Strategos’24 – IIM A’s flagship case competition

Problem Statement: Despite the growing relevance of real-time payments (RTP), Payment Co faces ambiguity
on prioritizing use cases across verticals with varying market maturity, regulatory risks, and adoption barriers.
A structured GTM strategy is required to identify high-return segments and define a scalable, segment-specific
execution playbook.
Payment Co will have to assess several areas while defining it’s Go-To-
Market strategy to be able to succeed
Market size Target market size across segments (incl. whitespace & greenfield oppty.)
Market
Key market trends & growth Future trends & market outlook across use cases; Projected growth potential
landscape
Competitive landscape Key competitors (RTP, other providers), their share, and value proposition

Target customers Customer segmentation (TAM, SoW, profitability, etc.) & target mkt selection
Customer
segmentation & Customer persona & needs Key pain points (speed, costs), KPCs, behavior, & persona of target segment
USP
Unique value proposition Key value proposition (cross-border vs services vs speed) & competitive advantage

Go-to-market channels Optimal RTM mix (direct app, bank partnerships, wallets, etc.) that we plan to adopt
Payment Commercializatio
Product bundling & pricing model Product bundling approach, pricing model (per txn, % value), & strategy, in segments
n strategy
Co Marketing strategy & promotions Marketing channels (digital vs traditional); Discounts/ incentive to attract customers
Go-To-
Product features Key product features (interoperability, FX); Should value added services be there
Market
Strategy Customization Product customizations that we may offer for use cases (e.g., analytics for SMB)
Product
IT infrastructure & security Extent of IT infra required to ensure security & ability to scale in the near future

Customer interface (UI/ UX) Customer interface & for on which platform (web/ mobile); Variability by segments

Sales coverage model Sales approach for different segments(coverage model, sales motion, territory, etc.)
Account management Install account mgmt. process for key accts & its key components (sales plays etc.)
Sales & marketing
Sales team structure Skills required in sales talent incl. technical; Sales model (hunter/farmer vs hybrid)
team
Sales rep target & Incentives Key parameters to define sales targets (revenues, profit); Incentivization strategy

Customer support & service Customer support process & levels of support; Support team accessibility & skills
 We evaluate the emerging use cases across 9 parameters…

Content SMB
Digital Gaming / Gig Digital
Parameters Crypto creator / Contractor Marketplace Payables /
Remittance Gambling Economy Goods
Livestream Receivable

Total addressable market (30%)

(Total payment volume in market)
$800bn $170bn $100bn $230bn $200bn $450bn $700bn $100bn $2100bn
Market attractiveness

Future outlook (15%)

(Future growth potential of the market)

RTP appetite (20%)

(Appetite of current customers to adopt RTP)

Regulatory risk (20%)

(Potential future risks in payments & use cases)

Competition (15%)
(Entry barriers from current competition landscape)

Solution applicability (40%)

(Applicability & stickiness of solution with use case)
Ability to win

Time to adoption (20%)

(Pace of customer adoption/ integration w/ product)

Ease of selling (40%)

(Marketing effort needed, customer stickiness with
existing systems, & cross sell ability)

Desirable Neutral Undesirable

…and identified 3 priority use cases
While 4 use cases seemed attractive, finally 3 were
Gig chosen based on the reasons:
Economy
Digital
SMB Remittances Digital remittances stands out as a priority use case
Payables / • Consumer prefer ability of immediate money transfer
Receivables
• High TAM (exp. to grow) | Brand reputation helps sell
Ability to Win

Contractors Marketplaces
Digital
Crypto Goods Content
creator / SMB segment prioritized over Gig Economy as
Livestream
• Very high consumer TAM with high appetite for RTP
• Marketplaces also serve SMB, hence opportunity to
Gaming /
capitalize in market chain
Gambling
Marketplaces segment prioritized over Gig Economy as
• Potential to capture the SMB value chain:
Marketplace -> SMB -> Suppliers
Market Attractiveness • Higher reward to effort; Gig economy likely scattered
parameters

