7 Go-to-Market Lessons from Chord’s Evolution from DTC Operator to Enterprise Software

Building enterprise software is one thing. Selling it is another. But what happens when you combine deep operational experience with enterprise software development? In a recent episode of Category Visionaries, Bryan Mahoney shared how Chord Commerce transformed from operating DTC brands to providing enterprise commerce infrastructure. Here are the key go-to-market lessons from their journey.

1. Leverage Operational Experience as Your GTM Advantage

The traditional playbook for enterprise software starts with a minimal product and follows a product-led growth strategy. Chord took a different path, leveraging their operational experience as their primary go-to-market advantage. As Bryan explains: “We really believe that we’re operators. We had created a system as operators for other operators… we’re so enthusiastic about getting into the hands of other operators because we felt their pain.”

2. Build Alongside Early Adopters

Rather than building in isolation, Chord found success by partnering with early customers who could shape their product development. Bryan emphasizes: “Find some brands that are willing to build with you… we did that and having some credible logos, having some feedback, having some real life customers on the platform made it an awful lot easier for us to bring it to market.”

3. Break Traditional Enterprise Software Marketing Rules

When entering the enterprise software market, Chord deliberately avoided conventional B2B marketing approaches. Instead of creating a typical enterprise software brand, they worked with agencies like Red Antler to create something different. As Bryan describes: “I want it to feel more like a brand site, something that you want to buy, a brand that you want to be a friend with, as opposed to a platform that you’re going to choose because you don’t want to be fired.”

4. Focus on Long-Term Relationship Building

Rather than pursuing quick sales, Chord prioritizes building genuine relationships with potential customers. Bryan advises: “Be curious, offer advice, even if it means not necessarily getting the sale. It’s a long game and having a really good reputation.” This approach often leads to customers circling back when the timing is right.

5. Define Your ICP Through Their Aspirations

Instead of defining their ideal customer profile (ICP) through traditional metrics like company size or revenue, Chord focuses on customer aspirations. Bryan describes their ICP as “brands that want to connect with their customers and deliver these differentiated experiences… brands that want to collect first party data, that want to have all of their first party data in one place.”

6. Challenge Industry Assumptions

Part of Chord’s success comes from their willingness to challenge established industry practices. For instance, Bryan questions the industry’s obsession with perfect attribution: “There’s sort of like this fascination around attribution, like pixel perfect attribution… It’s kind of like a false promise. It’s about showing up consistently where your customer is and giving them a really great product and a great experience.”

7. Position Technology as an Enabler, Not a Replacement

Rather than promising to automate everything, Chord positions their technology as something that enhances human capabilities. As Bryan explains, they work best with “folks that have realized that and are looking to use technology as sort of an accelerant or as this way of giving them superpowers.”

These lessons highlight a crucial truth about enterprise software: sometimes the most effective go-to-market strategy isn’t about following the established playbook, but about leveraging your unique experiences and insights to create a new one. By combining deep operational experience with innovative marketing approaches, Chord has created a distinctive position in the enterprise software market.

For founders building enterprise software, the key takeaway is clear: your operational experience isn’t just valuable for product development – it can be your greatest asset in going to market. The key is finding ways to translate that experience into every aspect of your go-to-market strategy, from how you position your product to how you build relationships with potential customers.