You're Great at Marketing the Business. Terrible at the Business of Marketing.
Learn why the CEO must own GTM and ICP definition rather than delegating it to marketing, and how shifting from department silos to cross-functional business alignment prevents unprofitable growth.
About This Video
Executive Takeaways
- Misunderstanding ICP ownership as a departmental marketing task is a key reason 70% of go-to-market leaders report failing to hit their revenue targets.
- Go-to-market is an organizational strategy owned by the CEO, not an isolated departmental initiative for marketing, sales, or product.
- Marketing the business differs fundamentally from the business of marketing; driving high pipeline in an unprofitable ICP segment can still lead to failure and executive turnover.
- Organizations must stop holding isolated 'pipeline' or 'ICP' meetings and instead run unified cross-functional business meetings to align on where the company can grow most profitably.
Key Questions Answered in This Deep Dive
Who should own the Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) in a B2B company?
The ICP is a fundamental business strategy decision that must be owned by the CEO and leadership team, not marketing in isolation. When marketing owns ICP alone while sales chases deals and product builds features independently, departments fall out of alignment.
Why would a CMO get fired after hitting their pipeline and revenue targets?
A CMO can hit pipeline goals but still fail if that demand is generated from an unprofitable or misaligned customer segment. Go-to-market success requires understanding the business of marketing and generating profitable, sustainable growth rather than just volume.
Why should companies eliminate dedicated pipeline or ICP meetings?
Isolating pipeline, ICP, and retention into separate department silos creates friction and misaligned incentives. Transformation and go-to-market execution happen across cross-functional teams focused on overall business outcomes.
Work With a Certified GTM OS Partner
A Certified GTM OS Partner can help your executive team diagnose where growth is breaking, run GTM Planning, and implement the GTM OS pillars that matter most to your business.
