GTM Isn’t One Strategy. It’s Twelve.

What Happens When You Actually Loop in Localization Early

Most GTM strategies are built for speed. Global GTM needs stamina, and a lot more local insight than most companies realize.

When people talk about go-to-market (GTM) strategy, they usually mean the plan to get a product into customers’ hands fast. That includes positioning, messaging, marketing channels, sales enablement, and timing.

In most companies, GTM is a collaborative effort across marketing, product, sales, and customer success. But for global companies, GTM isn’t a single-market sprint. It’s a sequence of market entries, and each one requires a different playbook.

---

GTM Starts Local, But It Doesn’t Stay There

Most global expansion follows a familiar pattern:

• USA – The core launch market.

• English-speaking countries – UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia.

• Top 5 EMEA – France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Netherlands.

• LATAM – Mexico, Brazil.

• Asia – Japan, Korea.

• Rest of world – Long-tail languages and edge markets.

Features and campaigns usually launch in the U.S. first, while messaging is still evolving. When it’s time to go global, the localization team is expected to scale it all for international audiences without proper context or involvement.

This is where things start to break.

---

Why GTM Copy-Paste Fails (and What to Do Instead)

I asked GTM specialist Omar Fogliadini to weigh in on why companies often struggle when entering new markets. His response was clear:

“Most companies assume what works in the U.S. will work elsewhere. It won’t. Buyer expectations, legal realities, sales rhythms—even humor—are different. And ignoring that turns global launches into local failures.”

According to Omar, here's what companies often get wrong:

• Messaging that resonates in New York can fall flat—or offend—in Tokyo.

• Feature bundles and pricing tiers collapse when features are unavailable due to regulations (hello, GDPR).

• Sales cycles differ—Japan may require six-month pilots, while LATAM expects fast ROI.

• Local partners win deals that global logos can't.

“If you're serious about hypergrowth, you need boots on the ground, local messaging, fast feedback loops, and empowered regional decision makers.”

His advice:

• Define realistic SOM (Serviceable Obtainable Market) targets per region.

• Launch regional pods with local SDRs, SEs, and partners.

• Run fast pilot cycles with real feedback.

• Track results and double down where traction appears.
  

His Takeaway:

While you can reuse core elements of your US GTM (product narrative, brand pillars, tech stack), success overseas demands a structured, region-by-region adaptation process. Skipping any of the steps above risks slow adoption, pricing pushback, compliance breaches, and wasted investment.

---

What GTM Fails Really Look Like

Before we dive into the visible failures, it’s worth calling out an invisible one: alignment without conviction.

As

Alex Pawlowski

puts it:

This is where GTM often unravels. When localization voices are sidelined to keep things ‘aligned,’ decisions get watered down. And what makes it to launch is bland, vague, and unfit for most markets.

When alignment becomes about pleasing everyone rather than making bold, principled decisions, GTM strategies start to crumble. What looks like agreement on paper often hides a lack of conviction—and that shows up in the launch. Pricing tiers that ignore local regulations, messaging that misfires culturally, or tone-deaf rollouts that miss the moment—these aren’t just execution errors. They’re the downstream effects of shallow alignment.

Localization teams spot the cracks early—through language, tone, and regional feedback that rarely makes it into the GTM deck. But when those signals are ignored, global ambition turns quickly into local rejection.

Here are just a few anonymized examples of GTM fails from the field:

🚗 BYD’s European Expansion Missteps

Chinese electric vehicle (EV) giant BYD faced challenges when entering the European market. BYD used the term "NEV" (New Energy Vehicle), common in China, in its German marketing campaigns, a term unfamiliar to German consumers. These misstep led to a market share of just 2.8% in Europe by the end of 2024, prompting BYD to revamp its strategy by expanding its dealer network and re-thinking their messaging.

🚘 Mercedes-Benz’s Branding Blunder in China

When Mercedes-Benz entered the Chinese market, the company used the brand name "Bensi," which phonetically resembled the phrase "rush to die" in Mandarin. This unfortunate translation negatively impacted the brand's image, highlighting the importance of linguistic and cultural considerations in international branding.

