GTM teams rely on data to make informed decisions, yet one of their biggest challenges is spending too much time compiling reports rather than using them to drive strategy. Hours are wasted aggregating data, troubleshooting discrepancies, and justifying numbers instead of extracting actionable insights that boost performance.
This isn’t an occasional problem—it’s the reality for most GTM teams.
This blog is based on insights from Crissy Saunders' post on the challenges GTM teams face in reporting.
Here are five core reasons why reporting remains a roadblock—and how you can fix it:
1. Poor Data Infrastructure
The Problem:
When GTM data lacks proper structure, reporting turns into a constant struggle. Many marketing teams rely on a mix of tools like Google Analytics, HubSpot, Salesforce, and advertising platforms like Meta Ads and Google Ads. However, if these tools aren’t integrated correctly or if tracking mechanisms aren’t standardized, teams end up dealing with:
- Conflicting numbers from different sources (example: LinkedIn Ads reporting 500 leads while HubSpot only shows 350 for the same campaign).
- Redundant reports that require excessive manual reconciliation.
- Time-consuming processes where teams spend hours exporting data, cleaning it, and merging different reports to get a complete view.
A poor data foundation leads to inaccurate attribution models, making it difficult to understand what’s truly driving results. Without a solid infrastructure, teams struggle to tie their efforts to revenue impact.
The Solution:
- Standardize data collection and tracking. Ensure that all marketing and sales platforms use the same tracking IDs, naming conventions, and tagging methodologies.
- Establish data ownership. Clearly define who is responsible for managing and maintaining marketing data to avoid gaps and inconsistencies.
- Automate integrations. Use tools that sync data across marketing and sales platforms in real-time (example: using Revlitix to unify reporting).
- Validate data periodically. Conduct audits to ensure tracking codes, pixels, and attribution models are working correctly.
By implementing a well-structured data infrastructure, you eliminate reporting inconsistencies and reduce the manual effort required to create accurate reports.
2. Data Isn’t Transparent or Trusted
The Problem:
Even when data is structured, GTM teams often struggle with credibility issues. If stakeholders can’t verify reports or access raw data, they start questioning insights, leading to endless back-and-forth discussions.
Some common issues include:
- Lack of visibility: Stakeholders cannot access raw data, making it hard to verify numbers.
- Unclear methodologies: If reports don’t explain how metrics are calculated, teams may not trust them.
- Discrepancies between reports: If one report shows different conversion rates from another, it sparks confusion and doubt.
This results in constant back-and-forth discussions, slowing down decision-making and creating friction between teams.
The Solution:
- Provide real-time access to underlying datasets. Instead of static reports, use dashboards that allow stakeholders to drill down into the numbers.
- Ensure clear documentation. Define how key metrics are calculated and standardize data definitions across departments.
- Adopt a ‘single source of truth.’ Use centralized data warehouses or platforms that aggregate all marketing performance data into one place (example: Revlitix, Looker, or Power BI).
- Encourage transparency. Instead of just presenting results, provide visibility into campaign performance trends and areas of improvement.
When stakeholders can verify data and understand where insights come from, trust is built, reducing unnecessary debates and fostering collaboration.
3. No Standardized Reporting Framework
The Problem:
Teams collect solid data but fail to structure their reporting processes. Instead of having a defined system for tracking and interpreting metrics, they create reports on an ad hoc basis. This leads to:
- Inconsistent KPIs: Different team members measure success differently.
- Excessive dashboard requests: Teams keep creating new dashboards instead of leveraging existing ones.
- Lack of alignment with sales and finance: When marketing reports don’t follow a standard format, it becomes difficult to sync with other departments.
Without a standardized reporting framework, marketing efforts become disconnected from business goals.
The Solution:
- Define a structured reporting cadence. Set a clear schedule for reporting (example: weekly performance reviews, monthly campaign deep dives, quarterly strategy reports).
- Standardize KPIs. Align on a consistent set of metrics that everyone in marketing, sales, and leadership teams understands.
- Use predefined report templates. Instead of starting from scratch every time, create templates for common reports (example: campaign performance reports, pipeline contribution reports, etc.).
- Limit unnecessary reports. Ensure that reports serve a clear purpose and avoid creating dashboards that won’t be actively used.
A standardized framework ensures consistency across teams, making it easier to track performance trends and optimize marketing strategies effectively.
4. Reporting Is Used for Validation, Not Strategy
The Problem:
Many marketing and Sales teams use reporting reactively rather than proactively. Instead of analyzing data to improve future campaigns, they focus on:
- Justifying past performance to leadership rather than identifying opportunities for optimization.
