Go-to-market strategy example

Go-to-market strategy example for a commercial HVAC manufacturer launching a heat pump range

A go-to-market strategy for a manufacturer sets out which buyers a new product line is aimed at, how it gets specified, stocked and installed through the channel, what it costs and the phases of the launch. It is owned by the chief commercial officer and agreed with the leaders of product management, operations, distribution sales and technical service.

This is the Manufacturing version of the go to market strategy template.

Horizon: 3 years5 priorities · 12 outcomes

Use this template

What this go-to-market strategy template includes

ContextThe situation, the challenges to solve, and what is deliberately left out.
Target marketWho the product is for and how big the opportunity is.
Value propositionThe problem solved and why this solution is better.
PricingHow the product is priced and packaged at launch.
Routes to marketThe sales and distribution channels and what each is expected to deliver.
Launch planThe phases from first customers to full release.
Priorities and measuresThree to five priorities, each with an owner, outcomes with a baseline and target, and the initiatives behind them.

Worked example

A complete go-to-market strategy for a fictional organization: manufacturer of commercial rooftop heating and cooling equipment sold through independent distributors.

Worked exampleGo-to-market strategy

Organization	Manufacturer of commercial rooftop heating and cooling equipment sold through independent distributors (5,000 staff)
Ambition	Make our heat pump rooftop units the specified and stocked choice for planned replacements in three launch regions, growing the line from $38 million to $210 million by 2029.
Horizon	3 years

Context

Where we are and what we are choosing

Rooftop units bring $640 million of our $1.6 billion revenue, and 94% of that is gas-heated equipment. Our older heat pump models sell 3,300 units a year for $38 million. A new cold-climate heat pump range, 3 to 25 tons, starts production in March 2027 with capacity for 6,000 units in the first year and 18,000 by 2029. We sell through 86 independent distributors with 410 branches, 22 manufacturer's representative firms and a national accounts team. Only 14 branches stock a heat pump today, 180 of 2,300 active contractors are trained to commission one, and we are the basis of design on 4% of the heat pump rooftop specifications we track.

Challenges

Seven in ten replacement sales are emergencies filled from branch stock within 48 hours. First-year capacity of 6,000 units cannot stock 410 branches, so the largest part of the market is out of reach at launch.
Plan-and-specification projects take 14 to 20 months from design to shipment, and engineers reuse their last equipment schedule. A specification won in 2027 ships in 2028 or 2029.
Contractors price the unknowns of swapping gas heat for a heat pump into the bid, or steer the owner back to a like-for-like gas unit: curb adapters, electrical service and complaints on the coldest days.

We will focus on

Planned replacements, where the owner has months to choose: national retail and restaurant accounts, school districts and property portfolios with aging units.
Three launch regions where distributors already receive requests for electric heating quotes: the Northeast, the Upper Midwest and the Pacific Northwest.
The 3 to 12.5 ton sizes first, which are 80% of unit volume. The 15 to 25 ton sizes follow in 2028.

We will not

Emergency replacement stock in every branch before 2029. It is the biggest pool of demand, but thin stock spread across 410 branches would mean stockouts and discounting.
Selling direct to contractors or building owners online. The margin is about 18 points better, but distributors carry the stock, credit and local service the launch depends on.
Pricing at parity with gas units to speed adoption. The range holds a 22% premium and is sold on installed cost and operating cost, at the risk of slower first-year volume.

Target market

Ideal customer profile	Owners and operators of light commercial buildings with 5 to 500 packaged rooftop units of 3 to 12.5 tons, most over 12 years old, a capital replacement plan and a target to cut on-site gas use. The buying group is the facilities or energy director, the consulting engineer who writes the equipment schedule, the mechanical contractor and the distributor.
Market size	Warranty and sell-through records show 1.1 million of our gas rooftop units in service, 310,000 of them over 15 years old. The three launch regions hold 96,000 of those. Converting a quarter of them over the plan would be 24,000 units, about $340 million.
Beachhead segment	Planned replacements at national accounts and school districts in the launch regions. Our 40 national accounts operate 21,000 of the 96,000 aging units, replace on a schedule and decide once for hundreds of sites.

