Julia Payne, Fractional CMO,
Revenue Operations – or RevOps – are frequently touted as a ‘business growth engine’. But what exactly does RevOps strategy entail? And can this single change in operational governance really allow UK businesses to scale?
Challenging times
With inflation refusing to settle, wages and running costs high, and annual GDP forecasts cut to just 1.2% by the CBI, many firms are struggling to secure a prosperous future. Skills shortages are rising as global supply tensions, tariffs, and ransomware attacks – up 20% year-on-year according to the World Economic Forum – persist, making operating conditions even tougher.
Internal growth hurdles
It’s not just external conditions that determine outcomes, however.
Sales, marketing, and customer success teams have been running as separate machines for decades. Each department has its own priorities, tools, and targets, measuring success in ways that don’t always translate when responsibilities are passed on. Despite resulting in inefficient processes – and often, duplicate or contradictory efforts – companies have managed to scrape by on this relay approach, at least in the past.
In tougher times, however, continuing to conduct business in stages rather than in unison can prove fatal. Batons are easily dropped, accusations fly, and accountability disappears in the cut-throat culture so prevalent across commission-based roles. Customers recoil at the mixed messaging they receive from disharmonious teams, and employees fail to deliver the overarching revenue goals leaders strive for.
Introducing RevOps
That’s why 73% of companies now employ senior RevOps executives, according to research from Salesloft, seeking a smarter operating model that transforms disjointed functions into a single coordinated system designed to deliver efficient, streamlined growth.
RevOps rewires the machine, uniting all go-to-market teams around the same goals, data, and systems. Unclear processes are replaced with repeatable roads to success, with consistency in messaging and shared accountability across the company resulting in happier, retainable customers needed to inspire sustained business growth. It’s only when departments feed into the same mechanism, firing in sync, that it’s possible to drive real momentum.
So, how do RevOps work?
RevOps essentially rest on four interconnected pillars that drive the stability and agility needed for growth:
1) People: Shaping behaviours and culture so teams collaborate, not compete. Regular opportunities to discuss progress, celebrate wins, and address obstacles together are vital. No amount of procedural or technological change will work if culture isn’t addressed first.
2) Processes: Mapping the customer journey from initial awareness to after-sales behavioural patterns, allowing firms to identify pain points early on and build repeatable workflows to effectively address them. A practical way to begin is by sketching out the ideal journey and comparing this to reality. The gaps soon reveal where resources are misallocated and may be put to best use, protecting delicate satisfaction, loyalty, and profit margins.
3) Data: Establishing a single source of truth centred around validated, up-to-date data that everyone can work from. This drives informed decision-making and faster responses. With data centralised, forecasting improves dramatically, allowing firms to plan with confidence rather than guesswork.
4) Technology: Ensuring tools communicate fluidly to guarantee efficient, effective collaborations. Integrating existing systems – rather than replacing everything – facilitates faster, accessible change with minimal disruption, whilst automation of repetitive tasks frees up employees for higher-value work.
Far from a one-off fix, this shift must become a continual cycle of improvement. Leaders must monitor the consumer lifecycle, support alignment culturally, and review data, systems, and KPIs continually to achieve sustainable progress.
The elephant in the room
Most companies know silos hold them back – yet continue to tolerate them at significant cost. Contracts stall, onboarding slows, and customers drift, with products or services capable of succeeding in theory struggling to cut through – all due to a lack of remedial alignment.
If this sounds familiar, it may be time to join the majority reaping the rewards of RevOps, be it via internal expertise or external partnerships. Boston Consulting Group found that B2B tech firms generate up to 200% greater returns on their digital marketing, 10% more accepted leads, and 20% greater sales productivity, using RevOps. Meanwhile, Forrester reports revenue growth that’s almost three times faster for all kinds of firms, across all sectors.
With so much at stake, the question is not if you should invest in RevOps but how and when you will embrace it. At what point will you stop tolerating the inefficiencies holding you back and start building a model for real growth and resilience? If the CBI’s predictions of a 2026 rise are anything to go by – the sooner the better. Firms that embed RevOps now will be ready to capture recovery as inflation cools and real incomes rise. Those that don’t, however, risk still sitting in a sinking ship, mired in silos.
