As a startup founder, you know that attracting the right investors is one of the most important elements in setting up your business. Your Investors’ pitch deck stands as a fundamental tool to convince investors and secure the crucial capital your startup requires. The ins and outs of a successful pitch deck were explored in Vestbee’s ebook - Perfect Pitch - The Ultimate Startup Guide - which can be downloaded here.
In this series of articles, we are breaking down the winning formula behind a startup pitch deck - going one by one into all of the slides, providing insightful tips and tricks as well as examples of successful pitch decks from other startups. So far, we have covered the problem, solution, product, market and competitors. Having established a strong foundation, the spotlight now shifts to a strategic facet of your pitch—the go-to-market strategy.
So let’s delve into the essential components of the go-to-market strategy slide in your startup’s pitch deck for investors.
What Is A Go-To-Market Strategy Slide In The Startup’s Pitch Deck For Investors?
A go-to-market strategy is a strategic plan showing how your company will interact with its customers in order to maximize sales and expansion. Once you show that your business is going after an attractive market opportunity, you need to convince your potential investors that you actually have a viable strategy to win your target customers. So, the aim of including a go-to-market strategy (GMT strategy) slide in your pitch deck is to explain to investors how you plan to distribute your product or service to the market and reach and acquire customers.
Many startups fail at this point as they forget that having a good idea, product, or service is simply not enough. Regardless of how unique and innovative your technology is, you must know what market segments you target and how to reach them.
Moreover, launching a product to the market is a substantial investment. Regardless of the product's qualities, the way you market and sell it can make or break its success, so including a GTM strategy in your pitch helps to ensure investors that you’re taking everything into account and can avoid costly mistakes—like launching your product to the wrong audience or entering an already saturated market.
What To Include In The Go-To-Market Strategy Slide In The Startup’s Pitch Deck For Investors?
To ensure a well-structured GTM strategy, you need to have established your customer base and their pain points that your product addresses. This slide follows the market and competition sections, building upon previously disclosed information. On this slide you should focus on where and how you will sell your product - and in the context of this market - how the demand and competition inform this GMT strategy. Make sure you know and understand your market specifics before shaping your strategy. Otherwise, you risk betting the future of your company on faulty premises.
Strategic messaging
It is essential to decide on the key message you will convey to your potential customers. The messaging should be tailored to all various subsegments of your target audience - they appreciate different things, so make sure your approach reflects it. For example, innovators, early adopters, or early majority have different purchasing triggers. A value matrix is a tool that can help you - it breaks down each buyer persona, their pain points, the value your product brings, and a key message that conveys how your product can solve their unique problem. Answering these key points for all of the buyers' persona will help you differentiate your messaging.
Reaching your customers
When profiling your prospective customers, think about the most efficient ways to reach them and what communication and acquisition channels to use. They should align with your target audience - the way they consume content, their habits, lifestyle, and needs. It’s also worth using different channels based on the different phases of your ‘buyer’s journey.’ Most often, the buyer's journey is broken down into three phases:
- Customers that know they have a problem and want to solve it. They are not aware of your product yet so you need to grab their attention. Solutions like partnerships, SEO or SEM can help you reach them.
- Next are customers who are weighing your product against the competition. Here you can use a variety of tactics, such as case studies, webinars or even direct sales, to convince them that your product is the best one on the market.
- The third part is customers who decide whether to actually make the purchasing decision or not - here, you should convince them to commit to it. Strategies like free trial options could be beneficial here.
It is very important to include some clear objectives - in your GMT strategy slide. If applicable, include in your Go To Market (GTM) slide information about any partnerships and other key alliances your company has formed in order to support its growth.
Questions That Can Help You Craft A Perfect Go-To-Market Strategy Slide In The Startup’s Pitch Deck For Investors
When figuring out your Go To Market strategy, consider these questions:
- What are you selling?
- Who are your customers?
- What pain points do you address?
- What does the competitive landscape look like?
- What are your unique selling points and how do they differentiate you from your competitors?
- How do you plan to reach and acquire customers?
- What is your roadmap for conquering your market?
