(Note: Our blogs are not written by GenAI)
Go-To-Market (GTM) is the newest organizational innovation that has gone mainstream. It came from nowhere it seems, and now everybody in the company wants to be part of it. In the process, Marketing’s important role in GTM may be getting crowded out and you as a newbie CMO needs to be on guard!
GTM – The New Business Operation System
GTM has evolved from its roots of product launches to the new business operation system comprising of product development, marketing, sales, and customer success teams at the core. It is now the main growth engine of business with the agenda of how it will reach target customers, introduce its offerings, and achieve sustainable competitive advantage. A recent study shows that companies with strong GTM alignment grow 19% faster and are 15% more profitable than their competitors. An effective GTM is a system that is continuously tuned through market feedback loops to adapt to evolving customer behaviors and market realities.
CMO as the Cross-functional Strategist
For GTM to work, there should be a quarterback who coordinates cross-functionally especially between Product, Sales, Customer Support, and Marketing. The CMO is uniquely qualified to be in this role because Marketing has functional connections to each of the other departments – For example, Product Marketing to Product Management, Customer Marketing to Customer success, and of course, Marketing is tied at the hip with Sales. CMO should leverage these relationships and should emerge from just being a “Storyteller” to a “Cross-functional Strategist” for GTM.
Marketing is uniquely qualified to set strategic direction for GTM. To begin with, it owns positioning and messaging for the company. It also has the mandate for creating and acting upon ideal customer profile (ICP). Marketing also sets the revenue wheels in motion through Demand Gen function and continues revenue creation through Lifecycle marketing. Below are some examples of how various Marketing groups should contribute to GTM:
Product Marketing: It shapes the GTM plan and acts as the voice of customer.
Corporate Marketing: Creates emotional and intellectual resonance in the market through branding and communications
Demand Gen: Channels GTM strategies into measurable acquisitions through channels such as Performance Marketing, Events, and Inbound.
Marketing Ops (as a part of GTM Ops): Ensures GTM execution is coordinated, data informed, and agile.
Metrics and Dashboards
The GTM dashboard should accurately track the few metrics that matter, which should be tied to business outcomes. Such metrics include:
- Revenues (new vs upsell)
- Velocity (Lead to Opp, Opp to Revenue)
- Customer Acquisition Cost
- Multi-touch attribution of Pipeline
CMO should be the owner of the dashboard and make sure all participants, especially Revenue Ops and Marketing Ops, work together to maintain it.
Avoiding Classic GTM Pitfalls
CMO should make sure GTM efforts does not fall into the usual pitfalls such as:
- Generic targeting: Lack of clarity on whom to target – results in wasted resources and time.
- Team misalignment: Internal frictions. The solutions include proper crediting and accountability along with continuous communications.
- Lack of agility: GTM activities should adapt real time to adjust for product issues, competitor moves and economic changes.
Utilize the Best Tools
With the advent of AI, there are new tools available that one could only dream about few years back. The CMO should leverage these. Feel empowered to bring in new tools and more importantly, terminate old ones. Make operations teams accountable for success and failure in this area. Note that at the end of the day, the tools are just there to enable you and GTM team, and people finally make the difference.
Conclusion
The emergence of GTM presents threat as well as opportunity for the CMO. On one hand, it could make Marketing less relevant because of GTM’s revenue focus. On the other hand, Marketing can emerge crucial through its ability to set strategic direction and its ability to facilitate cross-functional collaboration. As the CMO, your goal is to turn GTM into your advantage and shine.
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