Why Your Go to Market Strategy Is Failing (And What to Do About It)

I’ve seen a lot of startups pour months into building a great product, only to launch it into the world with a go to market strategy that falls flat. The team is smart. The idea is solid. But something’s not clicking, and growth stalls before it even begins.

When I dig into these kinds of situations, it’s rarely because the team didn’t care enough or plan enough. More often, it’s because they made the same set of assumptions I’ve seen across early stage SaaS companies: that what worked before will work again, that audiences behave predictably, and that launch day is the finish line.

If your go to market strategy isn’t gaining traction, chances are you’re making one of these mistakes. Here’s what I’ve learned from helping startups navigate these waters and how I approach getting things back on track.

Mistake 1: Taking Your Audience for Granted

This one shows up all the time. A founder (or even a product marketer) will say, “This is how we launched at my last company. Our customers loved it.”

What they’re forgetting is that audiences aren’t interchangeable. What resonates with HR leaders at a large enterprise won’t necessarily work for a tech savvy startup founder. And even within the same persona, different segments have different mental models, priorities, and levels of urgency.

A go to market strategy that assumes too much about the audience often ends up sounding tone deaf or worse, invisible.

That’s why I always start with: What do we know, and how do we know it? Every plan should begin with a fresh read on the audience. Not just user personas, but the emotional drivers, anxieties, and decision making context that will shape how they hear your message.

Even if you’ve spoken to customers before, it’s worth checking: Are you targeting the same segment now? Do you know how this specific audience shops, how they adopt new tools, and what competing priorities are already fighting for their attention?

If not, your messaging might be technically right but completely miss the mark.

Mistake 2: Skipping the A/B Tests

I get it. You’re under pressure to hit numbers. You want a clean, confident rollout. Testing feels slow, messy, and maybe even risky.

But here’s the reality: not testing is the bigger risk.

I’ve worked with startups that were sitting on wildly different interpretations of their own value proposition. Instead of running small, controlled A B tests like landing pages, email copy, or ad variations, they tried to “pick the winner” in a vacuum. Months later, they’d quietly pivot back to the original strategy, unsure why the new direction didn’t land.

Testing isn’t just about conversion rates. It’s about learning fast. It's how you get real signals on what actually resonates with your audience so you’re not relying on internal alignment alone.

Every go to market motion is an opportunity to test something: messaging hierarchy, tone of voice, headline clarity, even when and how promos are delivered. The best teams build testing into the launch process from the start.

Mistake 3: Leaving Stakeholders in the Dark

You might have a thoughtful plan, but if the rest of your team doesn’t see the why behind it or what role they’re supposed to play, it’s going to fall flat.

I’ve seen product marketing teams work tirelessly to get launch assets ready, only to find Sales isn’t using them. Or Customer Success wasn’t prepped on what’s changing. Or Product didn’t realize the feedback loop was part of the rollout.

The earlier you bring stakeholders into the vision, the better your chances of alignment and adoption. I’ve found that a simple kickoff, even if it’s just a 30 minute working session, can go a long way in creating shared ownership. It turns a launch from a marketing checklist into a company wide motion.

And don’t just give people assets. Give them context. Why are we positioning it this way? What are we hoping to learn? How will we know if it’s working?

When everyone understands the goal, they’re far more likely to contribute meaningfully to the outcome.

So What Do You Do Instead?

Here’s how I approach a go to market motion, especially when something isn’t working.

1. Zoom out to the customer journey.
   Is the messaging relevant at each stage? Are we only talking to existing customers when prospects need nurturing? Are we missing the emotional signals that trigger action?

2. Reassess your assumptions.
   Are we relying on data from the wrong segment? Is the buyer truly who we think they are? Are we still solving the most urgent problem for them right now?

3. Map out your levers.
   A launch doesn’t just have to be a launch. It’s a testing opportunity, a brand moment, a chance to reset how your company talks about itself. Don’t waste it. Know which levers you can pull like messaging, timing, packaging, or promos, and be deliberate about how you use them.

4. Treat alignment as a launch activity.
   Your stakeholders should be part of the process, not just the recipients of the output. Create space for feedback, questions, and suggestions along the way.

Every plan is a hypothesis. The job of product marketing isn’t just to launch. It’s to learn. The faster and smarter we learn, the better our chances of building something that actually sticks.