What are some best practices for optimizing your go-to-market channel mix?

Since most new GTM strategies focus on measurable direct response tactics, it's also important to understand what types of CTAs have the urgency and simplicity required to work. Your data may show that adding your contacts is the most important action for retention, but that type of action makes for a poor CTA. Instead, think of what actions are high leverage but also can drive urgency, like "Get your free trial" or "Download the app".

I do not believe there is a on-size-fits-all GTM strategy. Every product and every service will have complexity. Company budget, release timing, the economy itself and specific markets, where the most likely first customers receive their data, etc. Where bleeding edge, leading edge, and commodity buyers look can be distinctly different. The one portion of the GTM strategy that remains constant for me as a serial entrepreneur is stand out in the crowd. Where others yell, we will whisper. Where others whisper, we will shout. Therefore, any commodity fact or feature associated with what we sell will get defined in a way that is "unique". Any bleeding edge tech will be so well defined as to be stable and obvious.

Given a target market segment, the channel that makes sense in most typical situations or has made sense in the past may not apply to your product. Sometimes you may need to build your brand, regulate the supply chain and control the experience and choose a channel that has much lower reach and higher cost. Tesla still has a fully owned distribution model vs. traditional auto makers who go to market through dealerships

It's important to have 1 overarching goal for a GTM but equally important to have supporting goals that are relevant to each channel. For example, my single GTM goal can be to increase usage of a feature, but have supporting goals like CTR and conversion for specific channels like email. In this way, you have measurable metrics across the GTM and help tell you what channels are over or under performing.

Each channels serves a definite purpose in your channel mix whether its awareness or conversion. So the goals should also be relevant to the channel. The key is to start with campaign level goals and then drill down to channel specific goals and KPIs. For example campaign goal could be driving usage or consideration but channel specific goal could be reach, CTR, views, impressions etc.

When optimizing for channel mix, you should also consider the member journey. This means considering what other products they could use (competitors), what factors lead to them choosing your product (your competitive advantage), and how they actually get to and use your product. This framing helps you think through a full funnel approach that will ultimately feel like a cohesive and consistent messaging plan.

On top of channel mix, I think it's helpful to understand what messaging and campaigns are working best. In a world where channel attribution is often flawed, we can measure perceptions by talking to potential prospects.