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Unlocking growth is a critical milestone for startups, marking their journey from survival to prosperity. However, achieving this feat is far from straightforward, as it requires understanding the true desires of customers, often overlooked in conventional playbooks needing more customer empathy. Tae Hea Nahm, Co-founder of Storm Ventures and B2B tech startups investor, announced the release of their updated guide to unlocking growth, presenting a 3-step method to discover a repeatable, scalable, and predictable Go-To-Market (GTM) process.
According to him, while Product Market Fit and a stellar Go-To-Market team are essential, more is needed to unlock growth consistently. Successful companies prioritize two vital elements in their GTM playbook: customer empathy and incorporating a “wow” factor. This approach and a repeatable GTM process pave the way for sustainable growth and transform startups into unicorns.
Nahm highlights the significance of combining the Hero Customer Journey with the playbook to develop a powerful Customer Journey Playbook (CJ Playbook).
It entices potential champions and stimulates demand, setting in motion a growth flywheel that can drive transformative outcomes for startups. Mastering this approach proves to be an exhilarating experience for startup leaders.
The fusion of these elements cultivates an environment of growth and transformation, making it an essential strategy for startups aspiring to unlock their full potential and thrive in their respective markets.
Here are the three steps which will guide startup founders to unlock growth.
Step one: Understanding the Hero Customer Journey: Unveiling the Nine Crucial Steps
Step One in unlocking growth for startups involves understanding the Hero Customer Journey. This journey comprises nine specific steps that a champion goes through, starting with experiencing Urgent Pain, which drives the need for immediate product adoption.
Addressing this pain is crucial in generating leads and kickstarting the customer’s journey with the company.
The next phase revolves around “The Wows,” answering why the champion should choose a particular product. These “Date Wows” and “Marry Wows” help convert prospects into champions and gain approval from bosses or committees. First, value follows, where the customer obtains enough value from the product, gaining validation from peers or superiors.
The journey culminates with the champion becoming a Hero, achieving career advancements or recognition for driving significant metrics. Understanding this journey allows startups to foster Customer Empathy and build a shared framework to enhance their Go-To-Market (GTM) strategy.
Nahm suggests , to make the Hero Customer Journey actionable, it must be measurable and actionable. For instance, Urgent Pain can be measured by the number of days between awareness of the company and the first meeting. By comprehending and optimizing each step in the Hero Customer Journey, startups can create a compelling value proposition, meet customer needs effectively, and unlock growth opportunities, transforming their companies into the champions of their respective industries.
Step two: Building the Customer Journey Playbook: Integrating Empathy with GTM Execution
Nahm’s Step Two in unlocking startup growth involves building the Customer Journey Playbook, which integrates the Hero Customer Journey with the internal Go-To-Market (GTM) playbook. This fusion aligns what customers want with the company’s GTM execution, fostering customer empathy. The CJ Playbook contains simple, repeatable plays prioritizing the champion’s success, ensuring a customer-centric approach rather than solely focusing on revenue targets.
Traditional GTM playbooks often overlook the customer journey, leading to flawed strategies when customer needs change. In contrast, the Customer Journey Playbook follows a 4-step process: defining customer empathy through the Hero Customer Journey, aligning it with GTM stages in the CRM system, identifying advancers and blockers from past deals, and finally, documenting the playbook in a concise, one-page format for easy repetition.
The Customer Journey Playbook not only unlocks growth but also cultivates a customer-centric culture within the company, ensuring alignment around making champions into heroes. It provides valuable guidance for addressing GTM problems and optimizing customer experiences, enabling startups to flourish and thrive in their journey to success.
Step three: Fine-Tuning the Customer Journey Playbook: Collaborative Solutions to GTM Problems
Step Three in unlocking growth involves fine-tuning the Customer Journey Playbook to address any existing Go-To-Market (GTM) problems. While some companies struggle even after implementing the CJ Playbook, fixing GTM problems requires a more collaborative approach. Instead of assigning responsibility to individual departments, forming a cross-functional team is more effective since GTM issues often stem from multiple areas.
However, conflicting opinions within cross-functional teams can hinder progress. The Hero Customer Journey provides a solution by guiding the team in identifying and agreeing on GTM problem solutions.
When a GTM problem arises, the Hero Customer Journey pinpoints the root causes and predicts the necessary actions from various departments to resolve the issue effectively. This collaborative effort streamlines the process and fosters a customer-centric culture, accelerating the journey toward unlocking growth and achieving success.
As companies adopt the Hero Customer Journey and embrace the cross-functional approach, they gain a comprehensive understanding of their customer’s needs and motivations. By aligning the entire company behind the customer journey, businesses can overcome GTM challenges, making significant strides in their quest to unlock growth and thrive in the competitive market.