The Impact of Integration and Consolidation on B2B GTM Strategies in 2024

GTM (Go-To-Market) strategies are constantly evolving. As consumer preferences, market trends, and technologies evolve, the way companies approach go-to-market efforts needs to transform too. After all, the most effective go-to-market strategies are always tailored to the specific needs of your audience, the unique features of your offering, and the current market conditions. 

Currently, there are various trends influencing how organisations shape their go-to-market efforts, but one of the most significant of all is the growing demand for integration and consolidation. 

Companies everywhere are searching for ways to overcome economic uncertainty, by aligning and integrating their technology stacks, ensuring they can do “more with less”. 

Here’s how the integration trend is influencing GTM strategies in 2024.

The Impact of Tech Stack Integration on GTM Efforts

There are two primary ways tech consolidation and integration are influencing today’s GTM strategies. The first is that demand for all-in-one solutions from consumers is pushing technology vendors to embrace more comprehensive partnerships and partner-led growth methods. 

As B2B buyers continue to reduce their budgets, struggling to maintain cost efficiencies in a complex economy, they’re searching for comprehensive toolkits that reduce the number of companies they need to work with, or source technology from. 

This is prompting organisations in the tech sector to work alongside other, complementary vendors, on strategies for “ecosystem-led growth”. Working with other vendors gives tech and SaaS vendors a chance to build full-stack systems for customers, that offer a greater level of value. 

For instance, by working with telephony providers, Microsoft can position its Microsoft Teams solution as not just a productivity tool, but also a resource for business communication, contact centre management, and end-to-end business growth. 

However, integration and consolidation in the tech sector aren’t just having an impact on how companies build and distribute solutions to their customers. It’s also influencing how companies invest in GTM technologies. 

Consolidation in the GTM Technology Stack

Every organisation needs a GTM strategy, regardless of which product or service they’re selling. This strategy needs to combine three distinct pillars: people, processes, and technology. As companies search for ways to grow through their GTM efforts, the number of technology resources they rely on increases too, leading to significant technical complexity for teams. 

Sales, marketing, and customer service professionals need to work together on an aligned GTM strategy, but they’re often overwhelmed with disconnected tools, data, and services. In fact, one report found the average knowledge worker is left to switch between applications 1200 times per day. 

The complexity of a traditional, “fragmented” GTM tech stack leaves companies struggling with:

• Technical complexity: The use of various “point tools” creates a level of complexity in a business environment that saddles organisations with technical debt. The more complex the ecosystem, the more productivity and efficiency in the organisation suffers. 
• Misalignment: Numerous technologies distributed across the GTM strategy landscape inevitably lead to data silos and missing connections between employees. The result is that companies and business leaders end up with alignment issues that make it harder to achieve measurable results, improve performance, and make data-driven decisions. 
• Poor ROI: Each piece of technology in the GTM stack carries a cost. It’s not just subscription costs companies need to worry about, but the fees for administrative management, and training too. All of these expenses quickly add up, draining your budget, and reducing the ROI of your GTM efforts. 
• Redundancies: Many point tools designed for GTM strategies, like CRM systems, BA tools, and more, will have redundant features that users may not be aware of. This could mean companies could be wastefully paying for functionality they don’t need. 
• Lost opportunities: The more time companies need to spend aligning employees and data with a fragmented technology ecosystem, the more opportunities they’ll miss out on. A disconnected tech stack makes it difficult to remain agile and data-driven in a competitive environment, leading to lost revenue.

How to Take Advantage of The Integration Trend in 2024

Integration and consolidation are more than just trends in the modern GTM landscape, they’re becoming critical components of business success. So, how can companies take advantage of the “rise of integration” to facilitate growth in 2024?

1. Consolidate the GTM Tech Stack 

The first, and most obvious way for companies to enhance their GTM strategies in 2024, is to take advantage of the benefits that GTM tech stack consolidation can offer. It’s no longer feasible for companies to rely on dozens of software vendors and data providers, organisations need to consolidate as much of their technology as possible into a single ecosystem. 

To do this, business leaders will need to:

• Identify business goals and objectives: The first step in optimising your GTM tech stack is ensuring it’s aligned with your business goals and objectives. Defining your target market, their needs, and your strategy for entering the market and facilitating growth will help you define what kind of technology is most valuable to your business. 
• Conduct a tech stack audit: Review your current GTM software and solutions, and look for redundancies, inefficiencies, or areas that require improvement. This will help you determine which solutions you can eliminate, and which you may be able to combine together. 
• Look for all-in-one solutions: Examine solutions from other vendors that can help bring multiple features and functionalities together in a single environment. For instance, a CRM provider may offer access to tools for prospecting, lead qualification, and loyalty management, allowing you to reduce the number of vendors you work with.

2. Integrate and Align Teams, Processes, and Technology

Next, take advantage of the opportunity to pursue true alignment in your go-to-market teams. Effective GTM strategies in 2024 require companies to take a comprehensive approach to understanding and optimising the full buyer journey.

This means sales, marketing, customer service, and other teams all need to be aligned around the same data, goals, and insights to drive measurable results. Ensure all of the resources you currently use in your go-to-market strategy can share data. For instance, your CRM should be able to integrate with your marketing automation, sales enablement, and customer success tools. 

Once you’ve aligned your technology, implement new standard operating procedures and guidelines that encourage your teams to work more collaboratively on a customer-first approach to GTM growth. Facilitate constant data sharing, and break down the silos between your teams. 

3. Experiment with New Partner-Led GTM Strategies

Once you’ve taken advantage of the benefits integration and consolidation can offer to your own GTM technology stack and business processes, it’s time to start thinking about how you can deliver similar value to your customers. Using the information you have about your customers, their pain points, and goals, think about whether you can make your solution more beneficial to buyers, by integrating it with the tools other organisations offer. 

For instance, if you’re selling software for the website development industry, look at working with vendors who also offer software for building mobile apps, managing content distribution, or automating marketing and sales campaigns. Building an “ecosystem” for your customers, rather than just offering single, standalone products will make your solutions more compelling. 

You may find that you’re less likely to lose your customers to companies that offer broader platforms and tools with more features by taking this partnership-led approach.

Integration and Consolidation in 2024

Technology continues to be a crucial resource for businesses in every industry in 2024. However, we’re entering an era where companies can no longer afford to invest in countless “point” solutions for a range of different use cases and requirements. 

Low budgets, digital skill shortages, and growing demands for workplace efficiency are driving a continued focus on the benefits of integration and consolidation. 

If you want to ensure your GTM strategy delivers results in 2024, start by consolidating and integrating your own technology stack. Then, think about how you can work with partners in your industry to deliver more comprehensive solutions to your customers.