The Evolution of Go-to-Market: Moving Beyond MQLs and Siloed Teams

The Changing Landscape of Go-to-Market Strategies

In recent years, the world of go-to-market (GTM) strategies has undergone significant changes. Traditional methods that once worked well are now showing their age, and companies are struggling to adapt to new realities. This shift is driven by several factors, including:

• The rise of product-led growth (PLG)
• Increased competition and market saturation
• Changing customer expectations
• The emergence of AI and automation tools

As a result, organizations are finding that their existing structures and processes for marketing, sales, and product teams are no longer as effective as they once were. This article explores the evolution of go-to-market strategies and offers insights into how companies can adapt to thrive in this new landscape.

The Problem with Traditional MQLs

One of the most significant pain points in modern GTM strategies is the continued reliance on Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) as a primary metric for marketing success. While MQLs have been a staple of B2B marketing for years, they are increasingly seen as an outdated and ineffective measure. Here's why:

Arbitrary Definitions

MQLs are often based on arbitrary definitions that don't necessarily correlate with actual buying intent or potential value to the company. This can lead to marketing teams focusing on hitting arbitrary lead volume targets rather than generating high-quality opportunities.

Misaligned Incentives

When marketing teams are primarily measured on MQL generation, it can create misaligned incentives. Marketing may focus on activities that generate a high volume of leads, even if those leads are unlikely to convert to actual customers or revenue.

Siloed Thinking

The MQL-centric approach often reinforces siloed thinking between marketing and sales teams. Marketing focuses on generating leads, while sales is responsible for converting them. This can lead to finger-pointing and a lack of shared responsibility for revenue outcomes.

Ignoring the Full Customer Journey

By focusing solely on lead generation, traditional MQL approaches often ignore the full customer journey, including product usage, expansion opportunities, and customer success.

A New Approach: Aligning Around Pipeline and Revenue

Instead of focusing on MQLs, forward-thinking companies are shifting their approach to align marketing, sales, and product teams around shared goals tied to pipeline and revenue. This new approach has several key components:

Shared Responsibility for Pipeline

Rather than making marketing solely responsible for lead generation, companies are increasingly holding marketing accountable for pipeline generation within target accounts. This broader responsibility encourages marketing to think more holistically about how to influence potential customers throughout their journey.

Focus on Target Accounts

Instead of casting a wide net and trying to generate as many leads as possible, companies are focusing their efforts on well-defined target accounts that fit their ideal customer profile (ICP). This allows for more personalized and effective outreach.

Incorporating Product Usage Data

Modern GTM strategies are incorporating product usage data to identify expansion opportunities and potential churn risks. This requires closer collaboration between marketing, sales, and product teams.

Emphasis on Customer Journey

Rather than thinking in terms of leads and conversions, companies are mapping out the full customer journey and identifying key touchpoints where they can provide value and influence buying decisions.

The Role of Customer Success in Modern GTM

As companies shift away from traditional MQL-centric approaches, the role of customer success is becoming increasingly important in the overall GTM strategy. Here's how customer success is evolving:

Pre-Sales Involvement

Customer success teams are getting involved earlier in the sales process, often acting as "sales assist" resources to help potential customers understand the value of the product and achieve early wins.

Focus on Product Adoption

Rather than waiting until after the sale, customer success teams are now focused on driving product adoption and usage from the very beginning of the customer relationship.

Identifying Expansion Opportunities

Customer success teams play a crucial role in identifying expansion opportunities within existing accounts, contributing directly to the company's growth goals.

Bridging Silos

By working closely with marketing, sales, and product teams, customer success helps to break down silos and ensure a more seamless customer experience.

The Importance of Expansion Revenue

As companies adopt more product-led growth strategies and focus on acquiring customers earlier in their journey, expansion revenue becomes increasingly important. Here's why:

Sustainable Growth

Expansion revenue from existing customers is often more predictable and sustainable than constantly acquiring new logos.

Lower Acquisition Costs

It's generally less expensive to expand within existing accounts than to acquire new customers.

Indicator of Product Value

Strong expansion revenue is a good indicator that customers are finding value in the product and willing to invest more.

Marketing's Role in Expansion

Marketing teams should be involved in driving expansion revenue, not just new customer acquisition. This might include targeted campaigns to existing customers, account-based marketing strategies, and close collaboration with customer success teams.

Breaking Down Silos for a Better Customer Experience

One of the key challenges in modern GTM strategies is breaking down the silos between marketing, sales, product, and customer success teams. Here's why this is crucial:

Seamless Customer Experience

Every time a customer is handed off between teams, there's a risk of creating friction or inconsistency in their experience. Breaking down silos helps ensure a more seamless journey.

Shared Context

When teams work closely together, they can share important context about customer interactions, product usage, and potential opportunities.

Faster Problem-Solving

Cross-functional collaboration allows for faster identification and resolution of customer issues or roadblocks in the sales process.

Aligned Incentives

When teams are working towards shared goals (like pipeline and revenue), it's easier to align incentives and reduce internal conflicts.

The Future of Go-to-Market: AI and Automation

As we look to the future of go-to-market strategies, AI and automation will play an increasingly important role. Here are some key trends to watch:

Intelligent Lead Scoring

AI-powered lead scoring models will help companies more accurately identify high-potential opportunities based on a wide range of signals, including product usage data.

Personalized Customer Journeys

AI will enable more sophisticated personalization of customer journeys, allowing companies to deliver the right message or offer at the right time.

Automated Sales Assistance

AI-powered sales assistants will help qualify leads, answer basic questions, and guide potential customers through initial product setup, freeing up human sales reps to focus on higher-value activities.

Predictive Analytics

AI will help companies predict which accounts are most likely to convert, expand, or churn, allowing for more proactive GTM strategies.

Challenges and Considerations

While the evolution of go-to-market strategies offers many opportunities, it also presents some challenges:

Change Management

Shifting away from traditional MQL-centric approaches requires significant change management and may face resistance from teams comfortable with existing processes.

Data Integration

To effectively align teams around shared goals and leverage product usage data, companies need to invest in robust data integration and analytics capabilities.

Balancing Automation and Human Touch

While AI and automation offer many benefits, companies need to find the right balance between automated processes and human interaction to maintain a high-quality customer experience.

Measuring Success

As companies move away from traditional metrics like MQLs, they need to develop new ways of measuring success and attributing results across the full customer journey.

Conclusion

The evolution of go-to-market strategies is forcing companies to rethink their approach to marketing, sales, and customer success. By moving beyond traditional MQLs, breaking down silos, and aligning teams around shared goals tied to pipeline and revenue, companies can create more effective and customer-centric GTM motions.

Key takeaways include:

1. Focus on pipeline and revenue rather than arbitrary lead metrics
2. Align marketing, sales, product, and customer success around shared goals
3. Incorporate product usage data into GTM strategies
4. Emphasize the full customer journey, including expansion opportunities
5. Leverage AI and automation to enhance personalization and efficiency

By embracing these changes and continuously adapting to new market realities, companies can position themselves for sustainable growth in an increasingly competitive landscape.

Article created from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D94QViyYGLY