- Tweaking reports to make metrics look better, rather than addressing real issues.
- Focusing on vanity metrics (example: impressions and clicks) instead of actionable insights (example: cost per acquisition, conversion rates, revenue impact).
This approach limits marketing’s ability to make data-driven decisions and prevents teams from identifying bottlenecks or growth opportunities.
The Solution:
- Shift from validation to strategy. Encourage marketing teams to use reports for performance improvements rather than just proving success.
- Identify trends and insights. Look at patterns over time to understand what’s working and what needs adjustment.
- Make data-driven optimizations. Use analytics to test hypotheses, adjust campaigns, and improve efficiency.
- Integrate reporting into decision-making. Ensure that data insights are actively used in campaign planning and budgeting discussions.
By using reporting as a tool for continuous improvement, marketing and sales teams can drive meaningful business outcomes instead of just defending past performance.
5. Over-Focus on Data Perfection
The Problem:
No dataset is flawless. Yet, some teams become obsessed with perfecting data, which leads to:
- Delayed decision-making. Waiting for 100% accurate reports before taking action slows down agility.
- Paralysis by analysis. Teams get stuck in endless validation cycles, tweaking reports instead of executing campaigns.
- Missed real-time opportunities. Markets move fast—spending too much time perfecting reports means you may lose competitive advantages.
In fast-moving industries, waiting for perfect data can be more damaging than making decisions based on reasonably accurate insights.
The Solution:
- Accept that no data model is perfect. Instead of chasing absolute accuracy, focus on getting data to a level where it can support confident decision-making.
- Balance validation with execution. Set limits on how much time is spent verifying reports before acting on them.
- Prioritize agility. Ensure marketing teams can act quickly based on available insights rather than waiting for ‘perfect’ data.
Ultimately, marketing success isn’t just about reporting accuracy—it’s about taking action based on trusted insights.
How Revlitix Can Help Solve These Challenges
Revlitix is designed to address these common GTM reporting challenges by providing a centralized, AI-powered solution for data aggregation, analysis, and optimization. Here’s how Revlitix helps with each issue:
1. Fixing Poor Data Infrastructure
- Revlitix integrates data from multiple sources (Google Analytics, HubSpot, Salesforce, Meta Ads, LinkedIn Ads, etc.), ensuring consistency.
- It standardizes tracking and data structures, eliminating discrepancies between platforms.
- With automated data ingestion and normalization, manual report creation is eliminated.
2. Making Data Transparent and Trusted
- Provides a single source of truth by consolidating marketing and sales data into one dashboard.
- AI-driven audits help detect data inconsistencies and tracking errors, ensuring report accuracy.
- Stakeholders can validate reports using real-time drill-down capabilities.
3. Establishing a Standardized Reporting Framework
- Offers prebuilt and customizable reporting templates for campaign performance, pipeline contribution, and ROI tracking.
- Automates report generation, reducing unnecessary ad hoc requests.
- Ensures reporting consistency across marketing, sales, and executive teams.
4. Shifting Reporting from Validation to Strategy
- AI-driven root cause analysis helps identify trends, bottlenecks, and revenue opportunities.
- Provides predictive insights to guide future marketing strategies instead of just explaining past results.
- Custom alerts notify teams about significant performance deviations, allowing for proactive action.
5. Avoiding Over-Focus on Data Perfection
- Uses pattern recognition and AI Signals to surface key insights without requiring manual validation.
- Encourages real-time decision-making by providing actionable recommendations instead of just static reports.
- Reduces the time spent refining reports while maintaining data accuracy at a confidence level high enough for action.
Conclusion
Go-to-market (GTM) execution relies on clear, data-driven decision-making, yet too many teams are held back by reporting inefficiencies, fragmented data, and reactive analysis. Instead of spending time fixing inconsistencies and justifying past performance, GTM teams need insights that help them optimize pipeline generation, improve conversion rates, and accelerate revenue impact.
Revlitix eliminates these roadblocks by providing a unified reporting framework, AI-driven diagnostics, and real-time alerts—giving GTM teams the clarity they need to track funnel performance, identify bottlenecks, and make proactive decisions. With automated insights and standardized reporting, marketing, sales, and RevOps leaders can focus on executing faster and more effectively, rather than getting stuck in data reconciliation.
If reporting challenges are holding back your GTM strategy, it’s time to adopt a smarter approach. See how Revlitix can streamline your reporting and unlock better insights.
