One of the biggest blockers to customer success delivering real impact is the misalignment between GTM (go-to-market) strategy and how CS teams are positioned to support it. We’ve all heard the phrase: “Sales is selling what CS can’t deliver.” That tension? It’s real. And more common than we’d like to admit.

But I believe customer success has a crucial – and often underestimated – role in defining and driving GTM strategy. In fact, when CS teams are deeply aligned with a company's commercial engine, they don’t just support growth, they power it.

So, let’s unpack what GTM strategy actually means, why it matters, and how customer success professionals can play a key part in making it work.

Why customer success and GTM alignment matters

I like to think of GTM strategy and customer success as two islands that need a bridge. Too often, they exist in silos – sales over here, CS over there – without a shared understanding of what’s being sold, how it’s positioned, or what the customer journey looks like after the deal is signed.

If you’ve ever found yourself in a situation where expectations were misaligned between what was promised and what can realistically be delivered, you’re not alone. That disconnect is often a direct result of a fragmented go-to-market approach.

But here’s the good news: as a CS leader or practitioner, you’re in a unique position to help close that gap.

The founder mindset

To really understand GTM strategy, it helps to think like a founder. Imagine you’ve just launched a product – now you need to get it in front of the right people. What’s your plan? Who are you targeting? How will you reach them? Why would they care?

That’s the heart of GTM: a clear, focused plan for how your product reaches its audience and achieves traction in the market.

In its simplest form, GTM is about understanding how your product or service meets a need and how it gets to the people who need it. And yes, you might have an overarching GTM strategy for your entire company, but as you grow and diversify, you’ll likely need different approaches for different products, features, or markets.

Types of go-to-market models

Let’s take a quick look at some common GTM models. You might be wondering: where’s the customer-led one? Hang tight – we’ll get to that.

  • Sales-led: This is where a large sales team is responsible for moving the product – think big enterprise deals with complex decision-making processes. A company like Oracle might be a good example.
  • Product-led: Here, the product sells itself. Users can often try it for free, experience the value firsthand, and then convert. Slack started this way – you try it, like it, and then you’re ready to buy.
  • Channel-led: Distribution happens through partners or marketplaces. In hospitality tech, for instance, products must integrate into an existing tech ecosystem – they can’t stand alone.
  • Community-led: Less common, but growing. Think of platforms where community advocacy does the selling, where users themselves create momentum. A strong customer base can be your best marketing tool.
  • Ecosystem-led: A hybrid model, where both partnerships and community play a role in driving reach and revenue.
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Now ask yourself – how does your company go to market? And if you have multiple products or services, do they all follow the same model?

Building the GTM puzzle

Let’s break this down as if you were putting together a business plan from scratch. Because really, that’s what GTM is – a business plan for launching and scaling a product.

1. Who are you targeting?

This is your total addressable market (TAM) – the segment of the world that could benefit from your product. If your TAM is too small, the revenue potential might not justify the investment. 

And the same goes for features: if you’re planning to build something, you need to know who will use it, whether they’re willing to pay for it, and whether it supports retention or expansion.

2. What does your ideal customer look like?

Defining your ideal customer profile (ICP) helps you build marketing and sales strategies that actually reach the right people. What kind of companies? What roles? Where do they hang out? What problems are they trying to solve?

State of Customer Success Report

3. How will you reach them?

This is where your distribution model comes into play. Are you selling directly to businesses? Is it a self-serve product? Do you rely on partnerships or integrations? Understanding this is key to scaling sustainably.

4. What’s your value proposition?

This one is big – and often missed. Your unique selling proposition (USP) isn’t about listing product features. It’s about clearly stating the problem you solve and why that matters to your customer.

I always say: if you can’t tell me in 60 seconds why I should care, you’ve lost me. I’m a big fan of the TV show Dragon’s Den – and it’s amazing how quickly you can tell whether a pitch will land based on whether the founder can articulate the pain they’re solving, the size of the market, and the growth path.

The same applies here. If your customer – or your own team – doesn’t understand how your product stands out in the market, it’s going to be a tough sell.

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Pricing, positioning, and why alignment matters

Now that we’ve looked at how to structure a go-to-market strategy, let’s talk about pricing, because while it’s often the first thing people jump to, I actually think it should come much later in the process.

Once you know who you’re targeting, why your product exists in the market, and how it compares to competitors, then you can begin to shape your pricing strategy. It’s not just a number, it’s part of your positioning.

You’ve probably heard the terms “blue ocean” and “red ocean.” A blue ocean means you’re entering a market without significant competition. You’re defining the space, the pricing, and how the market behaves. In contrast, a red ocean is full of competitors. 

