A great product or service doesn't guarantee success. Without a strategic approach to market entry and expansion, even the most innovative solutions can struggle to gain traction. At the heart of any effective go-to-market (GTM) strategy lies one critical principle: market segmentation.
At OnTarget, we help companies unlock growth by bringing clarity, focus, and structure to their GTM motion. And it all starts with understanding exactly who you’re going to market to and why. That’s where segmentation makes all the difference.
Market segmentation is the process of dividing your broader market into distinct groups of potential customers who share common characteristics such as industry, company size, location, or specific needs. Each segment is then approached with tailored messaging, offerings, and go-to-market tactics.
Instead of shouting into the void, segmentation allows you to speak directly to the people who are most likely to buy from you — in a language they understand, through channels they trust, and with solutions that actually matter to them.
Segmentation can be based on several criteria:
Let’s put it plainly: Without segmentation, you're guessing. With segmentation, you're optimizing.
Here’s how segmentation enhances every layer of your GTM strategy:
When you know exactly who you’re talking to, you can craft a value proposition that directly addresses their priorities. No more generic promises, just relevance.
Tailored communication converts better. Segmentation allows you to refine tone, content, visuals, and messaging to resonate with each group.
Your sales team spends less time qualifying and more time closing. With segment-specific insights, sales reps can ask the right questions, offer targeted solutions, and accelerate the decision-making process.
Rather than spreading your budget thin across all markets, you invest in segments that offer the highest potential for growth or profitability.
Focused segments enable you to track what’s working and what’s not more clearly, so you can iterate faster.
Let’s say your company has developed an AI-based maintenance solution for maritime vessels. Your total addressable market might include:
Each of these segments has completely different operational realities, budget structures, and decision-making dynamics.
Now imagine trying to market the same product in the same way to all of them — you’d likely miss the mark in each case. But with clear segmentation:
Same product. Different story. Different results.
You don’t need to get it perfect from day one. But you do need to get started. Here’s a framework we use at OnTarget when guiding clients through segmentation as part of their GTM development:
Who’s already buying from you? What do they have in common? What triggered their decision? This helps define your early "ideal customer profiles" (ICPs).
Look beyond your current base. What are the major verticals, use cases, and trends in the market? Where are the gaps or unmet needs?
Form meaningful segments — not just by industry, but by problem-solution fit, level of digital maturity, or go-to-market readiness.
Not all segments are created equal. Evaluate each based on criteria like:
Now that you know who you're targeting, adapt your messaging, content, sales playbooks, and marketing channels accordingly.
Trying to sell to “everyone” is like setting your GPS to “somewhere.” You’ll get moving but probably not in the right direction.
Without segmentation:
Segmentation gives your GTM motion structure, direction, and momentum.
Many fast-growing companies delay segmentation because they think they need to "scale first, focus later." In reality, the opposite is true.
Early segmentation doesn’t limit your market, it helps you win it. Focused success in one or two high-fit segments builds credibility, reference cases, and learnings that you can then leverage to expand into adjacent segments later.
In crowded and complex markets, the companies that win are not always the ones with the most features, the biggest teams, or the flashiest branding. They’re the ones with clarity about who they serve, how they serve them, and why it matters.
Market segmentation is how you gain that clarity. And once you have it, everything else — your product roadmap, messaging, sales strategy, and even customer success — becomes sharper, faster, and more effective.
At OnTarget, we specialize in helping B2B companies in high-value industries build GTM strategies that drive real traction. Whether you’re just entering a new market or want to sharpen your focus for growth, we’ll help you identify your most promising segments and create a tailored plan to win them.