GTM Without Data is Just a Guess

In the ever-shifting global economy, businesses seeking to expand into new markets face a daunting question: Where do we begin?

The answer, almost universally, is data. Yet for many companies—especially SMEs and startups—access to the right data remains elusive, fragmented, or prohibitively expensive.

This article explores the pivotal role of data in any Go-to-Market (GTM) project and the untapped potential of government bodies, trade organizations, business clubs, and private intelligence platforms to make market data a public good rather than a premium privilege. In doing so, we can reimagine global trade—not as a contest of closed systems, but as a shared platform for opportunity.

Why Data is the Strategic Bedrock of GTM

Whether a company is entering a new region, launching a product, or evaluating cross-border partnerships, data isn’t optional—it’s foundational. It enables:

• Market prioritization based on demand signals, economic indicators, and buyer intent.

• Product-market fit through insight into demographics, purchasing behavior, and local preferences.

• Regulatory readiness, helping businesses avoid compliance pitfalls and costly delays.

• Channel and partner selection, empowering efficient go-to-market execution.

Yet the most valuable data—real buyer activity, partner validation, pricing norms, supply chain risks—is often behind a wall of cost, complexity, or simply not available at all.

The Status Quo: A Patchwork of Siloed Intelligence

1. Government and Trade Bodies

Ministries of economy, export development agencies, chambers of commerce and commercial attaches have access to a wealth of data. Some of this is shared through open data portals, but these initiatives typically focus on macroeconomic indicators and administrative transparency, not the kinds of commercial insights businesses need to expand.

What’s missing? Structured, actionable intelligence on B2B demand, procurement channels, localized buyer behavior, and operational roadmaps for exporters.

2. Business Clubs and Councils

Business clubs, bilateral councils, and regional trade associations often act as knowledge brokers and connectors. They know who’s buying, who’s funding, and who’s trustworthy—but their knowledge is mostly informal, analog, and non-transferable.

Their value is real—but inconsistent, hard to scale, and largely undocumented.

3. Private Research Firms: Building Data with Footprints

Unlike aggregators, firms like ClarifiedBy and LexisNexis build their data from the ground up. They operate in opaque markets where public registries are scarce, deploying local teams to verify company records, uncover ownership structures, and validate financials.

This is not scraped intelligence—it’s sweat equity. It’s data built with diligence, boots on the ground, and investigative rigor.

Meanwhile, consultancies like Gartner, Forrester, and IDC advise global enterprises on which markets to prioritize and how demand is shifting—often backed by solid data and trend analysis. But their reach tends to be enterprise-focused, high-touch, and high-cost.

The challenge? The best intelligence remains inaccessible to the businesses that need it most.

The Missed Opportunity: Global Data as Public Infrastructure

In an age of AI, open APIs, and global collaboration, why is GTM data still locked away?

Imagine a future where:

• Governments publish digitized trade directories, verified partner lists, incentive programs, and demand maps.

• Business clubs structure their local insights into open, accessible formats.

• Private firms offer freemium access, subsidized bundles, or open-data APIs for non-sensitive intelligence.

• AI systems synthesize all of this into personalized, on-demand GTM playbooks—for startups and multinationals alike.

This isn’t about dismantling commercial services. It’s about expanding the base—turning critical market data into infrastructure, not exclusivity.

A Unified Vision: A Global GTM Data Commons

We already have UN-backed platforms for climate data, open banking standards, and pandemic monitoring. Why not for trade? Why not for business expansion?

A GTM Data Commons could unify:

• Public data from governments and trade bodies

• Local intelligence from chambers and clubs

• Verified private research from commercial providers

• AI-powered synthesis to make the data useful, not just available

This isn't utopia. It's doable—with political will, private-public partnership, and a belief that trade is a right, not a privilege.

A Call to Action

For Governments and Trade Agencies:

• Expand open data beyond civic transparency and into economic and commercial enablement.

• Publish more commercial data: verified partners, industry clusters, buyer registries.

• Collaborate with private and nonprofit platforms to improve access and accuracy.

For Business Clubs:

• Structure your knowledge. Share your insight. Be part of something larger than your network.

For Private Research Firms:

• Consider new pricing models. Lower barriers. Offer “data commons” licenses for low-risk datasets.

• Expand your use cases. Think beyond M&A and due diligence—support export, sales, and entrepreneurship.

A Historical Note: We’ve Been Trading for Millennia—But Are We Getting Better?

Trade is one of the oldest forces of human progress. From the Silk Road to the maritime spice routes, we’ve always found ways to connect, exchange, and grow.

And yet, in 2025, we’re:

• Waging tariff wars under the guise of national protection

• Blocking platforms, banning access, and weaponizing data

• Choosing fear over openness, and control over collaboration

We’re not protecting our people by limiting opportunity—we’re isolating them.

To grow, we must rebuild on good faith—and let the best ideas, products, and businesses rise. That means more data, more trust, more interoperability—not less.

The True Promise of Global Trade

Free trade was never just about cheaper goods—it was about freedom.
Freedom to compete. To create. To connect.

Let’s make GTM data flow as freely as goods and services.
Let’s stop asking who owns the data and start asking how we share it to grow.

Because in the next chapter of globalization, the winners won’t be those who hoard data—but those who enable it.