Over the past 22 months, I’ve spoken with several hundred Fortune 2000 CEOs and CFOs about GTM for a book I’m finishing. The insights from these conversations, along with our collective experiences in 2023-24 and the anticipated volatility of 2025-26, led me to write this open letter to all of you.
At this point, it’s clear to many that GTM is not the deterministic, coin-operated machine that many founders and VCs thought it would be almost two decades ago. Instead, it is a networked ecosystem of vendors, customers, partners and competitors, all operating from positions of self-interest in light of an array of marketplace realities that generate far more impact than anyone in B2B has wanted to contemplate. GTM is a series of bets, all inherently as probabilistic as any part of life.
As we move into 2025, it will be important to wrap our collective heads around facts that some may not like but that no one can dispute.
Critical facts for your 2025 GTM strategy
1. Market research and causal analytics are what’s missing in B2B
The fact that your GTM teams want to buy access to both is in no way impugning your intelligence, creativity or insight. It is merely recognizing that none of us knows it all and that what we don’t see or hear is the thing that often does us in.
2. Evaluating the true impact of your GTM investments is a must
Your No. 1 priority must be assessing the effectiveness of your GTM investments in context. Consider factors like time lag and external marketplace influences beyond your control. Effectiveness and marketplace realities determine GTM efficiency more than anything else. In marketing and sales, one acts as a nonlinear multiplier of the other.
In a typical mid-market company, effective marketing makes sales approximately eight times more effective and five times more efficient. Cutting marketing to add more sales reps strips your existing sales team of valuable leverage.
Dig deeper: 2025 GTM forecast: Key shifts redefining the future of go-to-market strategy
3. Efficiency starts with effectiveness, not cost cutting
Speaking of efficiency, I encourage you to say what you really mean: cost cutting functions that are perceived as not adding much or multiplying anything. The most reliable way to improve efficiency is by making things substantially more effective, not by reducing them to their lowest common denominator. Doing so without any evidence — other than your GTM team’s failure to meet targets — puts shareholder value at risk.
4. AI drives unprecedented transparency and accountability into business operations
AI is bringing a level of operational leverage that has received little attention but soon will: unprecedented transparency and accountability. Opinions, assertions, plans and frameworks will be analyzed quickly and thoroughly, with a verdict delivered.
While this extends beyond GTM, it will be particularly visible there, revealing the networked causes and effects driving or hindering your business momentum. This is the power of genAI, analytical AI and causal AI working together. It’s already a reality today that will become even more pervasive by early 2026.
5. Success in the AI era requires embracing iteration and networked thinking
In the AI era, our ability to iterate how we think, operate and keep score will be crucial. AI is inherently Socratic, polymathic and networked — just like real life and the value your company aims to deliver. Teams that quickly learn to think in this way will achieve success beyond expectations. But this also means that resistance to this reality cannot be indulged, whether in ourselves or in others that we employ.
AI is not a replacement for human capability and capacity, though many companies seek to sell it that way because they know you are obsessed with cost-cutting. AI makes your very best people exponentially better and your “big middle” teams significantly better. Some of the best research into this is being done by the well-known AI expert Bill Schmarzo.
AI-driven GTM success: Think, operate and keep score differently
Given the above, the following programs are non-negotiable to your GTM approach if your teams are to adapt and thrive in the AI era.
Think differently
Your teams need to learn the most effective and efficient ways to leverage different AI tools to think, operate and keep score in ways that are relevant to your business. Failure to invest delivers very short-term savings followed by a very extended performance penalty. Investment delivers highly aligned “bionic” teams that generate maximum effectiveness at minimum cost.
Operate differently
AI reveals both answers and gaps in our understanding. GenAI is your supply chain of success, but causal AI is the refinery of insights and advantage. The linear and highly historical accounting perspective will not give you the basis for making sound future choices. Zero-based budgeting exercises in GTM without a strong causal- and network-focused basis will be utterly insufficient amidst rapid and highly volatile change.
Dig deeper: Why causal AI is the answer for smarter marketing
Keep score differently
With AI, contextual knowledge — what CHROs call “T-shaped talent” — is essential. This highlights the gap in business acumen within B2B GTM, which must be addressed, and calls for a rethinking of role-based KPIs.
KPIs, like any data, are reflections of the past. The past is not necessarily a prologue. Without understanding them in a time-lagged, networked context, they become disconnected indicators that don’t drive business outcomes. Ultimately, you need a context-rich, low-latency understanding of what’s working and what’s not.
The goal is to approach program funding discussions on a risk-adjusted, actuarial basis. Many peers have expressed a desire to “underwrite” GTM success and hedge against its failure. With AI, this is now easily achievable.
Bridging the C-suite and GTM division gap
One key takeaway from CEO and CFO conversations about GTM is that the dysfunctions between the C-suite and GTM teams are co-owned, stemming from misunderstandings and mutual ignorance. As a CEO and one of the first bigco CMOs to leverage the marketing multiplier with causal analytics, I recognize these tensions well.
