When GTM teams are misaligned, content becomes a punching bag. The real problem isn’t “bad marketing.” It’s structural chaos — and no one owning the narrative.
Let’s State the Obvious: Everyone’s Frustrated
Sales is yelling for better leads. Marketing is churning out assets that go unused. Content’s stuck fielding vague requests with zero context. And the C-suite? They just want numbers to go up — without knowing what’s broken underneath.
Sound familiar?
This isn’t just tension. It’s a structural failure. A GTM engine running without oil. And when no one owns the narrative, content becomes the scapegoat.
Marketing Becomes the Catch-All Punching Bag
Sales missed quota? Blame content.
Engagement’s low? Must be the messaging.
No one knows what we stand for? That’s a brand problem.
Product roadmap missed the mark? Somehow still a marketing issue.
Let’s get real: marketing catches the heat for problems it didn’t create.
Here’s the usual mess:
- Product overpromises a feature to look competitive.
- Marketing builds the campaign around it.
- Sales pitches it as live.
- The feature ships late — or not at all.
- The buyer churns or never even converts. Sales gets cut. And now the CEO wants to know why marketing’s not converting pipeline.
This isn’t marketing underperforming. It’s a symptom of GTM teams operating on different timelines, incentives, and truths. And when nobody owns the alignment? Marketing becomes the scapegoat for organizational dysfunction.
Content Needs a Strategy, Not Just a Backlog
Content isn’t a department. It’s a strategic function that lives or dies based on clarity:
- Who are we for?
- What are we trying to make them believe?
- Where does this move the buyer?
If those questions aren’t answered — every asset becomes a guessing game.
And when GTM teams don’t share a POV, content becomes reactive. Defensive. Bland. It tries to please too many masters and ends up with no teeth.
The Real Issue? No One Owns the Narrative
Most companies are structured to optimize for execution, not coherence.
Sales owns the close.
Marketing owns the funnel.
Product owns the roadmap.
But who owns the story?
Who makes sure the way you talk about the problem, the market, the opportunity — is aligned and sharp across every touchpoint?
When no one owns that, everyone fills the gap differently. And the result? A disjointed buyer experience that feels like bullshit — even if your product is good.
This Is How You Fix It
You don’t need more content. You need:
- A POV that’s agreed on at the leadership level.
- A content strategy tied to real buyer behavior, not internal noise.
- Sales, marketing, and product teams aligned around narrative — not turf.
And most of all? You need to stop treating content like a reactive service line. It’s not. It’s your narrative engine.
When GTM works, content doesn’t just support sales — it drives it.
Content shouldn’t be where your strategy breaks. It should be where it shows up strongest. Let’s fix your GTM story — and build content that actually closes.