Go-to-Market Strategy Is a Buzzword (I Said What I Said)

Go-to-market (GTM) strategy is having a moment. If we are to believe Google Trends, it’s exact moment was in June of 2025. Before we dig in, I want to be clear on my stance. Am I saying GTM strategy is a bad thing? No. Am I saying that GTM strategy isn’t a critical aspect of how organizations sell products and services? No. What I am saying is that go-to-market strategy isn’t new. It describes something that we have been doing (or at least should have been doing) all along.

WHAT IS GO-TO-MARKET STRATEGY?

The first clue that something is a buzzword is that nobody can agree on exactly what it is.

Me: What is go-to-market strategy?

Gartner: “A go-to-market (GTM) strategy is a plan that details how an organization can engage with customers to convince them to buy their product or service and to gain a competitive advantage. A GTM strategy includes tactics related to pricing, sales and channels, the buying journey, new product or service launches, product rebranding or product introduction to a new market.”

Me: So, basically sales and marketing working together?

Stripe: No. “A go-to-market (GTM) strategy is a comprehensive plan a business uses to launch a product or service to market. This strategy outlines the steps a business will take to connect with its customers and gain competitive advantage. It typically includes market research, clear identification of the target customer base, sales and marketing plans, and considerations for product pricing and distribution channels.

Me: Oh, I get it. So, it’s product, sales, and marketing working together, and it’s done specifically for new products.

ZoomInfo: No, it doesn’t have to be for a new product. There are four different GTM strategy scenarios:

1. New product, new market
2. Existing product, new market
3. New product, existing market
4. Existing product, existing market

Me: So, wouldn’t that be every possible scenario?

ZoomInfo: Yes, yes it would.

Me: So, we’re back to product, sales, and marketing working together?

Stripe: GTM also includes customer success (CS).

Me: So, product, sales, marketing, and customer success working together?

ZoomInfo: Don’t forget the metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs)!

Me: Wait, we weren’t using metrics before?

ZoomInfo: Of course we were using metrics! Haha, don’t be ridiculous! (Quickly ducks behind Stripe.)

Stripe: But GTM strategies also include a budget and a timeline!

Me: Again, weren’t we using budgets and timelines before???

Stripe: (Stares at me)

Cognism: GTM strategies have feedback loops!

Stripe: (Nods head in agreement.)

Me: So, you’re telling me that GTM strategy is product, marketing, sales, and customer success actually talking to each other, and when CS gets feedback from the customer, it gets relayed back to product?

Everyone: (Nods heads.)

Me: You know that every department being siloed wasn’t a purposeful part of the original plan, right?

Everyone: (Stunned silence.)

NO, REALLY, WHAT IS GTM STRATEGY?

As Robin Daily, content editor for MEDDICC, so aptly puts it, “changing ‘sales kickoff’ to ‘go-to-market kickoff’ doesn’t create alignment. Creating alignment creates alignment.” She goes on to say that it takes a shared language across all departments—sales, marketing, product, customer success, and beyond.

If there’s one thing I have learned from my eight years at Maestro, it’s that silos are the norm. An organization is in better-than-average shape when its language and messaging are consistent across the sales team. It is rare to find sales and marketing working hand-in-hand, never mind product and customer success.

I’m dubious of the go-to-market moment we’re having because it presents the strategy as though it hasn’t been the intent all along. As companies grow and develop sales, marketing, product, and customer success teams, the assumption is never that these groups will work as solitary entities. They were always meant to use a common language and measure success using the same metrics. Whether for structural, cultural, or procedural reasons, the language and metrics often diverge.

WHATEVER YOU CALL IT—YES, YOU SHOULD BE DOING IT!

By calling go-to-market strategy out as a buzzword, I am in no way implying that it’s not important or should not be done. Before you seize your GTM moment, however, you need to get alignment between your teams and break down some silos or it simply will not work.

Quoting Robin Daily again: “If different teams are interpreting ‘value’ in different ways, or measuring success using different metrics, you don’t have a GTM team. You have a bunch or departments operating in silos under the same umbrella.” Which is exactly what we’re trying to fix. So, how can you fix it? Here are some things our clients have done to break down silos and become better aligned:

1. Conduct messaging interviews with revenue functions as well as product, engineering, HR, etc.
2. Conduct feature-benefit-value surveys of the whole team to identify alignment and gaps.
3. Hold structured monthly team meetings in which every department reports on its activities and how they impact revenue.
4. Create feature-request trackers on implemented software to track requests and help in decision-making.
5. Implement an internal product/feature release program to ensure everyone understands the value of what has been built.

Go-to-market strategy is not a new idea. It’s an attempt to bridge the gap between siloed departments that should be moving in the same direction, communicating, and learning from each other. It’s a means of getting us back to what we should have been doing all along. Sometimes, calling the solution something different from what you did before gets people more excited about fixing the problem. If that’s the case, then let your GTM flag fly.

Do you need help establishing a successful GTM strategy (or simply a successful revenue strategy as we like to call it)? Contact us at mastery@maestrogroup.co.