Tinkering with the Go-to-Market(ing) Model

Every marketing department has its preferred go-to-market model. It's well developed, implemented and tracked. The problem is, it doesn't always match up with the company strategy or changing market conditions. Sound familiar? If so, it is probably time for a frank conversation about marketing—one that begins with building a model that connects with your growth expectations and challenges.

A FEW YEARS AGO, ADVERTISING AGE published an editorial called "A Modest Proposal," in deference to Jonathan Swift's satirical 18th century essay. While Swift suggested that poor Irish families should sell their children as food for the rich—to prevent them from being a burden on their parents and instead make them beneficial to the public—Advertising Age writers suggested that we might do away with our marketing departments and chief marketing officers for the "good" of the company.