Value proposition

Problem	An owner who wants gas off the roof faces a project, not a swap: a curb adapter, often a larger electrical service, and doubt about heating in deep cold. Contractors add contingency for each, and the quote lands far above a like-for-like gas unit.
Solution	A heat pump rooftop range that drops onto our existing curbs with no adapter, keeps 75% of rated heating capacity at 5 degrees Fahrenheit and fits within the existing electrical service on about 60% of our installed gas units up to 12.5 tons. A dual-fuel version keeps a small gas section as backup.
Differentiator	The installed base. Our selection tool takes the model and serial number of the unit being replaced and returns the matching heat pump, curb fit and electrical check, so the contractor can quote without a site survey. Parts and startup support come from 410 branches.

Pricing

Model	List price with a distributor multiplier, as on existing lines. Project registration protects the distributor or representative who won the specification. National accounts buy on negotiated multi-year unit prices and take delivery through the local distributor for a handling fee.
Price point	A 22% premium over the equivalent gas unit at distributor net: about $13,400 for a 7.5 ton unit against $11,000. The dual-fuel version adds $1,200. There is no launch discount. Stocking distributors get 120-day terms on their first stock order.
Packaging	Three versions in each size: standard efficiency, high efficiency with a variable-speed compressor, and dual fuel. Economizers and open-protocol controls are factory options. The compressor warranty runs 5 years, extended to 10 when a certified contractor files a startup report.

Routes to market

Route	Role	Share of pipeline
Independent distributors, planned replacement	Stock 3 to 12.5 ton units in launch-region branches and quote with certified contractors	40%
Manufacturer's representatives, plan and specification	Win basis of design with consulting engineers for schools, public and commercial projects	30%
National accounts team	Negotiate pilots and multi-site rollouts with retail and restaurant chains, fulfilled through distributors	25%
Energy service companies	Include the range in building upgrade projects they finance and manage for owners	5%

Launch plan

Phase	Timing	Goal	Exit criteria
Field trial	November 2026 to February 2027	Prove heating performance through a winter on occupied buildings	60 units on 12 sites hold setpoint on the coldest days; trial data published for engineers
Regional launch, 3 to 12.5 tons	March to December 2027	Stock, train and sell in the three launch regions	120 branches stocked; 800 certified contractors; 4,500 units shipped
Specification and national rollouts	2028	Add 15 to 25 tons and convert pilots into multi-site agreements	Basis of design on 19% of tracked specifications; 8 national accounts in rollout; 10,000 units shipped
All regions	2029	Open the range to all 86 distributors, including emergency replacement stock	240 branches stocked; 95% of orders shipped on the acknowledged date; 15,000 units shipped

Priorities and measures

Priority 1Owner: VP of Specification Sales

Get named on the equipment schedule

Engineers reuse the last schedule that worked, and it names two competitors. With 14 to 20 months between design and shipment, the specifications won in 2027 are the volume of 2029.

Outcome	Baseline	Target	Due
Tracked heat pump rooftop specifications in launch regions naming us as basis of designMilestones: 10% by FY27 · 19% by FY28	4%	28%	FY29
Engineering firms using our selection tool and design files on live projectsMilestones: 40 firms by FY27 · 75 firms by FY28	12 firms	100 firms	FY29

Initiatives

Add the heat pump range to the selection tool with model-for-model replacement lookup
Publish design files, guide specifications and the field trial data for engineers
Run technical lunch sessions at the 150 firms that write most rooftop schedules in the launch regions
Register every specified project so the representative who won it is protected at bid

Targets are illustrative. Adapt them to your baseline before you start.

Priority 2Owner: VP of Distribution Sales

Make the range safe for distributors to stock

A distributor stocks what turns. Only 14 branches carry a heat pump today, and those units turn about twice a year against five for gas units.

Outcome	Baseline	Target	Due
Branches stocking the heat pump rangeMilestones: 120 branches by FY27 · 170 branches by FY28	14 branches	240 branches	FY29
Annual stock turns on heat pump rooftop units at distributorsMilestones: 3 turns by FY27 · 4 turns by FY28	2.1 turns	5 turns	FY29

Initiatives

Agree a stocking plan with each launch-region distributor: sizes, quantities and 120-day terms on the first order
Train branch counter and inside sales staff to quote from the replacement lookup
Allow distributors to rebalance slow-moving units between branches through the factory once a year
Share monthly sell-through by branch so stock follows demand

Targets are illustrative. Adapt them to your baseline before you start.

