Hey, folks! I'm Sandy, the host of the RevOps Unboxed, and I'm here to share my thoughts on the critical trifecta of alignment, customer journey, and technology in revenue operations. As someone who's been in the industry for over a decade, I've seen firsthand how these three elements can make or break a company's success.
Let’s dive into it!
Prefer to listen? Check out Sandy's podcast episode. 👇
Aligning for success
Let's start with alignment. I can't stress enough how important it is for your sales, marketing, and customer success teams to be on the same page. Far too often, I see these departments working in silos, each with their own goals and metrics, and it's a recipe for disaster.
When your teams aren't aligned, it leads to a disjointed customer experience, missed opportunities, and a whole lot of frustration for everyone involved. But when you get it right, the results can be transformative.
But the key is to not get bogged down by the reporting structure. Instead, focus on the customer journey and how you can work together to optimize it. This might mean building relationships with your marketing counterparts, understanding their goals and pain points, and finding ways to help them succeed.
It's all about appealing to their greed – what do they care about, and how can you help them achieve their objectives? Maybe it's maximizing their MQL numbers, or ensuring a smooth handoff to sales. Whatever it is, position yourself as a strategic partner, not just someone looking to impose your agenda.
Establish clear, cross-functional goals and KPIs that everyone buys into. This might mean rethinking your compensation structures, revamping your reporting processes, or even reorganizing your entire revenue operations function.
And don't be afraid to get creative. I've seen RevOps leaders use things like internal marketing campaigns, educational videos, and cross-functional working groups to break down silos and foster collaboration. It takes time and effort, but the payoff is huge.
Rebecca Stewart
Mapping the customer journey
Once you've got your teams aligned, the next step is to really understand your customers' journeys. This isn't just about the sales process – it's about the entire lifecycle, from initial awareness all the way through to retention and advocacy.
What are the touchpoints along the way? Where are the pain points? What's working well, and where are the opportunities for improvement? By mapping out the customer journey in detail, you can identify areas to streamline, optimize, and delight your customers.
When you nail the customer journey, it's a game-changer. Your conversion rates go up, your customer satisfaction skyrockets, and your revenue growth accelerates. It's a win-win-win.
Rebecca Stewart
Aligning the customer journey
If you are in any organization that requires some sort of implementation, whether you're a SaaS organization or work in enterprise sales, there's usually some process to go live after a deal closes.
It may be a long process, if you have a large custom type of build and enterprise sale, or maybe very quick to go live. But a lot of times, there's some sort of a gap between purchase and delivery. And that team doesn't always fall under the revenue organization.
For example, in my world, we have an implementations team. And one of the things that we try to work on is shortening the time from when a salesperson closes a deal to when it goes live.
I don't have to work with the team, because they don't report to our organization. It's not in my job description. But I'm here to drive revenue. So working with that team is critical.
I need to understand how that works. Where's the sales to implementations handoff process? When does customer success get involved? How are these handoffs coordinated?
As a RevOps leader, I aim to coordinate that process to make sure everything works together efficiently. How can we make the process smoother? How can we get implementations in sooner? How can we get people using the same technologies?
It's a matter of, again, appealing to their greed, they care about fewer meetings on their calendar, they care about getting relevant information from the salespeople.
So, it’s important to coordinate across departments to understand what is required and how we can get deals implemented more efficiently, and ultimately delight our customers. Sometimes you have to step outside your lane to get it done.
Harnessing the power of technology
Of course, none of this is possible without the right technology in place. In a digital-first world, revenue operations is all about leveraging the power of tools and platforms to drive efficiency, visibility, and performance.
From CRMs and marketing automation to data analytics and AI, there's a whole suite of technologies that can transform the way you do business. But the key is to choose the right ones and integrate them seamlessly.
I've seen too many companies get bogged down by bloated tech stacks or struggle to get their systems to talk to each other. That's why it's so important to take a strategic, holistic approach to your revenue tech. Identify the core capabilities you need, vet your options carefully, and make sure everything is working in harmony.
Align tech across the customer journey
RevTech encompasses any system that directly or indirectly impacts the customer journey, from CRMs and marketing automation to project management and collaboration tools.
Too often, I've seen companies end up with a hodgepodge of tools that don't integrate well, creating data silos and making it hard to get a holistic view of the customer. And the worst part is, it's usually not malicious – it's just a result of different departments making their own technology decisions without considering the bigger picture.
That's why I believe it's critical to have a clear RevTech strategy that's aligned with your customer journey and supported by the C-suite. This means defining what constitutes RevTech, vetting new tools carefully, and ensuring seamless integration and data flow.
It's not an easy task, and it often requires a lot of internal selling and relationship-building. But when you get it right, the payoff is huge. You create a streamlined, efficient technology stack that empowers your teams and delights your customers.
Rebecca Stewart
The path forward
Look, I get it – transforming your revenue operations isn't easy. There are a lot of moving parts, and it can be overwhelming to know where to start. But I can tell you from experience, it's worth the effort.
When you bring all three of these elements together – alignment, customer journey, and technology – that's when the magic happens. You create a well-oiled revenue machine that delivers consistent, predictable growth.
You'll be able to prove efficiency, and delight your customers – all while positioning your business for long-term success.
So, what are you waiting for? It's time to unlock the power of the RevOps trinity.
