In fast-moving markets, alignment — not just collaboration — is what sets high-performing GTM teams apart. Yet, according to Mural’s 2025 GTM Alignment Gap Study, 85% of professionals feel confident in cross-functional collaboration, while the same percentage say they often pursue different goals.
Among the culprits is misaligned KPIs. They lead to slower time-to-market, lower conversion rates, and inconsistent revenue growth.
Tracking the right GTM Metrics empowers teams to reduce CAC, improve customer retention, and drive smarter, AI-supported go to market strategy execution.
Here are the five KPIs that matter most for GTM success — and how to use them.
Key highlights:
- Misaligned KPIs are a top contributor to slower time-to-market, lower conversion rates, and inconsistent revenue growth.
- Unified GTM Metrics empower teams to reduce churn rate, improve Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC), and strengthen customer retention.
- Tracking the right KPIs supports AI-powered decision-making and more effective go to market strategy execution.
Understanding Go to Market (GTM) KPIs
In high-performing organizations, KPIs are more than just reporting tools — they are alignment engines. For GTM teams, shared KPIs ensure that marketing, sales, product, and customer success all work toward the same goals, using a common language of success. Without them, teams often "collaborate" on paper while pursuing disconnected priorities.
Mural’s GTM Alignment Gap Study paints a stark picture: despite high confidence in collaboration, 85% of GTM professionals say they regularly experience misalignment. That gap causes miscommunication, missed handoffs, and wasted spend. Unified KPIs help prevent these issues and drive real GTM Success.
The importance of aligned metrics across GTM functions
When GTM metrics are aligned across functions, teams execute faster and more cohesively. Mural reports that 89% of respondents see misalignment as a direct cause of slowed time-to-market, lost deals, and weakened pipeline performance. Clearly, shared KPIs are metrics that matter.
KPI 1: Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) is one of the most critical indicators of GTM efficiency. It shows how much it costs to convert a prospect into a customer and can quickly reveal whether your Acquisition Strategies are sustainable.
Calculating your true CAC
Use this formula:
CAC = Total GTM Spend (marketing + sales + tools) ÷ Number of New Customers
Break it down by channel and campaign for clarity. Mural’s research suggests that unclear priorities and disjointed teams often lead to overspending, raising CAC unnecessarily.
Strategies to optimize and lower CAC
Aligning GTM functions around buyer personas, messaging, and funnel stages can reduce CAC. AI tools also help by improving targeting and conversion rates. Unified CAC tracking lets teams shift budget toward what’s working and away from what isn’t.
The Takeaway
Tracking and optimizing CAC goes beyond just keeping expenses in check—it’s about building a more resilient and scalable GTM strategy. When teams are aligned, priorities are clear, and data drives every decision, it becomes possible to reduce unnecessary spend and invest confidently in tactics that deliver real results.
KPI 2: Customer Lifetime Value (LTV)
Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) helps GTM teams forecast long-term profitability and justify acquisition investments. It ensures your go to market strategy doesn’t chase short-term wins at the cost of long-term sustainability.
Use this formula:
LTV = Average Purchase Value × Frequency × Customer Lifespan
Using LTV to inform acquisition strategies
Teams that align on LTV understand who their best customers are and how to find more of them. The CAC:LTV ratio is beneficial — if CAC rises but LTV doesn’t, your strategy needs a course correction.
The Takeaway
Ultimately, prioritizing LTV ensures that your GTM efforts are focused on driving meaningful, lasting value—not just quick wins. By using LTV as a guiding metric, teams can make smarter investment decisions, optimize acquisition strategies, and double down on the segments that offer the greatest long-term returns. This holistic approach aligns marketing, sales, and customer success around a shared vision of sustainable growth.
KPI 3: Sales cycle length & conversion rate
Sales cycle length and conversion rate give visibility into how efficiently your GTM engine moves prospects through the pipeline.
Identifying bottlenecks in the sales process
Mural’s study highlights a key issue: 43% of decision-makers blame misalignment on unclear goals, while individual contributors say it’s more about a lack of process clarity. That disconnect often shows up as longer sales cycles and lower conversion rates.
Improving conversion rates at each stage
Shared funnel definitions and synchronized messaging reduce friction. Use these KPIs to pinpoint where leads stall — and align GTM functions on how to fix them.
The Takeaway
Closely monitoring sales cycle length and conversion rates isn’t just about tracking efficiency—it's about uncovering deeper issues of alignment that could be slowing your growth. By using these metrics to diagnose and address process gaps, GTM teams can clear the path for prospects, accelerate deals, and increase win rates.
KPI 4: Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) / Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR)
Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) and Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) are vital for any SaaS or subscription-based business. They reflect revenue stability, expansion, and risk.
Forecasting growth with MRR and ARR
Mural reports that 83% of GTM professionals believe misalignment affects morale and leads to reactive “crisis-mode” execution. This can lead to less strategic output that can directly affect MRR/ARR predictability. Cross-functional planning improves revenue consistency and forecasting accuracy.
The Takeaway
In other words, strong alignment and collaborative planning aren’t just operational best practices—they are directly linked to financial health and predictability. When teams break down silos and work together toward common goals, they create a clear path to sustainable, reliable revenue growth.
KPI 5: Churn rate & customer retention
Churn rate measures customer turnover, while customer retention highlights your ability to keep them. These are metrics that matter for long-term GTM health.
Understanding the root causes of churn
When GTM Teams aren’t aligned, the promises made during the sales process and in marketing materials might not match product delivery, leading to churn. This disconnect fuels customer frustration and low morale across teams.
Proactive strategies for customer retention
AI-driven customer health scores, timely success check-ins, and cross-team playbooks help reduce churn. Better handoffs and consistent messaging improve retention and extend customer lifetime value.
The Takeaway
Ultimately, reducing churn and boosting customer retention is not just about implementing the right tools or processes—it's about fostering genuine alignment across your GTM teams. When everyone is working from the same playbook, customers experience seamless interactions from first touch to long-term support, leading to stronger trust and greater loyalty.
Why these 5 KPIs are crucial for GTM success
Shared KPIs are the foundation of any strong go to market strategy. They keep GTM teams focused, reduce friction, and power smarter, AI-driven decision-making.
Fostering cross-functional alignment
As Mural’s GTM Alignment Gap Study makes clear, metrics misalignment isn’t just an internal issue — it’s a strategic risk. These five KPIs connect every GTM function to the same definition of success and give teams the clarity they need to execute faster and better.
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Dive deeper into the state of GTM alignment, why teams are confident yet misaligned, and how your team can bridge the gap.
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