Revenue Operations Org Structure: Beyond Go-To-Market
WHERE DO FUNCTIONS BEYOND GTM BELONG IN A REVOPS ORG?
Revenue Operations brings together the go-to-market operations functions of a business—this we know. We also know that the purpose of that unification is to get the revenue team aligned on strategy in order to improve the customer experience and increase LTV. But what about the teams outside sales, marketing, and customer success? How do you structure those teams within an intentional RevOps organization?
Here, we’ll talk about what RevOps looks like beyond the realm of go-to-market.
Is RevOps Just for GTM Teams?
Short answer: No.
Longer answer: While a transition to revenue operations might be felt most acutely by your sales, marketing, and CS teams, the reality is that it significantly impacts teams across your entire organization. Because the purpose of revenue operations is to identify gaps and improve the buying experience, any function that touches that experience should be aligned to and part of your company’s RevOps strategy.
What Other Functions Can Be Included Under RevOps?
Generally speaking, SaaS companies have two sides: The one that creates and manages the product and the one that owns and improves upon the buying experience. The latter is where revenue operations lives, because all those functions ultimately impact the way your customers experience your product or service as opposed to the product itself.
Delivery and customer success teams, for example, are active participants in the customer lifecycle—directly influencing revenue by owning renewals and upsells. Conversely, teams that focus on finding bugs or making your product easier to use through customer support should belong to the product side of the business.
What Would That Structure Look Like?
There’s no exact “right way” to structure your RevOps org. Instead of focusing too much on who reports to who, just keep in mind that the goal is to de-silo as much as possible. Any silos that are built into your organization are going to affect your teams’ ability to deliver a seamless customer experience across the board. If you’re building a new team—service operations, for example—the best way to set them up for success is to have them functioning alongside the revenue team. This will streamline the process of defining a holistic RevOps strategy and help avoid the pain of having to bring them to the table later in the game. Be intentional about not creating new silos within your organization.
Alternatively, if you’re looking to bring an existing team under the RevOps umbrella and are worried about the friction a full restructuring might cause, there are plenty of ways to break down those silos. Start by bringing individuals from the team in as stakeholders for initiatives like operational roadmapping that may have traditionally been more siloed.
Should You Make a Change to Your Org Structure?
The bottom line of the RevOps methodology is this: Everything you do should be to help close a gap you’ve identified in the buying experience. That’s how you should measure every initiative, in fact; by defining how the work you’re doing will improve your customer’s experience with your brand.
If you can’t answer that question yet, it just means that whatever you’re considering may not be a top priority for your business. Like with any RevOps workstream, you need to prioritize the highest-impact gaps and fix those first. Likewise, be sure to assess the risk along with the reward. It’s critical to determine exactly how this type of structural change will impact your customers—negatively or positively.
Find this content helpful? Interesting? There’s plenty more where this came from. Might we recommend one of these as your next read:
5 Signs Silos Are Killing Your RevOps Strategy
5 Enablement Tips for Growing Companies
Our sweet little bot is also ready to answer any questions you have!