The Rise of GTM Operations: What Do Startups Need to Know?
Unite your marketing, sales, and customer success teams with GTM Operations for a smoother customer journey. A seamless integration may be your weapon for lasting growth in the SaaS world.
We’ve seen the evolution of Sales Ops into RevOps over the past few years, but as Srivatsan Venkatesan recently pointed out, many of these changes are still surface-level. Teams have rebranded but haven't fully integrated marketing, sales, and customer success, leaving gaps in the customer journey. Now, we're seeing the emergence of GTM (Go-To-Market) Operations—a model that aims to unify the entire process, from marketing to sales and product, into a seamless experience.
In SaaS, growth depends on more than having a great product—connecting every touchpoint in the customer journey. While RevOps aimed to unify sales, marketing, and customer success, many companies realised that true alignment requires going deeper. Startups like Asana are evolving toward GTM Operations, focusing on tighter cross-team collaboration and a unified effort toward customer outcomes.
This isn’t just about renaming functions; it’s about creating a seamless, full-circle customer experience.
The Power of GTM Operations
GTM (Go-To-Market) Operations isn’t just another buzzword—at least, it shouldn’t be. It represents a shift in how SaaS companies approach the customer experience. This isn’t just a theory in successful SaaS startups like HubSpot and Notion. These companies continuously refine their GTM approach to unify their entire operations workflow—from marketing through product to customer success—ensuring that each touchpoint with the customer feels connected and purposeful.
This is a real opportunity for SaaS founders. These operations aren’t just a rebranding exercise; they are about breaking down the artificial barriers between departments and enabling teams to operate as one. When marketing understands the pain points customers experience post-sale, they can refine their messaging. When sales collaborate deeply with customer success, they don’t just close deals—they set the stage for long-term retention. Rather than a departmental hand-off, this deep collaboration turns a lead into a loyal customer.
Integrating for True Customer Value
From a founder's perspective, the operational engine behind your product is just as critical as the product itself. The companies that fail to recognise this are stuck in a model where departments are measured on their individual KPIs rather than the overall success of the customer journey. This disjointedness causes unnecessary friction, missed hand-offs, and lost revenue.
The value here is clear: success isn’t just about the customer making a purchase; it’s about the entire journey that leads to the purchase and what happens after. By adopting a full-circle approach—where marketing, sales, product, and customer success work together—startups can achieve more durable, sustainable growth. This is what GTM Operations offers when done right.
So, when you think of GTM Ops, don't fall for the trap of seeing it as just another operational shift. Think of it as a blueprint to integrate every aspect of your go-to-market strategy into a cohesive unit that relentlessly focuses on customer success, not just departmental success.
SaaS founders should note that your operational model isn’t just a behind-the-scenes function. It’s the silent driver of your product’s value in the eyes of your customers. Ignore it; your competition will capitalise on the gaps you leave open.
