By Becky Robison, CEO at Wrapped Agency
One of the most common mistakes we see from founders and product teams is assuming that a go-to-market strategy starts when a product is ready to launch.
In reality, if you’re creating something genuinely innovative, your go-to-market strategy should start much earlier.
Many businesses developing innovative products and services – particularly in sectors such as healthcare, fintech, wellbeing, biotech and regulated consumer goods – can spend months or even years in development. During that time, the focus is understandably on product development, compliance, investment, testing and bringing the idea to life.
Go-to-market planning often becomes a consideration much later in the process.
The challenge is that if you’re launching something into an emerging or regulated market, leaving your go-to-market strategy until the product is almost ready can significantly limit your options when it’s time to launch.
It Depends on What You’re Launching
If you’re bringing a product to market in an established sector with no significant advertising restrictions, you have more flexibility.
You can often build a website, launch paid campaigns on Google, LinkedIn or Meta, and start generating awareness relatively quickly once the product is ready.
However, innovative and emerging markets rarely work that way.
If your product sits within a regulated sector, falls under YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) guidelines, requires strict accessibility standards, or faces restrictions on advertising platforms, your go-to-market strategy needs to be considered much earlier.
In many cases, it should be part of the conversation from the very beginning.
Traditional Marketing Research Doesn’t Always Work
At Wrapped, we always start with research and insight. Before we recommend channels, content or campaigns, we want to understand the market, the audience and the commercial reality of what we’re trying to achieve.
For most businesses, that research includes understanding customer behaviour, analysing competitors and conducting keyword research to identify how people are searching online.
But what happens when your product doesn’t exist yet?
If you’re creating something genuinely innovative, there may be little or no search demand for the product itself because people don’t yet know it exists.
That doesn’t mean there isn’t a need.
It simply means that customers are currently solving the problem in a different way.
This fundamentally changes the research process.
Instead of looking for direct demand around your product, you need to understand:
- The underlying problems customers are trying to solve
- Existing alternatives and workarounds
- Adjacent markets and substitute solutions
- Emerging competitors developing similar ideas
- The language people currently use to describe their challenges
The result is a different type of market research, but one that is essential if you want your go-to-market strategy to be based on evidence rather than assumptions.
Your Competitors May Not Be Who You Think They Are
Another challenge in emerging markets is competitor analysis. You may not have any direct competitors today. That doesn’t mean you have no competition.
Your competitors might be:
- Companies developing similar products behind closed doors
- Existing solutions that solve the same problem differently
- Traditional methods customers currently rely on
- Businesses operating in adjacent categories
Understanding this landscape early helps shape your positioning, messaging and go-to-market strategy long before launch.
The Paid Advertising Challenge
One of the biggest reasons to think about marketing early is that many innovative products face restrictions on paid advertising.
For example, certain healthcare products, financial services, CBD-related products and other regulated offerings can face significant limitations on platforms such as Google Ads, Meta and LinkedIn.
In some cases, paid advertising may not be available at all.
This creates a challenge for businesses whose launch plans rely heavily on paid media to generate immediate awareness and demand.
If paid channels aren’t available – or are only available in a limited capacity – where will your customers come from?
Organic Visibility Takes Time
The answer often lies in organic visibility.
That means building authority and discoverability through:
- Organic search
- Content marketing
- Digital PR
- Industry partnerships
- Thought leadership
- Community building
- AI search visibility
The challenge is that none of these channels produce results overnight.
Google doesn’t instantly trust a new website.
Large language models such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity don’t immediately recognise a new brand as an authoritative source.
Authority, trust and visibility are built over time.
That’s why businesses operating in emerging and regulated markets need to think much earlier about how they’ll establish a digital footprint.
The Challenge of Marketing Before Launch
Of course, there is a complication.
Many businesses don’t want to reveal their product before launch. They worry about competitors copying ideas or gaining an advantage.
That’s understandable.
However, there are still ways to build authority and visibility without disclosing every detail of the product itself.
You can begin creating content around:
- The problem you’re solving
- Industry challenges
- Research findings
- Market trends
- Educational resources
- Thought leadership
Done correctly, this creates momentum and authority before launch while protecting commercially sensitive information.
It’s also important to remember that if paid advertising isn’t available to you when you launch, organic visibility becomes even more critical. Building authority in search engines and AI platforms takes time. Waiting until launch day to start creating content, earning visibility and establishing trust signals can leave you at a significant disadvantage.
The brands that perform best in search and AI search are often those that have been consistently demonstrating expertise and authority long before their products officially become available.
So, When Should You Start Planning Your Go-to-Market Strategy?
If you’re building a product in a regulated, emerging or highly innovative market, the answer is simple:
As early as possible.
Not because you need to start running campaigns immediately, but because you need to understand the opportunities and constraints that will shape your route to market.
The earlier you understand:
- How customers will discover you
- What restrictions exist
- Which channels are available
- How long those channels take to build
- What content and authority signals you’ll need
- How AI search platforms are likely to interpret and surface information about your brand
The better positioned you’ll be when launch day arrives.
Final Thoughts
The businesses that achieve the strongest launches aren’t always those with the best products.
They’re often the ones that have spent time preparing the market before the product arrives.
If you’re building something new in healthcare, fintech, wellbeing or another emerging sector, don’t wait until launch is six weeks away to start thinking about marketing.
Start asking the questions now.
When should you begin creating content? When should you start building authority? When should you establish your online footprint? What restrictions will shape your marketing mix?
These aren’t questions to answer once the product is finished. They’re questions that should influence decisions throughout the development process.
At Wrapped, we regularly work with businesses bringing new products and services to market, helping them understand the opportunities, limitations and channels available long before launch day arrives.
The earlier you answer those questions, the more likely it is that when your product is ready for the market, the market is ready for your product.
