Italy for foreign brands
For foreign brands entering Italy: entry mode, distributors and retail partners, price positioning against established local players, first locations.
↳ Growth & go-to-market
Go-to-market strategy: a launch is decided before launch day.
A go-to-market strategy defines how a product, an offer or a company reaches a market: which customers it targets, with what proposition and price, through which channels and in what sequence. I build it with management for growth plans, product launches and market entry, in Italy and abroad.
For whomConsumer brands, B2B manufacturers, retail
WhenLaunch, new channel, new country, growth plan
Typical duration6–12 weeks of planning
OutcomeGrowth and launch plan with channels, budget and KPIs
01 When it is needed
Six moments that call for a plan.
A poor go-to-market costs twice: the launch investment, and the time it takes to win back a market that has formed the wrong idea of your product.
- 01
A new product or line
From concept to shelf or first order: target customer, price, channels, sequence.
- 02
Entering a new country
Priorities between markets, entry mode, local partners, adapting the offer: for foreign brands entering Italy and Italian brands going abroad.
- 03
A new channel
Retail chains, distributors, e-commerce, direct sales, travel retail or own stores: each has its own rules and economics.
- 04
A new segment
New sectors or customers, with buying processes, decision-makers and timing unlike the ones you know.
- 05
Growth has stalled
Flat revenue, flat budget, too many options. Time to choose which growth levers to fund, and which to drop.
- 06
A launch that underperformed
Understand why before investing again: relaunch, reposition or withdraw.
02 The plan
From growth plan to launch plan.
Every company has more ways to grow than it can pursue. The work is to choose a few, in the right order, fund them properly and take them to market in sequence.
Priority markets and segments
Size, accessibility, competition, margins: where the company genuinely has a chance to win, at home and abroad.
Portfolio and pricing
What to develop, maintain, reduce or abandon, on economic criteria rather than attachment. Price structure, discounts and differences between channels and countries.
Proposition by market
What is offered, in which versions, at what price and on what terms for each channel and country.
Channels and partners
The route to the customer: direct sales, agents, importers, distributors, retail chains, online, stores.
Sales, messaging and activation
Campaigns, sales materials, trade fairs, events, CRM. In B2B, first contact with a supplier comes when the buyer has completed 61% of the purchasing journey (6sense, Buyer Experience Report 2025): what they find before then matters as much as the salesperson.
Timeline, budget and KPIs
What happens, when, with which resources, and which numbers tell you whether to accelerate, adjust or stop.
In large companies the marketing budget has flatlined at 7.7% of revenue (Gartner, CMO Spend Survey 2025). When resources do not grow, growth has to come from choices: where to concentrate investment and what to stop funding.
Measurement remains a weak spot too: 33% of marketers name measuring ROI as their main challenge (HubSpot, State of Marketing 2026). A plan with shared objectives and KPIs puts marketing back at the table where decisions are made.
03 Consumer, B2B, abroad
Three markets, three logics.
A consumer launch and an industrial B2B launch share the method, not the levers. And entering a foreign market has rules of its own.
| Consumer goods | Manufacturing & B2B | Markets abroad | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who decides | The retail buyer first, then the shopper at the shelf | Several people: technical, procurement, management | Importers, distributors or direct customers, depending on the entry mode |
| Key channels | Retail chains, independent retail, online, travel retail, own stores | Direct sales, agents, distributors, trade fairs | Local partners, franchise, subsidiary, e-commerce, international trade fairs |
| Main levers | Brand, range, price, visibility, promotions | Technical proof, references, content, sales relationship | Adapted offer and price, choice of partners, presence on the ground |
| Timing | Retailers' range reviews and seasonality | Long sales cycles, tied to trade fairs and client budgets | Longer than at home: priorities and milestones are essential |
| First measures | Weighted distribution, rate of sale, share | Qualified opportunities, quotes, first orders | Partners activated, first customers, margin by country |
When the launch runs through the shelf or a store, the plan continues with retail activation, trade marketing and pop-up stores, under the same direction and with no hand-over. When the plan needs someone to lead it week by week, a fractional CMO can take it on.
04 Market entry
Two directions, one method.
Most international projects run on one of two routes: foreign brands coming into Italy, and Italian brands going abroad. A pop-up store or an event in a new city often sits in between, as a showcase.
New markets for Italian brands
For Italian companies entering a new country or region: which customers and channels; importer, distributor, franchise or direct presence; how to adapt offer, price and communication, so that Italian origin becomes a reason to buy rather than a label.
Testing a new city
Pop-up stores, events and partnerships in a new city to test a positioning before scaling it, with on-the-ground support for locations and fit-out.
Key phases are run on site, ongoing direction remotely, in Italy and abroad alike.
05 How we work
From the market to the first order.
The process follows the four-phase method: the first weeks are spent on data and with people, then decisions are taken.
Market diagnosis
Revenue and margin by customer, product, channel and country; customers, competitors, prices, entry rules. Interviews with prospects, distributors and the sales force.
3–4 weeksOptions and business case
Target customer, proposition, price, channels and partners. Estimates of volume, investment and break-even for each route.
2–4 weeksGrowth and launch plan
Sequence of activities, materials, sales-force training, budget and KPIs, approved by the leadership.
2–3 weeksLaunch and steering
Campaigns, trade fairs, stores and CRM with your team, your partners or the Bechis ADV network. Monthly steering, quarterly review.
As per plan
06 FAQ
Straight answers.
What is a go-to-market strategy?
It is the plan by which a company brings a product or an offer to a market: it defines the target customer, value proposition, price, sales channels, messaging, the sequence of activities, budget and KPIs. Its purpose is to reduce the risk of a launch, because choices are made and tested before the money is spent, not afterwards.
When do you need go-to-market strategy consulting?
When a company launches a major product, enters a new country or channel, targets a new segment, or needs to understand why a launch underperformed. Go-to-market strategy consulting brings method and an outside view to decisions the internal team faces rarely, and therefore with little accumulated experience.
What is a growth strategy, and how does it relate to go-to-market?
A growth strategy decides where future revenue will come from: existing or new customers, existing or new markets, current products or new offers. It is the Ansoff matrix, translated into numbers: investment, expected margin, timing and KPIs for each route. Go-to-market is how each chosen route actually reaches the customer.
Do you support entry into foreign markets?
Yes, in both directions: foreign brands entering Italy, and Italian brands going abroad, into a new country or region. The work covers country priorities, entry mode, choice of partners, and adapting offer, price and communication. I work in English, Italian and French. Tax, customs and regulatory matters require local professionals, whom you already have or we identify together.
How do you prepare a new product launch?
By starting from the customer, not the product: who buys it, instead of what, at what price, where. Then you choose channels and partners, prepare the sales force, build materials and campaigns, and set a timetable with progress KPIs. The first months are managed through a close-knit steering group that decides whether to accelerate, adjust or stop.
Is pricing strategy part of the work?
Yes, when price is a growth lever or a margin problem. I analyse price-list structure, discounts, trade terms and differences between channels and countries, and propose rules consistent with the positioning. Changes are introduced gradually, together with sales, measuring the effect on volume and margin, market by market.
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↳ First step
Let's talk about
your next decision.
A confidential 45-minute briefing with your leadership team: goals, constraints, priorities. At the end I will tell you frankly whether and how I can help.