Why go-to-market still matters

Updated August 2025

Go-to-market isn’t glamorous. It’s the quiet planning that happens before a launch, the part no one really wants to do. And yet it’s the piece that still decides whether a product lands or sinks.

Harvard Business School estimates up to 95% of launches fail. Let that sink in. It means most of the shiny campaigns, the weeks of prep, the carefully timed press releases, they don’t get off the ground. Which makes you wonder: if we know this, why are we still rushing launches without a real backbone?

The AI-shaped noise

By now we all know the drill. AI writes copy, drafts decks, generates endless “step-by-step” guides. Automation handles campaigns while you sleep. It feels like strategy has been swallowed by the machine.

But GTM is where the cracks show, AI doesn’t care about people’s quirks.

It doesn’t notice that your customer will pay more if they trust you, or that fear of loss is a stronger driver than the promise of gain. Kahneman spent a lifetime on this loss aversion, anchoring, familiarity bias. All the nudges and irrationalities that still shape what we buy.

A launch that ignores that side of behaviour isn’t a strategy.

What GTM really looks like in 2025

The basics haven’t changed:

• Problem: What’s the actual pain point? You can test-market this, or pilot small before scaling. Digital Clarity outline how tech leaders now treat pilot testing as routine, not optional
• Customer: Not personas on a slide, but deeper segmentation. Entrepreneur notes that modern GTM blends demographic, behavioural, and psychographic data
• Value: Clear, proven differentiators. Case studies, proof points, and messages your customer would actually repeat.
• Channel: Not "spray and pray". VIA’s report warns wasted channel spend is still one of the fastest ways to burn budgets

The “new” bit is how these steps are powered. AI can crunch customer data, run simulations, and flag weak spots early. Automation can sequence your outreach and close feedback loops fast. But the judgment about which pain point to solve, which message actually resonates? That’s still human.

Stats worth paying attention to

• 15.4% of companies admit they have no GTM strategy at all
• 59% feel underinvested in launches, while 79.5% say launches heavily impact revenue.
• AI-native companies are converting at 56% funnel conversion, compared to 32% for others.
• 77.3% of traffic now comes from branded sources - your brand matters as much as your paid media

Behind every number is the same reminder: strategy isn’t optional.

Practical things that help

• Test first, scale later: Test small launches before you throw budget at them.
• Close the loop: Post-deal reviews, customer surverys/interviews, CRM feedback - B2B Marketing highlight how routine “voice of customer” checks now shape top-performing GTM teams
• Align revenue ops: Siloed sales and marketing is still one of the most common reasons for failure - you need a unified CRM and shared KPIs
• Blend behavioural science into messaging: Scarcity cues, trust signals, habit triggers (recognising how we actually decide). The International Journal of Social Impact has a solid 2025 overview
• Community and product-led growth: Let your product and users do some of the selling (AI Internship’s guide shows how this is shifting adoption curves)

Reflections

Go-to-market in sn’t a formula you download. It’s the same backbone it always was: problem, customer, value, channel. The difference is the environment around it.

AI clears the path, behaviour explains the bumps, but the human part is still the core - the judgment, the empathy, the small detail that makes a story land.