Why most Go-to-Market-Strategies aren't real "Strategies"

When growth slows down, companies often go looking for leaks in the funnel. They blame messaging, conversion rates, or CRM data hygiene. But these are symptoms—not causes. Let’s be clear: this is not a funnel problem. It’s a foundation problem. Sales blames marketing for poor leads. Marketing blames sales for lack of follow-up. Customer success tries to hold the customer relationship together after a fragmented experience. And the C-suite watches the numbers—until they stop adding up. 

Winning companies have stopped optimizing isolated functions. They’re redesigning how they go to market—structurally and strategically—based on one core principle: commercial coherence. This is about more than alignment—it’s about creating a shared system that connects every function to the same outcomes, insights, and accountabilities. 

Here’s how that transformation starts:

Step 1: Establish Clear Ownership of the Customer Journey
In too many organizations, no one truly owns the full customer experience. Instead, each function owns a stage, a tool, or a KPI. The result? Gaps, handoffs, and a fractured experience. To fix this, companies must designate a single point of ownership for the end-to-end customer journey—not just pre-sales or post-sales, but the full lifecycle from awareness to renewal and expansion. Start by mapping the entire customer journey with cross-functional input. Assign accountable owners at each major stage and define shared success metrics that track customer progress, not internal activity.

Step 2: Replace Cross-Functional Coordination with Cross-Functional Planning
Coordination is reactive. Planning is proactive. Weekly syncs and Slack threads don’t replace the need for structured, integrated GTM planning. Real commercial impact happens when product, marketing, sales, and success sit at the same table, co-owning strategy from the start. Ideally, you should install quarterly planning cycles that include all GTM stakeholders. Joint planning sessions should be executed and tied to company-level goals and customer value. Make sure to estabish a unified calendar of launches, campaigns, and key customer initiatives.

Step 3: Redefine KPIs Around Outcomes, Not Outputs
Most GTM metrics measure what teams do, not what customers experience. Impressions, clicks, emails sent, and demos booked may look productive—but they don’t guarantee business outcomes. To drive growth, teams need to shift from channel-specific outputs to cross-functional outcomes. So, define KPIs like customer acquisition cost, lifetime value, time-to-value, and expansion rate. Think about aligning bonuses and performance reviews to shared outcomes. And use dashboards to drive decisions - not just reporting. This is often easier said than done.

Step 4: Build a Tech Stack That Enables Action, Not Adds Complexity
The average GTM tech stack today is bloated. Tools are purchased faster than they’re adopted. Data lives in silos. Automation runs without strategy. Technology should serve your GTM strategy—not the other way around. Start by auditing your stack for overlap, underutilization, and complexity. Define a clear data architecture across all systems - do not start with software, but with data properties, data objects and cata relationship models! Then, think about investing in enablement and process before adding new tools.

Step 5: Make GTM a Leadership Priority, Not a Departmental Project
Too often, GTM is delegated—handed off to marketing or sales ops with vague mandates. But real change requires leadership-level ownership. The executive team must own GTM as a strategic system—not just a tactical initiative. If it fits your company culture, appoint a GTM leader with executive authority - or make it a dedicated task of your Chief Executive Officer (COO) or Head of Revenue Operations. Incorporate a GTM system health monitoring into board-level reporting. And last, but not least, lead from the front: C-level leaders must model and mandate cross-functional behavior.