In fast-moving markets, alignment — more than just collaboration — sets high-performing GTM teams apart. Yet, according to Mural’s 2025 GTM Alignment Gap study, 85% of professionals report misalignment within their GTM teams, while the same percentage say they nonetheless are confident in their GTM strategy.
Misaligned key performance indicators, or KPIs, are a major culprit for this gap. They lead to slower time-to-market, lower conversion rates, and inconsistent revenue growth.
Tracking the right GTM metrics empowers teams to reduce their customer acquisition cost (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 — plus how to use them and how to improve your team’s performance against them.
Why go-to-market alignment depends on the right KPIs for GTM teams
For teams that know how to use them, 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 failing to achieve true cross-functional alignment.
When GTM metrics are aligned across functions, teams execute faster and more cohesively. In our GTM Alignment Gap study, 89% of respondents believe misalignment has a direct impact on GTM revenue by causing symptoms like slowed time-to-market, lost deals, and weakened pipeline performance. Clearly, shared KPIs are metrics that matter.
Want to get a jump start on creating alignment at the very beginning of your GTM campaign? Check out our guide to setting effective team goals and use a structured, collaborative tool like our SMART goals template to get the ball rolling on the actual goal-setting process.
GTM KPI 1: Customer acquisition cost (CAC) (and how to optimize it for GTM teams)
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
A simple formula for calculating your customer acquisition cost is:CAC = Total GTM spend (marketing + sales + tools) ÷ number of new customers
You can break down the overall CAC by channel and campaign to provide additional details about which tactics are cost-effective and which are not. 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. You can use AI tools to speed up resource-intensive processes and reduce overall spend. Consistent CAC tracking with regular reporting 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 lets you build 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.
GTM KPI 2: Customer lifetime value (LTV) (and how it can inform your acquisition strategy)
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.
Your team can calculate a ratio of CAC:LTV to help you optimize your customer acquisition strategy. If you find that it’s weighted too heavily toward CAC, you’re spending too much to acquire customers of dubious quality, and your strategy needs a course correction.
The takeaway
Ultimately, prioritizing LTV ensures that your GTM efforts are focused on driving meaningful, lasting value rather than 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.
GTM KPI 3: Sales cycle length and conversion rate (and how to improve them at each pipeline stage)
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
Sales cycle length tells you how long it takes to turn a lead into a closed deal. If that timeline starts creeping up, it’s a sign there’s friction somewhere — maybe in handoffs between teams, the way proposals are handled, or how quickly buyers get info they need to make a decision. Tracking this KPI through the different stages of the funnel helps you spot slow points and fix them, whether that’s by tightening processes or tackling common customer pain points sooner.
Conversion rate shows how many leads actually move to the next stage or turn into customers. If you see big drop‑offs at certain stages, there’s likely a bottleneck — maybe the pitch isn’t landing or the contract process feels too heavy. By looking closely at these numbers, GTM teams can see where deals get stuck and make targeted changes that speed things up and boost wins.
Improving conversion rates at each stage
To improve conversion rates and shorten cycle times, focus on removing friction at each stage of the buyer journey. Start by making sure your messaging and materials align with what prospects actually need — think clear value propositions, relevant case studies, and answers to common questions before they’re asked.
Equip your team with a repeatable sales process, but give them flexibility to tailor conversations to each buyer’s context. Streamline approvals, simplify contracts, and leverage tools that keep communication and follow‑up timely. When you remove uncertainty and make it easy for prospects to say “yes,” you’ll see more deals move forward and close faster.
The takeaway
Closely monitoring sales cycle length and conversion rates isn’t just to help you track your team’s efficiency. These KPIs help you uncover 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.
GTM KPI 4: MRR/ARR (and how to use them to forecast go-to-market revenue stability)
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
MRR and ARR are essential metrics for predicting future growth. MRR provides a snapshot of the predictable revenue you can expect each month, factoring in new customers, expansions, and churn. Tracking MRR over time helps you understand short-term trends and spot any dips or spikes that might signal underlying shifts in customer behavior. Because it reflects changes quickly, MRR is particularly useful for testing the impact of new campaigns, pricing updates, or product launches on revenue.
ARR, on the other hand, shows you the bigger picture. By annualizing your recurring revenue, you can assess long-term stability and plan for strategic investments. ARR trends reveal whether growth is sustainable and help you set realistic sales targets, hiring plans, and budget allocations. Using both MRR and ARR together gives GTM teams more accurate forecasts — MRR for agile, month-to-month adjustments, and ARR for confirming whether the business is on track to hit its yearly growth goals.
To establish a foundation for more consistent revenue, ensure your GTM functions are unified around a shared process for strategic planning. Cross-functional planning improves revenue consistency and forecasting accuracy.
The takeaway
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 throughout the GTM motion, they create a clear path to sustainable, reliable revenue growth.
GTM KPI 5: Churn rate (and how to proactively retain customers)
Churn rate tracks the percentage of customers who stop doing business with you over a set period of time. For GTM teams, it’s a vital pulse check on retention — if churn starts climbing, it means something’s off in the customer experience, product fit, or ongoing engagement.
Understanding the root causes of churn
While some churn occurs naturally and can be replaced by new customer acquisition, a higher than desired churn rate can signify bigger issues in your GTM strategy. When GTM teams aren’t aligned, the promises made during the sales process and in marketing materials might not match product delivery, which can lead to high churn.
Measuring churn helps teams understand not just how many new deals they need to replace lost revenue, but where to focus efforts to keep more customers happy and loyal. After all, holding onto customers is often cheaper — and more sustainable — than constantly finding new ones.
Proactive strategies for customer retention
A smart way to act on insights from your churn rate and improve customer retention is to look for patterns in who’s leaving and why. If you segment churn data by customer type, product usage, or engagement level you can spot early warning signs.
If certain groups show higher churn, dig into their feedback and behavior to uncover the root cause. Maybe they need more onboarding support, regular check‑ins, or product updates that address common pain points. You can then craft targeted retention strategies like proactive outreach, tailored offers, or improved training to keep those at‑risk customers on board. Small, focused changes can make a big difference in turning potential exits into long‑term customers.
The takeaway
Ultimately, reducing churn and boosting customer retention can’t be reduced to simply implementing the right tools or processes. It starts with 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.
KPIs are vital to making sure GTM teams are aligned on the same goals. But how are you working toward those goals? Learn how design thinking can help set your team up for GTM success.
Bridging the gap: Why aligned GTM KPIs drive go-to-market alignment
Shared KPIs are the foundation of any strong go-to-market strategy. They keep GTM teams focused, reduce friction, and power smarter 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 a shared definition of sustainable success and give teams the clarity they need to execute faster and better. Ready to turn metrics into a unified plan? Get started right now with our go-to-market strategy template.
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