You're not just selling your product – you're selling your differentiation. That’s where your USP becomes crucial. It's not just about being cheaper, it's about solving a customer’s pain in a better way.

How well do you know your GTM puzzle?

Before we move forward, it’s worth pausing to reflect. Of all the pieces in the GTM puzzle (your audience, product fit, distribution, pricing, and positioning), which ones do you feel confident about in your current company? And which areas could use a closer look?

A great way to frame this is: how much do you know about your company’s GTM strategy? And more importantly, how aligned are your role, your team, and your activities with it?

Why alignment matters

Here’s the reality: you might not be running the whole business, but no one is operating solo. And the more fragmented your internal alignment is, the more it shows externally.

There’s a quote I love:

“The purpose of a business is to create and keep a customer.”

We in CS are often laser-focused on the second part – keeping the customer. But why does that matter so much?

Because acquiring customers is expensive. The term CAC (customer acquisition cost) exists for a reason, and it’s always higher for new customers. Whether it’s marketing, sales outreach, demos, or onboarding, every step costs time and money. That’s why keeping customers – and increasing their lifetime value – is a strategic priority, not just a CS metric.

If you’ve ever wondered why your board or senior leadership are so concerned with churn, this is why. Churn means the loss of future value, a wasted CAC, and a signal that your GTM alignment may be off.

What misalignment really looks like

Think of sales, product, and CS as three islands. If they’re not connected, here’s what happens:

  • Product builds for a user that sales never pitches to.
  • Sales sells a vision that CS can’t deliver on.
  • CS gets stuck delivering something that was never going to work for the customer.

Sound familiar?

Misalignment vs. alignment

Now, imagine the opposite: product builds what sales can sell, and CS can deliver. You’ve got tight alignment around your ideal customer profile (ICP), you know their pain points, and every team supports the same journey. That’s when things start to work. That’s when customers stay. 

That’s when they grow.

So the question is: which company would you rather work for?

How customer success can influence GTM strategy

You might be thinking: okay, but what can I actually do? I’m not in marketing or product. I didn’t choose the ICP.

Here’s the truth: Customer success is one of the most important influencers of GTM success. Why?

Because whether you have a quota or not, you hold the keys to the money pot. You're closest to the customer. You know what’s working, what’s not, and what value they’re getting (or not getting) from your product.

You also hold the keys to advocacy, and advocacy is marketing gold. If your customers are happy, engaged, and achieving outcomes, they become your loudest champions. But if they’re not? Well, silence speaks volumes, too.

So let’s get specific.

The three pillars of customer success that power GTM

I like to bucket the key CS activities that support GTM success into three areas:

The three pillars of customer success that power GTM

1. Onboarding

The goal here is simple: help customers realize value quickly and with minimal friction. Whether you’ve got an onboarding team or it’s part of your CS remit, this phase is critical. If your product is too complex to get started with, or your internal processes delay implementation, you're starting on the back foot.

Make it easy. Make it fast. And make sure your customer sees early wins.

2. Adoption

This one’s no surprise. But let’s reframe it: adoption isn’t about usage stats for the sake of it. It’s about proving that your product is solving a real problem. If customers aren’t engaging, they’re not getting value. And if they’re not getting value, renewal and expansion are off the table.

Work with product teams to define meaningful usage metrics. Don’t just measure clicks – measure outcomes.

3. Advocacy and expansion

This is where it all comes together. Once a customer is onboarded and seeing value, the next step is expansion – cross-sell, upsell, and broader adoption. But it’s also about brand advocacy.

Which of your customers are your loudest fans? Which ones could speak on your behalf? Which ones would you confidently send a new prospect to for a reference call?

And here’s a key point: your onboarding and adoption strategies should directly feed your expansion strategy. If your first two boxes are strong, they naturally unlock the third.

Don’t forget stakeholder alignment

Here’s one more thing I want to emphasize: when you’re thinking about onboarding and adoption, think beyond the buyer.

Sales often focuses on getting the signature. But CS needs to care about the doer, the influencer, the champion – everyone in the account who impacts success. We want full stakeholder alignment across the entire ICP, not just one person.

For example, in my team, we run three separate onboarding sessions – one for the user, one for the buyer, and one for broader stakeholders. Why? Because we want the whole organization to understand our value, not just the person signing the contract.

Practical steps to align CS with GTM

So now that we’ve explored the foundations of GTM strategy and the vital role customer success plays in it, let’s get into the practical side. How do you actually start aligning your CS efforts with the broader go-to-market strategy? And how do you know if it’s working?

