GTM Motions
Overview
Identify and evaluate the best go-to-market motions for your product. This skill analyzes seven proven GTM approaches with specific tools and tactics to help you build a balanced acquisition strategy.
When to Use
- Selecting marketing channels for your product
- Choosing between inbound vs outbound strategy
- Building your GTM toolkit and tech stack
- Evaluating PLG vs traditional sales motion
- Planning cross-channel marketing campaigns
The 7 GTM Motions
1. Inbound Marketing
Attract customers through valuable content and thought leadership.
- Tools: LinkedIn, SEMRush, Grammarly, HubSpot, Airtable
- Tactics: Blog content, webinars, whitepapers, SEO, email nurture sequences
- Best For: B2B SaaS, technical products, long sales cycles
- Strength: Builds brand authority and attracts high-intent prospects
- Challenge: Requires consistent content creation; slower to show results
2. Outbound Sales
Proactively reach target prospects through direct engagement.
- Tools: LinkedIn Sales Navigator, ZoomInfo, Lemlist, Apollo, Hunter
- Tactics: Cold email campaigns, LinkedIn outreach, phone prospecting, personalized demos
- Best For: Enterprise sales, high-value contracts, niche markets
- Strength: Predictable pipeline generation; control over target selection
- Challenge: Low response rates; resource-intensive; requires skilled sales team
3. Paid Digital Advertising
Reach target audiences through paid channels with precision targeting.
- Tools: Google Ads, Meta Ads, LinkedIn Ads, Newswire, Retargeting platforms
- Tactics: Search ads, display advertising, social ads, video advertising, retargeting
- Best For: Products with clear target demographics, competitive keywords
- Strength: Fast results; scalable; measurable ROI; precise targeting
- Challenge: Can be expensive; requires continuous optimization; competitive
4. Community Marketing
Build engaged communities where customers help each other and spread the word.
- Tools: Slack, Reddit, Discord, Circle, Mighty Networks, WhatsApp
- Tactics: Community forums, user groups, events, mentorship, ambassador programs
- Best For: Developer products, communities of practice, loyal user bases
- Strength: Builds loyalty; organic word-of-mouth; valuable feedback; low CAC
- Challenge: Requires active moderation; time to build critical mass
5. Partner Marketing
Leverage partner networks to co-market and reach new audiences.
- Tools: Miro, AWS Startups, Oracle Partners, Stripe, Shopify App Store
- Tactics: Partner integrations, co-marketing agreements, channel partnerships, resellers
- Best For: Complementary products, platform ecosystems, expanding market reach
- Strength: Access to established customer bases; shared costs; credibility
- Challenge: Partner alignment; revenue sharing; dependency on partners
6. Account-Based Marketing (ABM)
Treat high-value accounts as individual markets with personalized campaigns.
- Tools: Pipedrive, Hunter, Clay, 6sense, Terminus, Demandbase
- Tactics: Personalized messaging, account-targeted content, coordinated sales/marketing
- Best For: Enterprise deals, limited target accounts, high deal values
- Strength: Higher conversion rates; larger deal sizes; strong sales-marketing alignment
- Challenge: Requires detailed account research; resource intensive; not scalable to SMB
7. Product-Led Growth (PLG)
Drive adoption through the product experience itself with minimal sales friction.
- Tools: Hotjar, Amplitude, Sentry, PostHog, Intercom, Appcues
- Tactics: Free trials, freemium models, in-app onboarding, self-serve demos, product analytics
- Best For: Self-service products, SMB market, low ACV, viral potential
- Strength: Low CAC; aligns product and growth; strong PMF signals; scalable
- Challenge: Requires excellent product experience; lower price points; longer ROI
How It Works
Step 1: Understand Your Product
Define product characteristics:
- Price point and ACV (contract value)
- Sales cycle length
- Buyer type and decision-making process
- Product complexity and learning curve
- Target market size and concentration
Step 2: Evaluate Market Conditions
Assess your market dynamics:
- Competitive intensity of your keywords/channels
- Target audience location and accessibility
- Budget availability for paid channels
- Your team size and capabilities
- Timeline to revenue generation
Step 3: Score Each Motion
Rate fit for your product (1-10 scale):
- Inbound: Content creation capability, brand building timeline
- Outbound: Prospect list availability, sales team capacity
- Paid: Budget flexibility, target audience clarity, conversion potential
- Community: Existing communities, product network effects
- Partners: Complementary products, channel availability
- ABM: Deal size and account concentration
- PLG: Product trial-ability, pricing flexibility
Step 4: Design Motion Stack
Select and prioritize 2-4 motions to execute:
- Primary motion (highest potential for your business)
- Secondary motions (complementary acquisition channels)
- Motion sequencing (which to start first)
- Resource allocation across channels
Step 5: Build Execution Plan
Create 90-day implementation roadmap:
- Quick wins and early validation
- Team and tool requirements
- Success metrics for each motion
- Optimization and scaling strategy
- Budget and resource allocation
Input Format
Use $ARGUMENTS to pass:
- Product description and positioning
- Target customer profile and market
- Price point and sales cycle
- Team size and capabilities
- Budget and timeline constraints
- Existing channels or data
Output
A comprehensive GTM motions analysis including:
- Scoring of all 7 motions for your product
- Recommended motion stack (primary and secondary)
- Tool recommendations for each motion
- 90-day execution plan with milestones
- Resource and budget requirements
- Success metrics and measurement framework
- Competitive differentiation through motion choice
Framework
Based on Product Compass GTM motion analysis. Provides a systematic approach to balancing customer acquisition across multiple channels.
Tips
- Most successful products use 2-4 complementary motions
- Start with your strongest motion; add complexity gradually
- Paid channels fund growth while organic channels build long-term value
- Revisit motion mix quarterly as company scales
- Combine inbound (brand) with outbound (sales) for B2B strength
- Use PLG to reduce CAC; use paid to accelerate proven channels
Further Reading