Has GTM become a buzzword?
It definitely feels like GTM is trending. It's become shorthand for all things revenue, sales, and growth. Instead of SKOs, organizations are calling them GKOs. Obviously, if the whole Go-To-Market team is aligned on delivering value using the same language, that’s a good thing. But it doesn’t really seem like that’s what’s happening across the board.
Before MEDDICON 1, there was an internal debate about whether to even use the term GTM. It wasn’t universally adopted, so maybe it would be better not to use it, or so we thought. Now, it’s everywhere. And like most things that go mainstream quickly, the meaning has gotten fuzzy.
We’ve seen Account Executives start calling themselves “GTM.” That’s peak buzzword territory. Unless those AEs are also driving marketing, building partner channels, and owning customer success outcomes, they’re likely playing one — very important — part of a much broader team. In a small startup, that kind of crossover might make sense. But in most organizations, GTM is a team sport, not a rebrand of individual roles.
Changing “SKO” to “GKO” doesn’t create alignment. Creating alignment creates alignment.
And that takes real effort. It takes a shared language across sales, marketing, product, customer success, and beyond. Not just shared goals. Not just a Slack channel. Actual shared language — the kind that shapes how people think, talk, and make decisions. The kind that creates clarity across functions, not confusion.
This is something we live and breathe at MEDDICC. When we talk about GTM, we include the full lifecycle. From product ideation to post-sale engagement, each function plays a critical role in shaping and delivering value to the customer. When product teams can see how their work performs in the field — where it excels and where it can improve — it closes the loop. It turns customer feedback into real insights and drives better outcomes for the next prospect, and the one after that.
If different teams are interpreting "value" in different ways, or measuring success using different metrics, you don’t have a GTM team. You have a bunch of departments operating in silos under the same umbrella.
The key is consistency. If each function is using a different language or measuring success in different ways, it creates silos, not synergy. But when everyone shares the same vocabulary — from Pain and Metrics to Decision Criteria — that’s when teams move in unison. That’s when real GTM power kicks in.
It’s not about the terminology. GTM isn’t just a fresh coat of paint on “revenue” or “sales.” It’s about bringing together all the teams that touch the customer journey and aligning them around a common purpose: delivering value.
So is GTM a buzzword? It can be. But when it’s implemented with intention, when teams are aligned, and when leadership fosters a truly integrated approach — it becomes a powerful, meaningful framework for growth.