The Case for Starting Fresh
When two organizations merge—especially in managed services—one of the most challenging hurdles is blending their Go-To-Market (GTM) strategies. Often, the organizations have complementary offerings but very different mindsets when it comes to content, technology stacks, and processes. This disjointedness can lead to inefficiencies and missed opportunities, especially when manual work is running the show.
Instead of forcing a fit between two imperfect approaches, there may be a better solution: starting fresh. A clean slate provides a rare opportunity to rebuild a unified GTM strategy from the ground up—one that’s better equipped to support the combined organization’s goals.
Clean Slate = New Opportunities
Merging two organizations is often clouded by the history of each—legacy systems, processes, and cultural narratives. The temptation is to try to merge old systems, but this can bring more baggage than it's worth. Starting fresh allows you to design a GTM strategy for the future rather than forcing outdated approaches onto a new reality. This approach removes any cynicism that might arise from the merger, allowing you to focus purely on growth.
Embracing a fresh start can also be a catalyst for reimagining how work is done within the newly streamlined organization. Rethinking operational functions like GTM and revenue operations is crucial, especially with advancements in AI and automation making transformational change more achievable.
Rebuilding a Stronger GTM Strategy
A rebuild gives you the opportunity to create a more intentional, future-proof GTM strategy. Instead of merging two outdated strategies, you can design a new approach that’s aligned with the business's vision and the combined audience’s needs.
1. Focus Your Ideal Customer Profile
The first thing to revisit post-merger is your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). A merger often requires a refreshed or more refined ICP that aligns with the combined offerings. Buyer personas that worked individually may not fit the new entity, so refining them is crucial to drive targeted marketing and sales efforts.
2. Create Authentic Content
Each organization likely has its own content strategy, but how authentic is that content to the combined audience? Content that worked for one company may not resonate with the unified buyer. Now is the time to rethink content—ensuring it directly addresses the needs and challenges of the new audience.
When refining your content strategy, focus on the brand persona that best represents the merged organization. If one entity has a more defined and impactful brand identity, it might make sense to model the content strategy around that persona. This isn’t just about recognition—it's about delivering content that reflects the true essence of the new organization.
Leveraging AI tools like Jasper can help scale content creation. These tools allow you to input your brand's tone and style, streamlining the process of aligning content with your new identity.
3. Build in Automation
Post-merger, one of the most effective ways to break down silos is adopting automation by default. Too often, manual processes become ingrained, leading to inefficiencies. In GTM, relying on manual work causes delays and bottlenecks that ultimately hurt performance.
Automating processes—from lead scoring to sales outreach—saves time and creates smoother workflows between sales, marketing, and customer success teams. Automation is a forcing function for efficiency and ensures cross-departmental alignment. It also enables scalability by reducing reliance on tedious, repetitive tasks.
4. Audit your Legacy Tooling
One of the biggest post-merger opportunities is reviewing and streamlining operational expenses (OpEx). Companies often inherit a bloated tech stack filled with underutilized tools. Evaluating your sales and marketing tech stack provides a perfect opportunity to eliminate outdated systems and adopt modern, flexible platforms that better serve the combined organization.
One company we worked with was spending $25k/year on a sales prospecting tool, yet only one of the eight paid seats was being used. Worse, the employee who initially implemented the software had left the company six months prior. This scenario is common in post-merger organizations, where unused or redundant tools lead to unnecessary expenses. Cutting underutilized tools can free up budget and resources for more impactful investments.
How to get started on this one? You could schedule a meeting with every manager, ask them to send in their SaaS tools they can't live without, provide written justification, manage exceptions, and create a whole process. A faster way: cycle the corporate credit card. The tools your teams really need bubble to the top real fast. One company we worked with had a dedicated corporate card for only SaaS subscriptions, making it super easy to manage and keep controls on.
5. Think Revenue Operations
When rebuilding your GTM strategy, think of it as constructing a revenue operations ecosystem. This means selecting tools and technologies that integrate seamlessly to create an efficient workflow across sales, marketing, and customer success. A flexible ecosystem of "agents" (tools, processes, and people) ensures alignment on revenue goals and drives scalable performance.
Rather than merging two outdated systems, focus on building a new infrastructure that supports the merged organization’s goals.
Time to Start Fresh?
Merging organizations presents a unique opportunity to rethink and rebuild your GTM strategy for the future. Rather than forcing together two misaligned approaches, starting fresh creates a more unified, scalable, and effective strategy. By narrowing your ICP, refining your content, automating processes, cutting operational costs, and building an integrated tech ecosystem, you can develop a GTM strategy that propels the combined organization toward long-term success.
We’re Here to Help
Are you ready to rebuild your GTM strategy post-merger? Reach out today, and let’s discuss how we can help you build a streamlined, automated revenue operations framework designed for your future success.
