If there was an award given out each decade for the word that had the most impact on the marketing and sales industry, “RevOps” would be the early runaway favorite for the 2020-2030 crown.
(note the word ‘RevOps’ taking off here in mid-2020)
Although the concept of revenue operations is not necessarily new, the word RevOps, and how companies are choosing to approach the subject, are. This has resulted in confusion around the definition (we got you covered in the next section!), who should be investing in RevOps, and when it should be occurring.
If you’re #RevOpsCurious, then stick around for some insights into how the size of a company can dictate the usefulness of RevOps and what some benefits and potential downsides are.
Before we dive headlong into investing in RevOps, it’s worth going over what it is. Here’s a good place to start, or here, or if you dig conversations with ChatGPT, here.
If you don't feel like clicking link after link, then the TL;DR version is that RevOps is the science of sustainable revenue growth (i.e. not just growing revenue, but doing it in a repeatable and dependable fashion). It's almost always associated with the concept of cross-functional support, or breaking down silos between marketing, sales, and CS teams. This, in turn, provides a more unified approach on how a company will achieve its goals.
Obviously, not all companies are the same size, have the same needs, or are in the same financial positions. While RevOps can really be adopted at any stage of a company, the need for more complex RevOps processes increases in conjunction with the size of a company. Meaning, when a start-up invests in RevOps it will look a lot different than when a mid-market does (or at least it should!)
Start-ups are where high growth potential and limited resources meet. They are also an embodiment of dichotomy as many of them will crash and burn, while others will become the next Twitter.
Because start-ups can’t afford a lot of mistakes or inefficiency early on, the ability of RevOps to optimize revenue generation through the alignment of sales, marketing, and customer success is key. The result of this is teams working towards common revenue goals and streamlined processes (no bottlenecks) to improve revenue performance.
Another advantage of implementing RevOps for start-ups is scalability. RevOps provides start-ups with scalable processes for revenue operations and systems that can support their growth trajectory. This enables start-ups to efficiently scale their business operations as they expand, ensuring that their ability to maximize revenue can keep up with their business growth.
The bottom line is that start-ups need to grow, which means customer retention and loyalty are key. In fact, according to a study by Harvard Business School, repeat customers spend 33% more than new customers. Also, a 5% increase in customer retention rates can boost profits by 25% to 95%.
To address these needs, RevOps emphasizes understanding customer preferences and behaviors, and tailoring sales and marketing efforts accordingly. In addition, understanding customers on a deeper level allows start-ups to align their revenue operations with customer needs, resulting in more effective sales and marketing strategies.
One of the downsides of RevOps implementation is the upfront cost. Start-ups may need to invest in technology, tools, and resources to establish RevOps processes, which can add to their expenses.
While change can often be a good thing, that doesn't necessarily mean people will welcome it. Case in point: RevOps implementation may require changes to existing processes and workflows, which can be disruptive and require effort in managing the transition. It may take time for teams to adjust to the new RevOps approach, and proper change management strategies may need to be in place to ensure smooth adoption and minimize any potential disruptions.
While RevOps can simplify and streamline your processes, that doesn't mean it’s simple to set up and maintain. RevOps may require dedicated resources and expertise to effectively align sales, marketing, and customer success teams, which can strain the resources of already resource-constrained start-ups. Allocating the right personnel and expertise to implement and manage RevOps will require careful planning and resource allocation.
Training and education may be needed to familiarize teams with the new RevOps processes, tools, and strategies, which can have an initial impact on productivity. However, with proper training and support, this learning curve can be mitigated over time.
SMBs can be a mixed bag. They face a lot of challenges, namely limited resources, tighter budgets, and increased competition; however, they benefit from greater flexibility and agility compared to larger enterprises.
The concept of aligning sales, marketing, and customer success teams towards common revenue goals is going to be a benefit at any stage of company growth. So, as with start-ups, ensuring that all departments are working together towards a shared vision and strategy for revenue growth is a huge positive for SMBs.
RevOps implementation can provide SMBs with better visibility into revenue operations data and access to data-driven insights and analytics. This then allows them to make more informed decisions about their revenue operations, identify trends, and optimize strategies for better revenue performance.
Is it too early? RevOps is often most effective for businesses that have reached a certain level of maturity and scale. SMBs in the early stages of their business journey may have different priorities and may not fully benefit from RevOps until they have established a solid foundation in terms of sales, marketing, and customer success processes.
RevOps often involves leveraging automation and technology to streamline and optimize revenue operations. However, over-automation can easily lead to impersonalization, reduced customer satisfaction, and loss of authenticity. SMBs should be mindful of finding the right balance between automation and human interaction.
For many, this level is a sign that a company has “made it”, as mid-market companies generally have an annual revenue ranging from tens of millions to billions of dollars, and hundreds to thousands of employees. These companies are marked by a certain level of market presence and operational maturity.
RevOps allows mid-market businesses to quickly adapt to market changes and customer preferences. With the ability to analyze data and gain insights in real-time, mid-market businesses can make agile adjustments to their sales and marketing strategies, pricing, and product offerings. This agility enables them to respond swiftly to changing market dynamics, stay competitive, and seize new opportunities.
Personalization FTW! RevOps enables mid-market businesses to analyze customer data and gain insights into customer preferences, behaviors, and buying patterns. With this information, mid-market businesses can tailor their sales strategies to meet specific customer needs, preferences, and pain points. This approach to sales can result in higher customer engagement, improved sales conversion rates, and a competitive advantage over businesses with generic sales strategies.
RevOps can be complex and challenging to implement, especially for mid-market businesses with limited organizational structure and capacity. It may require significant changes to existing processes and systems, which can disrupt operations and create additional complexities.
You may have the best tools in the world, and your processes may be perfectly crafted, but without adoption, you have nothing. RevOps often involves implementing new technologies, such as CRM systems, marketing automation tools, and analytics platforms. Mid-market businesses may face challenges with technology adoption, such as budget constraints, lack of IT resources, or resistance to change, which can hinder the successful implementation of RevOps.
The big daddy. Enterprise companies are characterized by their financial capital, technological infrastructure, and large workforce. They often have well-established processes, systems, and departments for various functions, such as sales, marketing, human resources, finance, and operations. By the time a company reaches this level, they should already be investing in RevOps.
Here are a few advanced features of RevOps that would be key in guiding a company to the enterprise level:
Enterprise companies often adopt an ABM strategy to target and engage key accounts. RevOps features that support ABM, such as personalized messaging, targeted campaigns, and account-based analytics, can help companies effectively execute their ABM strategy and drive revenue from strategic accounts.
Key RevOps features that support localization and globalization include things such as language localization, regional targeting, and currency conversions. This can help enterprise companies effectively cater to diverse markets and regions, and drive revenue growth globally.
RevOps features that offer robust security measures, data encryption, and compliance functionalities can help companies ensure that their revenue operations processes are compliant with regulations and protect sensitive customer data, which is crucial for maintaining customer trust and safeguarding the company's reputation.
Contract management, partner portal, and collaboration tools can help companies efficiently manage their vendor and partner relationships, optimize partnerships, and drive revenue growth.
For investment in RevOps…
When it comes to the size of the company…
Whether it be unique challenges, or the benefits and risks of RevOps….
Depending on the stage of the company.
Now…
Should all companies invest in RevOps?