A B2B go-to-market (GTM) strategy is essentially the blueprint for how a business launches a product or service in the B2B space.
In this article, we’ll cover:
- How B2B go-to-market methodologies work
- Why your business needs one
- How to develop a winning GTM strategy in 7 steps
- Examples of killer GTM strategies
How B2B go-to-market methodologies work
There are several methodologies to choose from when developing a B2B GTM strategy, each offering unique benefits depending on your business’s goals and structure.
These are the key ones:
- The funnel approach: This traditional model focuses on moving leads through a linear process — from awareness to decision.
How it works: The goal is to generate as many leads as possible at the top of the funnel (awareness) and gradually filter them through until only qualified, ready-to-buy leads remain at the bottom (conversion). - The flywheel approach: Instead of just looking at leads as a one-time conversion opportunity, the flywheel model is more cyclical.
How it works: By focusing on customer satisfaction and ongoing engagement, the flywheel keeps customers in an active loop of interaction, turning them into brand advocates and promoters. - The bowtie model: While similar to the funnel, the bowtie model places equal importance on both the sales and post-sale processes.
How it works: The “bowtie” widens again after the conversion, emphasizing customer retention, upsells, and cross-sells as critical factors in revenue growth.
- Account-Based Marketing (ABM): This methodology narrows down the focus to high-value accounts rather than casting a wide net.
How it works: Marketing and sales teams work hand-in-hand to tailor outreach and strategy to specific target accounts, ensuring a highly personalized and strategic approach.
Whether you’re using a funnel, flywheel, bowtie, or ABM model, AI platforms like Lindy can automate lead generation, follow-ups and negotiations, and customer engagement, reducing manual work, allowing you to focus on strategy, and keeping you at the forefront.
How to make a winning B2B go-to-market strategy in 7 easy steps with AI
Crafting a B2B GTM strategy doesn’t have to feel like rocket science, especially when AI agents like Lindy can help.
You’ve got a product — now what? The key to success is nailing the steps that get you from the planning phase to watching those sales numbers tick up.
Let’s take it step-by-step:
1. Pin down your target audience
The first step in any B2B go-to-market strategy is figuring out who your ideal buyer is. And no, screaming “everyone!” like Gary Oldman in Leon: The Professional isn’t an option.
Here’s what to focus on:
- Use real data, not random guesses: Dive into the data with Lindy’s integration with Salesforce (yes, this is where tech saves the day). Don’t just assume you know your audience — know them. You can track customer information, transaction records, and more.
- Zero in on pain points: What’s their problem? The bigger the pain point, the easier it will be to sell your solution. If your product is truly bringing something new to the table, then it needs to tackle a real issue for your buyers in a way that you can prove.
- Be cool, segment: Not all leads are created equal. Segment your audience based on company size, industry, or even pain point severity. That way, you can create targeted campaigns that speak to each segment.
- Don’t forget the decision-makers: B2B sales often involve multiple people, not just one buyer. You’ll need to target key roles — execs, managers, and anyone influencing the buying decision. It’s a multi-tier process, so don’t treat it like a one-size-fits-all.
- Focus on intent data: Behavioral signals can tell you when a prospect is primed to buy. Look for signals like frequent visits to certain web pages or a flurry of activity in product demo sign-ups. This is where AI-driven agents like Lindy can step in to automate lead identification and prioritize them by readiness.
Bonus tip: Don’t forget to tap into social listening apps, too. These can give you insights into what your target market is saying about their problems. A well-targeted GTM strategy goes beyond the basics — it anticipates what your customers need before they even know it.
2. Develop your unique value proposition
Let’s face it — you can’t just be “another solution” in the sea of B2B businesses. A strong, unique value proposition (UVP) is what separates your brand from the pack.
It’s the key to telling prospects, “Here’s why we’re better than your current solution.”
Here’s what to keep in mind:
- Highlight what makes you different: Dive into what sets you apart from competitors. Maybe you offer faster results, better support, or an easier integration process. Whatever it is, make sure it’s crystal clear.
- Know your competition: Run some competitive research and see what’s out there. The last thing you want is to promise something everyone else is already doing. Agents like Lindy’s HubSpot integration can help you understand competitor performance, product offerings, and even their customer satisfaction levels. Use that insight to build a UVP that makes your prospects say, “Why haven’t I switched sooner?”
- Speak their language: Tailor your UVP to the people who’ll be reading it. If you’re selling to tech companies, use industry jargon. If you’re talking to small businesses, cut the jargon and keep it relatable. Knowing your audience means crafting a message that resonates on their level.
- Make it customer-centric: Don’t focus too much on what your product does — focus on what it solves. Your UVP should be about addressing the customer's pain points, not about listing your features. Remember, the goal is to make them feel like, “Finally, someone gets me.”
- Use your UVP everywhere: Once you’ve nailed it, slap that UVP on everything. From your website to your email campaigns, your social media bios to your sales decks — make sure everyone sees and understands your value at every touchpoint.