Let’s walk through a few key areas you can start influencing right away.

1. Know your ICP – and challenge it

You’ve heard me say it before: your ideal customer profile (ICP) is the cornerstone of GTM alignment. But here’s the thing – your ICP will evolve over time. 

Especially in early-stage companies, you might have customers who don’t actually fit your ideal profile. Maybe they were early adopters or outliers who liked your product, even if they weren’t the best long-term fit.

That’s why it’s so important to continuously revisit your ICP. Ask yourself:

  • Do our current customers match who we say we’re targeting?
  • Are we marketing and selling to the right audience?
  • Are we retaining the customers we want to retain?

If there’s misalignment, bring it back to the team. ICPs should be regularly reviewed and validated, not locked in and forgotten.

2. Map the full customer journey (not just the start)

A strong GTM strategy doesn’t stop once the deal is signed. Your post-sale journey – onboarding, adoption, renewal, expansion – should be just as intentional as the pre-sale journey.

Make sure your CS team has clear, consistent touchpoints throughout the lifecycle. Communicate milestones, set expectations, and track whether customers are actually progressing toward the outcomes you promised.

Your marketing team should also continue engaging existing customers, not just prospects. Not with feature releases, but with messaging that uncovers new pain points – the same way you’d approach a new sale.

3. Consistently articulate value

One of the most powerful things you can do is regularly revisit the value proposition with your customers. It’s not enough to say it once at onboarding.

If you agreed on specific outcomes at the start of the relationship, are you checking in on those outcomes quarterly? Are you measuring success in a way that’s meaningful to them?

If not, it's time to start. Value conversations are what turn customers into loyal advocates – and what help identify expansion opportunities down the line.

You’re not just a participant, you’re an architect

Customer success shouldn’t be a passive recipient of a GTM strategy. You are a key architect of it. Here’s how to take a more proactive role:

  • Create feedback loops: Your team is sitting on a goldmine of insights. Build systems to regularly share feedback with product, sales, and marketing – and make sure it’s quantified where possible.
  • Align goals and incentives: If every department is measured on different KPIs, you’re pulling in different directions. Work toward shared outcomes – ideally tied to revenue, retention, or customer value.
  • Invest in enablement: Ensure CS teams understand your GTM strategy inside out. Who are you selling to? What problems are you solving? How is the product positioned? This knowledge shouldn’t live only with sales or marketing – it’s critical for CS too.
The GTM-CS feedback loop

Shared tools and shared truths

One of the easiest ways to align teams is through shared tools and data.

If sales, marketing, and CS are looking at different views of the customer, alignment will always be a struggle. Aim for a unified system – one that tracks health, stage, revenue, and engagement in a way that everyone can access and understand.

Also, work with product to ensure you’re using shared analytics to measure success. If product is tracking one set of usage metrics and CS another, it’s going to be very hard to agree on what “value” really means.

Build, measure and learn together

A go-to-market strategy should never be static. Things change – your company evolves, your market shifts, and your customers’ needs grow. That’s why it’s so important to embrace the build-measure-learn loop:

  • Build new initiatives, processes and features.
  • Measure the right metrics to track success.
  • Learn from data, feedback, and results – then adjust.
Build, measure, learn, repeat.

This mindset doesn’t just belong to product teams – it should be embedded across all departments, including CS.

Is your GTM strategy actually working?

Let’s finish with a quick diagnostic. How do you know whether your GTM strategy is aligned and effective?

Customer success and GTM alignment checklist

Quantitative indicators

  • Are your KPIs moving in the right direction?
  • What’s your churn telling you? Often, churn reveals deep insights about mismatched expectations, poor product fit, or pricing misalignment.

Qualitative insights

Together, these signals help you identify misalignments and where your GTM strategy needs a refresh.

Key takeaways

If you remember nothing else, here’s what I want you to take away:

  • Your GTM strategy defines the who, what, when, and how of your growth.
  • As a CS professional, you’re not just delivering – you’re shaping the customer experience and influencing revenue.
  • Alignment requires clear communication, shared goals, and ongoing collaboration across departments.
  • And finally, remember: nothing is fixed. If something isn’t working, it can (and should) evolve.

So take this as your invitation to engage. Speak up. Bring your voice to the strategy table. Because your proximity to the customer gives you a perspective that no one else has.

GTM for Success

This article is based on a workshop Minna gave called "GTM for success: Aligning CS with GTM strategy" at Customer Labs on April 16, 2025.

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