The good news is that AI is the most powerful tool we’ve ever created to break through these misunderstandings and silos. Your success — and that of your teams — will depend heavily on your commitment to this task. Start by focusing on AI use cases that can significantly increase your business’s effectiveness for customers. Doing so will lead to earnings per share (EPS) growth driven by provably cost-effective, profitable expansion.
Like the challenges of 2025, AI will reveal the difference between our intentions and our actual results. All the factors are in place to resolve the longstanding issues between the CFO, CRO and CMO. What matters now is the commitment to follow through.
Dig deeper: It’s time for B2B marketing to understand its GTM role
The post An open letter to CEOs and CFOs about GTM appeared first on MarTech.
**An Open Letter to CEOs and CFOs: Insights on Go-to-Market (GTM) Strategies**
Dear CEOs and CFOs,
In today’s hyper-competitive business environment, the success of your organization hinges on more than just a great product or service. It depends on how effectively you bring that product or service to market. A well-crafted Go-to-Market (GTM) strategy is not just a tactical plan—it’s the bridge between your vision and measurable business outcomes. As the leaders steering your company’s future, your involvement in shaping and refining GTM strategies is critical.
This open letter is an invitation to reflect on the key elements of a successful GTM strategy, common pitfalls to avoid, and how your leadership can drive alignment across the organization to ensure sustainable growth.
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### **What Is a Go-to-Market (GTM) Strategy?**
At its core, a GTM strategy is a comprehensive plan that outlines how your company will deliver its value proposition to customers and achieve competitive advantage. It encompasses everything from market segmentation and pricing to sales channels and customer experience. A strong GTM strategy ensures that your product or service reaches the right audience, at the right time, through the right channels, and at the right price.
But a GTM strategy is not static. It’s a living, breathing framework that evolves with market dynamics, customer preferences, and competitive pressures. As such, it requires ongoing attention and refinement from the C-suite.
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### **Why CEOs and CFOs Must Prioritize GTM Strategies**
While GTM execution often falls under the purview of marketing, sales, and product teams, its success—or failure—has far-reaching implications for the entire organization. Here’s why your involvement matters:
1. **Strategic Alignment**: A GTM strategy is not just a departmental initiative; it’s a company-wide effort. As the CEO or CFO, you are uniquely positioned to ensure alignment between product development, marketing, sales, and customer success teams. Misalignment can lead to wasted resources, missed opportunities, and a fragmented customer experience.
2. **Resource Allocation**: As stewards of the company’s financial health, CFOs play a pivotal role in allocating resources to GTM initiatives. Whether it’s funding a new sales channel, investing in marketing automation tools, or scaling customer support, your decisions directly impact the strategy’s success.
3. **Market Responsiveness**: CEOs are often the face of the company, engaging with investors, partners, and customers. Your insights into market trends and stakeholder expectations can help shape a GTM strategy that is both forward-looking and grounded in reality.
4. **Accountability for Results**: Ultimately, the success of a GTM strategy is measured by its impact on revenue, profitability, and market share. As the executive leadership, you are accountable for these outcomes, making it imperative to stay closely involved.
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### **Key Components of a Winning GTM Strategy**
To ensure your GTM strategy delivers results, it must address the following key components:
1. **Market Segmentation and Targeting**:
– Who are your ideal customers?
– What pain points are you solving for them?
– How do their needs vary across different segments?
A deep understanding of your target market is the foundation of any successful GTM strategy. Invest in market research, customer personas, and data analytics to make informed decisions.
2. **Value Proposition**:
– What makes your product or service unique?
– Why should customers choose you over competitors?
Your value proposition should be clear, compelling, and tailored to the needs of each customer segment.
3. **Channel Strategy**:
– How will you reach your customers?
– Will you rely on direct sales, partnerships, e-commerce, or a combination of channels?
The choice of channels should align with customer preferences and buying behaviors.
4. **Pricing and Packaging**:
– Are your pricing models competitive and aligned with perceived value?
– Have you considered tiered pricing, subscription models, or bundling options?
Pricing is both an art and a science. It requires a balance between profitability and market acceptance.
5. **Customer Experience**:
– How seamless is the customer journey, from awareness to purchase to post-sale support?
– Are you leveraging technology to personalize interactions and build loyalty?
A positive customer experience is a key differentiator in today’s market.
6. **Metrics and KPIs**:
– What does success look like for your GTM strategy?
– Are you tracking leading indicators (e.g., pipeline growth) as well as lagging indicators (e.g., revenue)?
Establish clear metrics to measure progress and adjust your strategy as needed.
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### **Common Pitfalls to Avoid**
Even the best-laid GTM plans can falter if certain pitfalls are not addressed. Here are some common mistakes to watch out for:
1. **Overlooking Internal Alignment**:
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