3. Map out the buyer's journey
A solid B2B go-to-market strategy doesn’t just throw information at prospects and hope they’ll figure it out. You need to map out the buyer’s journey so that you can guide them from awareness to decision-making with a flawless plan.
Here’s how to nail the journey:
- How they will find you: Think about the initial touchpoints — where are your prospects hanging out? Are they finding you through LinkedIn, Google searches, or industry blogs? You need to be visible on the right channels. You’ve got to be able to understand where your leads are coming from — which is why you’ll need analytics tools like Google Analytics.
- Keep them engaged: Once you’ve caught their attention, you need to keep them moving down the funnel. Whether it’s through email campaigns, webinars, or blog content, create value at every stage of the journey. Every interaction should push them a step closer to making a purchase — it’s about nurturing, not nagging.
- Know what they need at each stage: Your prospects will have different questions depending on where they are in the buyer’s journey. Are they still figuring out their problem (Awareness stage)? Or are they comparing solutions (Consideration stage)? Tailor your content to meet them at each step with relevant answers.
- Don’t forget the post-sale experience: Your buyer’s journey doesn’t stop at “Closed-Won.” Keep the relationship alive after the sale with a killer onboarding experience and regular check-ins to make sure they love your product. Happy customers are your best advocates.
- Automate where you can: If you can set up personalized responses and emails for different journey stages, do it. With Lindy, you can automate nurturing processes, follow-up emails, and even sales meeting scheduling — prospects never vanish like people on The Leftovers (watch that show).
4. Build a multi-channel marketing approach
Hitting your audience from every angle is the name of the game here. A one-size-fits-all approach to marketing is a relic from a bygone era.
If you want your B2B GTM strategy to work, you need a multi-channel marketing plan that engages your audience wherever they are. This means email, social media, events, direct mail — you name it.
Here’s how to make it work:
- Tag the most effective channels: Not all channels are created equal. Do your research and figure out where your audience is most active. Is it LinkedIn for thought leadership and B2B connections? Or email for more direct communication? You need to know where you’ll have the most impact.
- Keep your messaging consistent: Whether it's on social media, in an email campaign, or in a webinar, your messaging should align across all platforms. You’re building a brand identity here, so make sure your value proposition stays front and center across every touchpoint. Lindy’s content creation agents can help you out here.
- Automate outreach and nurturing: The great thing about a multi-channel approach is you can automate a lot of it. Scheduling outreach campaigns, managing social media posts, and setting up lead nurturing sequences can help push prospects further down the funnel with less manual effort.
- Start doing content marketing: Blogs, white papers, case studies — whatever it takes to provide value to your audience. Content marketing is a long, long game, but it positions you as a thought leader in your space and builds trust over time.
- Personalize, personalize, personalize: Your customers want to feel like you’re speaking directly to them, not blasting out a generic, desperate. Use your data to segment your audience and tailor your campaigns to meet the specific needs of different buyer personas.
5. Automate lead generation
Lead generation in go-to-market B2B can feel like a grind, but automating lead research and outreach with an AI agent like Lindy can suddenly make it feel like leads are coming in magically.
Here’s how to crush lead gen automation:
- Use AI for lead enrichment: Instead of manually collecting data on prospects, let AI do the heavy lifting. With a Lead Enrichment AI agent, you can automatically gather insights about your prospects, like company size, industry, and key contacts, without lifting a finger.
- Set up smart prospecting: Stop waiting for leads to come to you and set up automated outreach to engage prospects directly. Lindy’s Lead Outreach agent can reach out with a personalized “hi!” email, wait three days, send a follow-up that adds value, and then alert you if the lead texts back. The best part? It will highlight the lead’s interest level to save you time.
- Send follow-up emails on autopilot: Prospects tend to slip through the cracks if follow-up isn’t automated. You can schedule follow-up emails based on triggers, like when a lead opens an email or visits your website. Automating this keeps prospects engaged without you having to check in constantly.
6. Manage the sales funnel with AI
AI agents give you an automated way to nurture leads, keep your CRM organized, and close deals without losing momentum. If typical marketing tools are like hammers, then AI-powered GT2 B2B agents are the power tools.
Here’s how AI can elevate your sales funnel management:
- Automate your emailing after meetings: Prospects are busy, and it’s easy for your outreach or next steps to get lost in the noise, especially after you’re done with an information-filled meeting. AI agents like Lindy can take care of all your post-meeting scheduling and follow-up processes, sending perfectly timed emails and reminders based on the content of your meetings and the behavior of leads. This helps keep you fresh on their minds while you focus on other stuff.
- Keep CRM updates on autopilot: A cluttered CRM is the enemy of effective sales. Let AI keep everything tidy by automating data entry, contact updates, and even pipeline forecasting. Your sales team will spend less time on admin tasks and more time closing deals.
