AI companies face a distinctive go-to-market challenge: the technology often outpaces the market's readiness to adopt it. The task isn't just selling a product — it's managing the gap between what the technology can do and what buyers are prepared to pay for today.
The Engagement
As Project Lead at London Strategic Consulting, I led the GTM strategy engagement for a US-based AI startup entering a new vertical. The client had strong product-market fit in their existing segment and wanted to replicate that success in an adjacent market without diluting the core go-to-market motion.
Segment Definition
The first phase was rigorous segment definition. We mapped the addressable universe of buyers, applied an ICT (Ideal Customer Type) framework to prioritise by propensity-to-buy and deal economics, and stress-tested segment hypotheses through primary research with seven potential buyers.
- Addressable market sizing across five candidate segments
- ICT scoring model: propensity to buy, deal economics, competitive intensity
- Primary research: 7 buyer interviews across target segments
- Competitive positioning matrix against 9 established and emerging players
The Playbook
The final GTM playbook covered: primary target segment with entry account list, positioning narrative and differentiation story, pricing architecture with recommended land-and-expand structure, channel sequencing (direct outbound first, then partnership), and a 90-day execution milestone plan.
The client adopted the playbook as the operational guide for their new segment launch, with the 90-day milestones incorporated into their board-level OKR framework.