06 — Phase 2B: Go-To-Market Motion & Onboarding
Goal: map each tier to a product-led or sales-led onboarding motion that drives adoption and retention without excessive service-delivery overhead.
The governing rule: motion follows ACV
2025 benchmarks: PLG works below ~$10K ACV; sales-led wins above ~$25K ACV with multi-stakeholder buying; most B2B SaaS run a hybrid. Map that to our tiers:
| Tier | ACV | Buying | Motion | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essentials | <$10K | 1–2 people | PLG-assisted (self-serve + light human) | Below PLG threshold; automate to keep CAC low |
| Growth | $25–60K | small team | Hybrid (inbound/PLG → AE-closed) | Straddles the threshold; product proves value, AE expands |
| Enterprise | $80K+ | committee | Sales-led (AE + SE + CSM, security/procurement) | High ACV + committee + integrations + compliance |
Onboarding & service model by tier (overhead control)
The point is to spend human service where ACV pays for it, and automate where it doesn't.
| Essentials | Growth | Enterprise | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acquisition | Self-serve signup, content/SEO, free trial/sample report | Inbound + outbound, demo | Targeted ABM, exec relationships, partners |
| Onboarding | In-product guides, templates, automated activation emails | Guided onboarding (1–2 sessions) | White-glove: dedicated onboarding + data/integration setup |
| Support | Community, docs, email/chatbot (FoodGPT-style) | Priority support, shared CSM pool | Named CSM, SLA, QBRs |
| Expansion | In-app upsell prompts (add markets/credits) | CSM-led expansion | Account plan, multi-team/market rollout |
| Cost-to-serve | Very low (scales) | Medium | High (justified by ACV) |
The self-serve flywheel that protects margins
For Essentials, the product is the funnel: a free sample trend report for the visitor's own market/category (generated by the existing engine) → activation → in-app upgrade. This uses Ai Palette's core capability as its own marketing engine, keeping CAC down in price-sensitive markets where field sales would be unprofitable.
Regional motion adjustments
| Region | Dominant motion | Note |
|---|---|---|
| US | Sales-led (Enterprise) + PLG funnel | Highest ACV; direct field sales viable |
| W. Europe | Sales-led; compliance-forward messaging | GDPR/residency as a feature, not a tax |
| Japan/Korea | Partner/channel-led | Relationship + local-language service expectations; reseller reduces our overhead |
| SEA | Hybrid, Growth-led | Home-region advantage; mix of direct + partner |
| India | PLG-assisted, Essentials/Growth | Volume + price sensitivity → automate heavily |
Channel partners in high-service, relationship-driven markets (Japan/Korea, parts of MEA) are an explicit overhead-control lever: they absorb local-language sales and support so Ai Palette doesn't staff a full local team to enter.
Operational overhead: the three friction sources, addressed
| Friction (from the brief) | How MarketPulse controls it |
|---|---|
| Onboarding | Tiered: self-serve for low ACV, white-glove only for Enterprise; productized onboarding playbooks per market pack |
| Support | Deflection (docs + FoodGPT chatbot) at the bottom, named CSM only at the top; regional hours only where Enterprise density justifies |
| Service delivery | Localization shipped as reusable market packs (doc 03), not bespoke work; partners for high-touch regions |
Efficiency guardrails (so growth stays healthy)
- CAC payback ≤ 12–18 months per motion (beat the ~20mo median via PLG-assisted entry).
- NRR ≥ 110% blended (four upsell levers from doc 05).
- Rule-of-40 mindset: PLG-assisted entry improves efficiency; sales-led Enterprise adds depth — the hybrid is what the best B2B SaaS run.
Together with the market-entry automation, this makes "enter a new market" a motion you select, not a team you build from scratch.