These aren’t translation issues. They’re GTM signals. And if you’re not listening, you’re likely launching with built-in friction.

---

Too often, teams only research their local market, then assume the rest of the world will adapt. When the strategy flops, nobody asks why.

Some justify it: “Our local market is our main revenue source.” But here’s the data:

• Apple (2024) – 64% of revenue came from international markets

• Microsoft (2023) – 49.6% of revenue was non-U.S.

• Alphabet – Nearly 50% from outside the U.S.

• Meta (2024) – 56% international revenue

In short: international markets aren’t a footnote, they’re the business.

---

Company Culture Is the Real Barrier

To dig deeper into why so many international GTM strategies fall short, I spoke with Jeroen Coelen, a GTM strategist and startup mentor who’s helped scale companies across markets.

Jeroen doesn’t sugarcoat it:

“It’s either in the culture of the company to think globally—or it isn’t.”

According to Jeroen, many international GTM failures stem not from poor execution, but from a lack of global thinking at the leadership level. His advice to localization managers—most of whom sit in middle management—is blunt but accurate: this is not something you can fix alone. It’s a cultural issue, and it has to be addressed at the highest levels of the organization.

Localization sees the issues first. But without exec buy-in, nothing changes. That’s why influencing up the chain is part of the job.

---

Get Your Voice Heard—Even at the Top

Spotting the issue is the easy part. Making sure someone listens? That’s harder.

Too often, localization feedback dies in a Jira comment or a Slack thread. But if you’re sitting on:

• Clear market signals

• Consistent native-speaker feedback

• A revenue-impacting insight

You can’t stay silent.

That might mean pinging the VP of Product. Or booking time with the CMO. Or yes—sending a message directly to the CEO.

If your message is clear, backed by data, and tied to business impact, you’ll often find people do listen. And when they do, localization stops being an afterthought, and starts being seen as a strategic lever for global growth.

---

How to Get into the GTM Room (Without Waiting for an Invite)

If you’re in localization and feel like you’re always catching up with GTM plans after they’re finalized, don’t wait for permission to get involved.

Here’s a proactive playbook to embed yourself into the GTM engine:

• Ask to sit in on GTM planning meetings. Even if you're just listening at first, presence builds awareness and trust. Position yourself as a strategic listener.

• Find your go-to person in GTM and build a real relationship. Start by making their life easier, share wins, flag issues with solutions, and respect their timelines. If you’re seen as someone who only brings problems, your feedback might get sidelined, especially during launch crunch time.

• Set up a recurring sync (biweekly works well) with that GTM lead. Use this time to:

  • Align on product or campaign launches

  • Flag terminology concerns before they become blockers

  • Get early insights into market priorities

• Request access to the Feature Availability Matrix. This helps prevent embarrassing localization errors like promoting features that don’t exist in a market.

• Ask to be looped into early mockups and Figma files. You’ll catch layout issues, cultural pitfalls, or untranslatable UI strings before they ship.

• Bring something to the table. Share data, screenshots, or feedback from native-speaking users. When you consistently add value, you stop being “just the translation person” and start being the person they want in the room.

  

Want to bring this workflow to life? Here’s how to structure it in Notion using Kanban columns:

✅ Notion Board Columns (Kanban Style)

1. Alignment & Planning (Pre-Launch)

• GTM Briefing Kickoff

• Stakeholder Map

• Market Prioritization

• Feature & Content Map

• Risk Assessment

• SEO/ASO Prep

2. Content Creation & Context Sharing

• Copy Deck Access

• Context Layering (screenshots, prototypes, goals)

• Terminology Alignment

• AI/Tech Setup (TM, MT, prompt design)

3. Execution & QA

• Translation + Review

• In-Context Review

• QA Checks (UX, linguistic, functional)

• Debrief + Retrospective

4. Launch & Post-Launch Optimization

• Launch Approval

• Native Feedback Loop

• Campaign Adjustments

• Analytics per Locale

• Glossary & TM Updates
  

---

Are you a localization lead trying to break into your GTM team’s planning cycle? Or a marketer wondering why international launches stall? I’d love to hear your perspective. Leave a comment or subscribe to stay in the loop.