- Where will you sell your product? What markets do you want to pursue, and what do the demand and competition look like in those markets?
- How will you promote your product?
- Where does your target audience spend most of their time?
- What marketing channels penetrate that space?
- What are the most efficient acquisition channels (online, retail, direct sales, etc)?
- What is your monetization and pricing strategy?
- What resources are required to execute your strategy?
- What is your timeline?
- What are the market trends?
- How are your competitors reaching their customers?
- What is the projected LTV of your customer vs the cost of aquiring him using a particular channel or strategy?
- Has the strategy you are considering been successful for a specific customer group for other businesses
- How “sticky” is your product?
- How does your product/service fit into the current and future market needs?
- How adaptable is your strategy to changes in market conditions?
- What partnerships or collaborations could amplify your market reach?
- How will you maintain customer engagement and retention post-acquisition?
- How will you gather and utilize customer feedback to refine your product/service?
- What is your contingency plan in case the initial Go-To-Market strategy does not yield the expected results?
- How will technology and innovation play a role in your market approach?
- What are the potential barriers to entry in your chosen market, and how do you plan to overcome them?
Examples Of Go-To-Market Strategy Slides
Lunar (source)
Pendo (source):
Slide template (source):
Tips And Tricks For A Go-To-Market Strategy Slide In The Startup’s Pitch Deck For Investors
- Alignment - make sure your GMT strategy is clearly aligned with the problems you're addressing, the solutions you're providing, and the target audience you've identified.
- Straightforward language - explain how your strategy will effectively reach and resonate with customers.
- Visual elements - use them to make complex ideas more digestible and help investors quickly understand your approach.
- Customer-centric approach - emphasize your understanding of your target audience's pain points and needs. Describe how your strategy is tailored to reach them specifically.
- Segmentation and messaging - highlight how you plan to segment your audience based on different personas and their purchasing triggers.
- Measurable objectives and KPI - set specific objectives and KPIs to track the success of your go-to-market strategy. Investors want to see that you have a plan in place to measure and optimize your strategy's effectiveness.
- Adaptability - address how your go-to-market strategy is not only rooted in the current market trends but also adaptable to changes. Explain how you'll monitor industry shifts, competition, and customer preferences to adjust your approach accordingly.
GMT or marketing plan?
What differentiates a go-to-market plan from a typical marketing strategy is worth mentioning. GMT is specifically for launching a product or expanding to a new market. On the other hand, a marketing plan details how you’ll execute your overall marketing strategy. Instead of being launch-specific, a marketing plan is a long-term approach to help you achieve your marketing objectives.
Go-To-Market Strategy Slide in Startup’s Pitch Deck For Investors - A Summary
GMT strategy slide plays a significant role in your startup pitch deck. It shows investors you not only have a great product but also a plan on how to reach your customers and sell it. The GTM strategy should outline how you intend to maximize sales success and market expansion, understanding the target market segments and crafting tailored messaging for distinct audience subsegments. Additionally, what is essential is aligning communication and acquisition channels with audience preferences as well as strategies for different phases of the buyer's journey. The slide should have clear visual elements, conveying the message through language and presentation.
For more assistance in writing your Investor Pitch Deck and pitching your startup to investors, see the following articles:
- How To Create The Perfect Competition Slide In The Investment Pitch Deck?
- How To Create The Perfect Product Slide In The Investment Pitch Deck?
- How To Create The Perfect Market Slide In Your Startup Pitch Deck?
- How to Create a Perfect Solution Slide in Your Pitch Deck?
- How to Create a Perfect Problem Slide in Your Pitch Deck?
- Tips for Crafting the Perfect Ask Slide In Pitch Deck
- Common Mistakes In Startup Pitch Deck To Avoid During Fundraising
- A Bunch Of Tips On Pitching Your Startup To Investors
- How To Write Elevator Pitch For Investors
- How To Create A Pitch Deck That Will Get Your Startup Funded
For even more insights on how to create a perfect investor pitch deck click here to download Perfect Pitch - The Ultimate Startup Guide, an ebook prepared by a team of experts and investors addressing the question of how to make your startup fundraising process successful.
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