaling your business and nailing a go-to-market strategy can feel daunting.
We sat down with one of the Go-To-Market experts from the Amazon Web Services (AWS) startups team to find out the best ways to get your business market-ready and how AWS can be utilised to take your Software as a Service (SaaS) business to the big time.
What do I need to know before scaling up and preparing my go-to-market (GTM) strategy?
Firstly, only scale up when you truly feel you’ve achieved your product-market fit. When you know you have a product with a good market to satisfy, it’s time. AWS advises not wasting resources, only hire based on your current needs and immediate next steps. Don’t fall into the trap of planning too far ahead into the future, no matter how good you know your product and business really is. When hiring, focus on finding the people who align with your startup’s values and goals instead of sourcing talent from big-name businesses.
Before putting together your go-to-market strategy, an understanding of several key elements is essential. First, identify your customer profile, understand their demographics, psychographics, and the specific ‘pain points’ that make your product attractive to them. Truly understanding this will make it easier to choose the best channels and methods to market to your buyers.
Next, it is essential to assess the likely lifetime value (LTV) of your product, to make sure your customer acquisition cost (CAC) is sustainable. Calculate the revenue each customer will generate for your business and ensure you don’t overspend yet on reaching new customers.
Lastly, you need to understand whether you already have product-market fit with what you’re selling because your focus should now be on scaling and expanding. If you feel you don’t quite have product-market fit, refine your product and the messaging you’re using to present it, to ensure you're meeting the demands of your market.
Where do I start with integrating marketing, sales, and similar functions within my go-to-market strategy?
The best way is to foster alignment, enhance communication, leverage technology, and maintain a customer-centric focus. Collaboration and transparency amongst those who work with you will help maintain consistency and make real-time changes in strategy easier for your wider team to adjust to.
Integrated CRM and marketing tools will simplify your data analytics, which you can use to guide responsive marketing. Cross-functional, collaborative teams with a shared goal and vision are best for businesses at this stage.
What tools or resources should I be using to support my go-to-market efforts?
AWS Marketplace is a great place to get started. It opens up a whole new revenue channel for your business if the correct planning and investment is in place before you get going. AWS Marketplace is a curated digital software catalogue which gives you a range of selling software options at no extra cost. This gives you the freedom to try out what works for your business, without a loss in revenue.
With AWS your business also gets access to a large customer base, with over 300,000 active customers, faster deal closure, with the backing of a respected and credible name and additional convenience to your customers with Amazon’s existing infrastructure.
What lessons can be learned from startups who have scaled up and found success with the go-to-market strategies?
Cloud Security organisation CrowdStrike are a great example of a business with a successful scaling strategy. Their focus on customer success, leveraging the best sales channels and being adaptable to trends are key lessons for anyone wishing to scale their business for sustainable growth. The size of their success is in the numbers; CloudStrike became the first cybersecurity ISV to exceed $1 billion in AWS sales since joining the platform with their CrowdStrike Falcon functionality.
What are the best ways to measure the success of a go-to-market strategy?
There are a number of ways to measure the success of your GTM strategy, but AWS have given us the five essential metrics every SaaS business should keep track of:
- Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): Your total expense when bringing a new customer on board.
- Customer Lifetime Value (LTV): The total revenue a startup can expect from a single customer over the course of their business relationship.
- Customer Activation Rate: The percentage of new users who accomplish a significant action within your product during a specific time frame.
- Monthly and Annual Recurring Revenue (MRR/ARR): The consistent and predictable revenue a company can expect to receive over a certain period of time, either monthly or annually.
- Number of Qualified Leads: Leads who meet specific criteria making them more likely to become customers, such as marketing-qualified leads (MQLs), sales-qualified leads (SQLs), or product-qualified leads (PQLs).
Visit AWS to find out more about how they can support your business to get market-ready, scale and more.