Gig economy has high long-term attractiveness,

Evaluation

RTP Appetite TAM Future outlook

however it has been deprioritized since:
Regulatory risk Competition Ease of selling
• Risks complete international exposure to Payment Co
Time to adoption Solution applicability • Relatively smaller TAM | Good market for long-term
Go-to-Market Roadmap for SMB Payables & Receivables
GTM plan in brief Key activities
Target customer Value proposition Pre-launch
Focus SMBs engaged in cross-border txns; Further Accelerate your global business with our payment platform • Identify customer
segment based on size & nature of business that is real time (immediate), cost-effective, & safe segments
Product Pricing • Build product MVP
• Core: Real time cross-border payment with base • Tiered pricing structure based on • Align sales talent &
cybersecurity; SMB user platform transaction volume; Add-on at extra cost processes
Offering • Add-on/ Value added services: • Price meter: % of transaction value (with
base price & cap) Pilot
• Offers: Reduced txn cost for initial 2 • Test MVP in pilot
Multiple FX wallet Adv. fraud detection Payment analytics months; Free access to detailed analytics markets
Marketing Sales & Customer service • Focus on product
marketing
Content marketing to create Land & Expand Hybrid sellers
Sales & consumer awareness (e.g., blogs) • Refine product
sales model (hunter + farmer)
mktg. Targeted digital marketing
activities towards SMB decision makers
• Dedicated CSM for top accounts; Pooled CSM for smaller Launch & rollout
accounts
Product promotion via partners; • Streamline onboarding process – with step-by-step • Launch targeted
attend SMB conclaves support & integration guide to key tech platforms plays, as needed
Materials Trainings Tools • Scale infra to meet
Enablers requirements
• Targeted collaterals for each segment • Sales playbook trainings • CRM; KPI tracking
(sales)
• Customer testimonial & success stories • ‘Bright spots’ sharing dashboard; Lead tracker • Track & monitor KPIs
 Pre-launch Pilot Launch & rollout
(3-4 months) (2-3 months) (Continuing)
GTM roadmap for SMB payments
Develop a detailed market database Launch pilots; collect feedback and relay to

Mkt. & Customer

Run targeted plays based on backlog
(demographics, txn volume, etc.) functional teams, as needed

(Sales ops)
Create consumer archetypes & personas; Develop focused play backlog for priority Track & monitor KPIs; Relay necessary
Develop priority target list prospect markets, post-launch feedback as required
Identify key segments for pilot launch E.g.,
SMB dense states (e.g., Texas)

Build ‘one-stop shop’ product Integrating all Refine current offering based on pilot Scale up existing infra in line with demand;
Product

functionality & features feedback and prepare for launch Continually enhance UI
Build MVP with base interface and features Build development backlog through Develop addn. features (e.g., automated
(like analytics, APIs) customer focus groups/ surveys payments) & product release cycle

Define product bundles & price tiers for Deploy promotions for launch (e.g., special Implement tiered discounting structure
Commercialization

different customer segments offers / discounts) across customer segments

Increase customer awareness regarding Actively focus on product marketing via paid Actively push on marketing; Incorporate
RTP & its benefits to SMB ads, news, partners, etc. testimonials for trust
Design partner engagement program Onboard partners (e.g., banks, fintech)
Design mktg. collaterals (e.g., videos)

Assess post-M&A talent base & hire to fill Deploy sales team in pilot markets & share Track rep performance (attainment,
gaps; Train reps insights with leadership team productivity)
Define sales motions; design collaterals Define sales territories & account coverage Set-up ‘bright spots’ sharing session to
Sales

(battlecards, pitch, etc.) model for national launch share best practices
Design customer onboarding process; Set- Set up account management process &
up service model for various tiers account plans for key customers
Set-up governance model & cadence