Segmentation, Targeting & Positioning

Welcome to episode 4 of What's Broken in GTM and How to Fix It with Louis Fernandes and Simon Daniels. Each week, together with occasional guests, we explore the challenges that face go-to-market leaders in SaaS scale-up businesses and suggest solutions to common issues. 

Louis laments the early mornings he has been facing this week in order to get up and deliver (virtual) training in Singapore, although it’s been worth it to spend time with some talented sellers, he says. Discussing the engagement of participants in the classes, Louis highlights that the most important thing is bringing the right attitude and having a willingness to engage and learn. Simon has also been involved with sales training of a sort, joining Emma Maslen at sales development consultancy inspir’em to discuss pipeline tracking and marketing support on a customer webinar. Simon also joined the Rockstar CMO podcast with Ian Truscott to talk about all things revops, including Simon’s plan to save the MQL…(not!). 

The conversation then moves on to the topic of the week, Segmentation, Targeting & Positioning. Here’s the TL;DL ( “too long, didn’t listen”) in case you don’t have time for the whole episode: Segmentation, targeting, and positioning form the backbone of any successful GTM strategy. Many SaaS companies though fall into the trap of adopting a scattered approach, effectively creating a blancmange of inconsistent messaging and poorly aligned sales efforts that must be overcome. 

Listen on as we discuss the critical role of segmentation, targeting, and positioning in developing a successful B2B SaaS go-to-market strategy. Accurate segmentation, including firmographic, technographic, behavioural, and use case segmentation, ensures that resources are allocated effectively and growth opportunities are not missed. This includes careful ICP development, including what Simon refers to as buying-group ICPs, that describe the make-up of all the personas making a purchase decision. Targeting involves aligning product delivery with the specific needs of organisations, requiring a detailed understanding of the target audience. Positioning focuses on communicating how the product addresses customer needs and resonates with their desired outcomes, forming the backbone of an effective strategy. Louis and Simon make reference to the excellent segmentation, targeting, and positioning that accounting software vendor Xero has undertaken for their market. 

Other mentions in this episode: 

Simon Sharp, Private Equity funded SaaS Go To Market Specialist (We will be speaking to Simon on a forthcoming episode!) 

Jacco van der Kooij, Founder, Winning by Design 

Read more on this topic in the corresponding edition of Louis’ What's Broken in GTM and How to Fix It newsletter. 

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