Priority 3Owner: Director of Training and Technical Service

Build a contractor base that can quote and commission

Contractors decide what the owner is offered. Fewer than 1 in 12 of ours is trained on heat pumps, and first-year warranty claims on the older models run more than double the gas rate, mostly from setup errors.

Outcome	Baseline	Target	Due
Contractors certified to commission the rangeMilestones: 800 contractors by FY27 · 1,400 contractors by FY28	180 contractors	2,000 contractors	FY29
First-year warranty claim rate on heat pump rooftop unitsMilestones: 5.5% by FY27 · 4% by FY28	6.8%	3%	FY29
Heat pump startups with a filed commissioning reportMilestones: 50% by FY27 · 70% by FY28	22%	85%	FY29

Initiatives

Run a one-day certification at distributor branches covering defrost, auxiliary heat staging and electrical checks
Tie the 10-year compressor warranty to a startup report filed from the technician's phone
Staff a heating-season support line with factory technicians for certified contractors
Send a factory technician to each contractor's first three startups

Targets are illustrative. Adapt them to your baseline before you start.

Priority 4Owner: VP of National Accounts

Turn national account pilots into rollouts

Forty national accounts operate 21,000 aging units in the launch regions and replace on a schedule. Each wants a season of data on its own stores before it commits.

Outcome	Baseline	Target	Due
National accounts with a signed multi-site heat pump rolloutMilestones: 4 accounts by FY27 · 8 accounts by FY28	2 accounts	14 accounts	FY29
Heat pump units ordered a year under national account agreementsMilestones: 1,000 units by FY27 · 2,400 units by FY28	400 units	3,800 units	FY29

Initiatives

Offer each account a pilot of 6 to 10 sites metered through one heating season, with success measures agreed first
Build a replacement schedule for each account from the serial numbers of its installed units
Give accounts a per-site report on energy use, comfort complaints and service calls after the pilot

Targets are illustrative. Adapt them to your baseline before you start.

Priority 5Owner: Chief Commercial Officer

Grow revenue at a premium, within what the plant can ship

About half of heat pump sales will replace a gas unit we would have sold anyway. The line earns its investment only if the premium holds and units ship when promised.

Outcome	Baseline	Target	Due
Annual heat pump rooftop revenueMilestones: $85M by FY27 · $150M by FY28	$38M	$210M	FY29
Realized price premium over the equivalent gas unitMilestones: 17% by FY27 · 19% by FY28	9%	20%	FY29
Heat pump orders shipped on the acknowledged dateMilestones: 88% by FY27 · 92% by FY28	81%	95%	FY29

Initiatives

Allocate monthly production between stock orders, registered projects and national accounts, and publish lead times to the channel
Require approval from the chief commercial officer for any price below the standard multiplier
Phase out the older heat pump models size by size as the new range reaches each branch
Decide on the second production line by mid-2028 using registered project and rollout backlog

Targets are illustrative. Adapt them to your baseline before you start.

Blank go-to-market strategy template

The same structure with a prompt in every field. Copy it, or download it as a Word or Excel file.

Your planGo-to-market strategy

Organization	[Describe your organization in a few words, with its size]
Ambition	[One sentence on where you want to be at the end of the plan]
Horizon	[How long the plan runs, for example 12 months]

Context

Where we are and what we are choosing

[Where things stand today: the facts that make this strategy necessary]

Challenges

[A problem the strategy has to solve]
[A problem the strategy has to solve]

We will focus on

[Something you are choosing to concentrate on]
[Something you are choosing to concentrate on]

We will not

[Something you are deliberately leaving out]
[Something you are deliberately leaving out]

Target market

Ideal customer profile	[Your ideal customer profile]
Market size	[Your market size]
Beachhead segment	[Your beachhead segment]

Value proposition

Problem	[Your problem]
Solution	[Your solution]
Differentiator	[Your differentiator]

Pricing

Model	[Your model]
Price point	[Your price point]
Packaging	[Your packaging]

Routes to market

Route	Role	Share of pipeline
[Route]	[Role]	[Share of pipeline]
[Route]	[Role]	[Share of pipeline]
[Route]	[Role]	[Share of pipeline]

Launch plan

Phase	Timing	Goal	Exit criteria
[Phase]	[Timing]	[Goal]	[Exit criteria]
[Phase]	[Timing]	[Goal]	[Exit criteria]
[Phase]	[Timing]	[Goal]	[Exit criteria]

Priorities and measures

Priority 1Owner: [Role accountable for this priority]