As 2023 draws to a close, we look to the stars and ponder what 2024 might have in store for the revenue operations landscape…
While no one can predict how the economy will sway, exactly what deals will close, or how incorrectly data can be inputted into a CRM, here are some predictions of trends we’ll see in RevOps strategy within the next year.
Grab your crystal ball, sit back, and relax, as we consider the revenue strategies likely to emerge in the next 366 days around the sun.
The rise of automation and AI
With the economic conditions being shaky over the last few years, it makes sense to prepare for more hard times. This means doing more with fewer resources.
The best way to accomplish this? Utilizing automation and AI.
Even if you’re already utilizing these technologies, in 2024 we’ll see an increase in investment for these types of tools, as businesses try to streamline time-consuming tasks with low payoff.
By automating these tasks, more time and energy can be spent on revenue-generating activities that can’t be replicated by AI.
As Greg Larsen, VP of Revenue Operations at Eltropy, said in our State of Revenue Operations 2023 report:
“The insertion of AI into the revenue operations stack, and all of the automation and efficiency gain that it can provide is massive.
“Until this year, it hasn't been a good enough quality that you could trust it. Now I've seen some things come that are complete game changers, from an AI standpoint, in reducing the manual effort from the sales team.”
In other words, if you haven’t started investing in AI yet - 2024 is the year to jump in, and learn what the hype is all about before your competitors do!
For example, Thomas Cheriyan, Director of Revenue Enablement at Rattle, suggests automatically pushing data from Salesforce into Slack to drive better revenue outcomes and get ahead of the competition.
Not sure which AI tools to add to your tech stack? Stewart Townsend, CRO of PodcastHawk, suggests using AI to improve:
- Lead generation
- Lead nurturing
- AI-powered sales coaching
- RFP response automation
- Customer retention
Want to learn what tools he recommends? Check out the full blog here! 👇
Stewart Townsend
Changing sales roles
There’s some whispers that emerging technologies such as AI might also change sales roles in the coming year. Jeremy Steinbring, Founder of RevOynx, told us he thinks 2024 will be “the fall of the traditional SDR role.”
He continues “I believe SDR/BDR roles will start to fade with the insertion of AI tools.”
This sentiment is not one just held by Jeremy as Sergey Mann, Revenue Operations at Hebbia AI, agrees stating:
“The SDR role (inbound) will start to disappear as companies automate their inbound flows.
“The BDR role (outbound) will still exist but headcount will decrease as companies find ways to leverage AI to make their BDRs more efficient.
“Both changes largely being fueled by the rise in AI and company pressure for profitability.”
This shift may not pose a threat to revenue operations professionals, but it may lead to a shift in revenue and sales strategy as sales teams slim down and cut costs in 2024. Effective sales processes might be key to driving effective revenue growth in the coming year.
Streamlining the customer journey
Businesses are nothing without their customers, and as budgets tighten, it’s more important than ever before to focus on customer experience (CX).
We predict that this will only continue in 2024, as revenue operations teams look to streamline the entire customer journey to provide a more consistent and unified experience for their customers.
This shift will lead to more alignment across sales, marketing, customer success, and even product teams to ensure each function truly understands the buyer’s goals, pain points, and behaviors. Allowing a better experience for their prospects and customers.
Rebecca Stewart
After all, it’s those small touchpoints that can drastically change a customer’s overall satisfaction with your product or service.
If your product has a slight problem, how you deal with that and solve the issue is a greater determinant of your customer’s experience and in turn, their likelihood of sticking around.
Great, empathetic, and personalized customer service = increased customer retention.
A unified, customer-centric approach to revenue is key to streamlining your customer journey and increasing customer loyalty at this crucial moment, where one bad experience may lead to your customer leaving for a cheaper alternative.
Budgets are tight - so give your customers a reason to be loyal to your product.
Utilizing real-time data
Say goodbye to historical data. 👋
In 2024, it’s time to welcome real-time data and analytics into your decision-making process.
With more advanced tools available it’s easier than ever to accurately display real-time data and predictions on your dashboards, giving you more information about your company’s OKRs.
These tools can be used to create more accurate revenue forecasts, allowing you to make more informed decisions and easily course-correct when a problem arises.
Instead of relying on lagging indicators of success, and being three months too late to resolve the issue, utilizing real-time data will allow you to instantly see potential risks to meeting your targets.
Real-time data will result in more informed revenue strategies and ensure your organization is one step ahead of your competitors.
Revenue operations teams should lead this change and own their organization’s data. This will allow for more accurate predictions as data hygiene is prioritized, guarded, and maintained.
Overall, utilizing real-time data and creating a clean, centralized database will give your revenue teams the edge in 2024.
Rebecca Stewart
Shifts in the job market
If you thought the job market was over-saturated in 2023, watch out for the shift in RevOps leaders in 2024.
In our latest report, we discovered 82.9% of RevOps pros are looking to take the next step in their careers within the next year, with 35.4% of them looking elsewhere if they can’t progress in their current organization.
That will likely mean a mixing pot of internal promotions and a rise in job movers, leading to fewer opportunities, each with more competition. Creating a tricky job market to stand out in.
To combat this, if you’re looking for a new RevOps role in 2024, you may want to practice your interview skills or look to upskill yourself in the new year.
If you’re looking for a great way to take your revenue operations knowledge to the next level, our new course might be just the thing for you.
Our Revenue Operations Core certification covers:
🧠 What revenue operations truly means
🙏 How to build an impactful RevOps team
🔑 The keys to tracking your team’s success
📈 How to enhance the function in your organization
And much, much more.
Stand out from the crowd, and secure your next RevOps role by becoming certified!
Final thoughts
And with that, we’ll wrap up our predictions for the coming year…
Because let’s face it - we don’t need time travel to know that revenue professionals at all levels are going to be busy in 2024!
If you’d like to dive deeper into the emerging trends in the RevOps landscape, our Slack community is a great place to chat with like-minded revenue experts.
Join now! 👇
