Liam Bateman, The Think Tank
In today’s demanding business environment, construction marketers face mounting pressure to deliver results whilst working with tighter budgets. Getting your go-to-market (GTM) strategy right isn’t just important – it’s essential for survival.
When GTM strategies work effectively, they transform interest into concrete action. Sales cycles accelerate and conversion rates improve dramatically. However, when these strategies miss the mark, budgets become overstretched and potential customers who were ready to purchase simply walk away. These challenges are widespread across B2B organisations, as our latest research reveals in ‘Unlocking B2B Growth: How a Winning GTM Strategy Drives Commercial Success’.
Drawing from responses by more than 500 B2B marketers across the UK and US, our report uncovers the primary obstacles preventing teams from executing growth-focused GTM strategies successfully. The research includes expert insights from four marketing leaders who’ve built their reputations on delivering successful GTM strategies:
Irene Quiero, VP Marketing, BP
Soussane Chartouny, Acting VP of Marketing, Palo Alto Networks
Chris Wade, CMO, Gamma
David Van Schaick, GTM Expert, Propolis
Here are the four critical challenges preventing organisations from achieving sustained commercial success.
Challenge 1: Sales, marketing and product teams operating in silos
The most widespread issue facing construction marketers today is what we’ve termed ‘the GTM gap’ – the disconnect between marketing, sales and product teams. Our research shows approximately eight in ten respondents experience tension between sales and marketing teams during GTM implementation. This lack of alignment creates uncertainty about responsibility, hampers progress and leaves potential revenue unrealised. Without proper team alignment, organisations risk losing millions in revenue whilst simultaneously wasting marketing investment.
According to David Van Schaick, GTM Expert at Propolis: ‘Alignment isn’t just about meetings and shared goals, it’s about having a common language… The best GTM teams unify around revenue impact.’
Irene Quero, VP Marketing at BP, reinforces this point: ‘Too often, marketing generates leads that sales does not follow up on, or sales promotes products that marketing hasn’t properly positioned. When there’s a disconnect, everything suffers, especially the bottom line.’
Effective GTM strategies require genuine collaboration, supported by transparent communication channels and objectives that transcend individual team boundaries or departmental politics.
Challenge 2: The difficulty of demonstrating genuine GTM value
Proving impact represents the biggest challenge for construction marketers executing GTM strategies, with 45% of survey respondents identifying this as their primary concern.
Traditional metrics such as click-through rates, impressions and marketing-qualified leads certainly have their place – they’re vital for monitoring engagement, evaluating creative performance and managing top-of-funnel activities. However, these metrics fall short when assessing GTM strategies, particularly when presenting results to senior leadership, as they don’t capture the complete commercial picture.
Chris Wade, CMO at Gamma, explains: ‘You can’t build credibility in the boardroom on leads alone. You need to show how marketing moves revenue, retention and upsell, which are real commercial indicators.’
The most successful GTM teams focus on deeper funnel metrics – concentrating on measurements like pipeline velocity, win rates and customer retention to demonstrate how their activities directly contribute to business growth.
Challenge 3: Investing in tactics that fail to deliver conversions
With limited resources but endless tactical options available, selecting the right GTM approaches to generate commercial value presents a significant challenge. Whether considering account-based marketing (ABM), personalisation strategies, content direction or influencer partnerships, the array of choices can feel overwhelming.
High-performing teams concentrate on understanding what genuinely matters to their buyers, rather than simply focusing on what they’re trying to sell. They align tactics with the critical moments in the buying journey. As Irene Quero, VP of Marketing at BP, explains: ‘True GTM success comes from understanding what actually moves the needle for your business’
Soussane Chartouny, Acting VP of Marketing at Palo Alto Networks, expands on this: ‘It’s about moving from immediate wins to long-term strategic outcomes. It’s critical to give regional teams the flexibility to localise programs based on data signals, buyer intent and cultural preferences… Adaptation is essential.’
Selecting inappropriate GTM strategies leads to inefficient resource usage, creates delays in your sales pipeline and allows competitors to gain ground. The most effective GTM strategies begin with comprehensive understanding of target audiences and their specific challenges.
Companies that equip themselves with these insights position themselves to develop informed, customised approaches that optimise lead generation and revenue growth.
Challenge 4: Finding the right balance between brand building and performance marketing
Many B2B organisations find it challenging to balance long-term brand development with short-term performance marketing objectives. This tension frequently results in suboptimal outcomes, whether from pursuing immediate results whilst compromising brand equity, or developing brand-focused campaigns that fail to deliver measurable returns.
‘We often see companies investing heavily in performance marketing without considering how brand perception influences conversions,’ observes David Van Schaick. ‘A strong brand creates demand before a sales call even happens.’
The solution lies in treating these approaches as mutually supportive rather than competing priorities. Chris Wade summarises it perfectly: ‘A strong brand fuels performance. But if you’re only performance-driven, you’ll plateau. And if you’re only brand-led, you’ll struggle to justify spend.’
The path forward: building an effective GTM execution strategy
Our examination of these challenges reveals a clear truth: overcoming them requires organisations to fundamentally rethink their approach to GTM strategy. The focus must shift from isolated, metric-driven campaigns towards integrated, customer-focused initiatives that unite all commercial functions.
To maintain your competitive edge in 2025, access the complete report ‘Unlocking B2B Growth: How a Winning GTM Strategy Drives Commercial Success‘ and discover how high-performing teams successfully navigated these precise challenges.
The report contains exclusive frameworks, practical GTM playbooks and comprehensive examples designed to help you develop more intelligent, agile strategies that deliver genuine commercial results.