- Trigger alerts for key lead actions: With Lindy, you can set up triggers that alert you on Slack when a lead takes important steps, like downloading content, visiting a pricing page, or responding to an email. These signals let you strike when the iron’s hot, increasing your chances of moving the lead down the funnel.
7. Create a feedback loop so you keep getting better
A killer B2B go-to-market strategy isn’t a “do it and fuggedaboutit” kind of deal — it requires constant tweaking and refining to stay relevant.
This is where a solid feedback loop comes into play. It’s about gathering insights from both customers and internal teams and then using that data to improve your strategy continuously.
Here’s how to build an effective feedback loop:
- Collect customer feedback at every touchpoint: Use options like post-meeting surveys, follow-up emails, and even direct interviews to gather valuable insights from your customers. Understanding how they interact with your product or service helps you identify areas where your GTM strategy may need refinement. Lindy can even help you chat with your meetings and then disseminate those insights among your team.
- Involve your sales and marketing teams: Your internal teams are on the frontlines of customer interactions and have insights into what’s working and what’s not. Regularly loop them into the feedback process to get a complete picture of your strategy’s effectiveness.
- Don’t let that knowledge go to waste: Don’t just collect feedback for the sake of it. You can leverage AI-powered agents to develop a searchable, intelligent knowledge base by integrating various platforms and data sources to truly understand customer behavior.
- Adapt and evolve: Use the insights you gather to refine messaging, adjust your value proposition, or tweak your sales process. The more you iterate, the closer you’ll get to a well-oiled B2B gym strategy.
Examples of effective B2B go-to-market strategies
Successful B2B companies tailor their approaches to fit their market, product, and customer base.
Here are three solid strategies to do just that:
Product-led growth (PLG): Let your product do the heavy lifting
Product-led growth flips the script on traditional marketing strategies by putting the product itself at the center of the GTM strategy. In this model, your product is the main driver for acquiring, activating, and retaining customers.
Dropbox and Slack are two iconic examples of companies that mastered this approach.
How it works:
- Free trials or freemium models: Allow potential customers to experience the product’s core value without committing upfront.
- In-product growth features: Include shareable features or collaboration tools within the product to spread it through user networks.
- Customer self-service: PLG strategies often depend on a self-service model where users can onboard and start using the product with minimal friction.
Why it’s effective: PLG works well in markets where the product’s value can be easily demonstrated through use. For B2B SaaS companies, in particular, it lowers customer acquisition costs and accelerates sales cycles by using a bottom-up adoption model.
Account-based marketing (ABM): Precision targeting for high-value accounts
Instead of casting a wide net, ABM zeroes in on specific high-value accounts that have the most potential for getting you those big bucks.
Marketing and sales teams work closely together to deliver highly personalized campaigns that speak directly to each target account.
How it works:
- Mega-focused campaigns: Identify a shortlist of target accounts based on criteria like company size, industry, and potential value.
- Personalized outreach: Tailor messaging and content to resonate with decision-makers at each company.
- Sales and marketing on the same page: ABM requires close collaboration between sales and marketing teams to deliver a consistent, customized experience for target accounts.
Why it’s effective: ABM is ideal for businesses that deal with complex sales cycles involving multiple stakeholders. By concentrating efforts on a few high-value accounts, companies can build deeper relationships and increase their chances of closing bigger deals.
Channel partnerships: Expand your reach through strategic alliances
Channel partnerships involve collaborating with other businesses to promote and sell your product. In the B2B marketing strategy framework, this can look like teaming up with resellers, distributors, or technology partners to use their market presence and customer base.
How it works:
- Partner network: Build relationships with businesses that can resell or refer your product to their customers.
- Co-marketing initiatives: Get your collab on with marketing campaigns, events, or webinars to generate leads and awareness.
- Revenue-sharing models: Offer partners a percentage of sales or a referral fee to incentivize them to promote your product.
Why it’s effective: Channel partnerships let B2B companies tap into new markets or customer segments without having to invest heavily in their own sales and marketing resources. It’s a cost-effective way to scale, especially for companies selling complex solutions that need a high level of trust and expertise.
Summing up
Creating a B2B go-to-market strategy is about much more than just putting your product out there — it's about having a plan that aligns your marketing, sales, and product teams to hit the ground running.
Basically, a winning GTM strategy requires attention to detail and a forward-thinking approach.
With Lindy, businesses can automate time-consuming tasks and focus on the valuable stuff: driving growth, maximizing efficiency, and staying ahead of the competition.
Try Lindy to create your effective B2B GTM approach
Ready to take your B2B go-to-market strategy to the next level? Lindy is here to help.
With AI-driven insights, automated lead generation, and total CRM integrations, Lindy can let your team execute a flawless B2B go-to-market plan.
Plus, you can go way beyond just B2B GTM. Lindy can help you create AI agents that write content, schedule meetings, code, and much more — all while working as a team. Check out the full list of agents.
