Most B2B companies aren’t short on marketing activity. Content is going out, platforms are firing, campaigns are technically performing. But if you zoom out and ask the question that matters most—is marketing driving revenue?—The answer is often uncomfortable.
Not consistently. Not predictably. And not at the level a sales team needs to win.
It’s not about effort. It’s about alignment.
Marketing Wasn’t Always Asked to Deliver Pipeline
Many CMOs were hired for their ability to build brand, create awareness, and elevate positioning. And they did. But now they’re being asked to own something entirely different: revenue outcomes.
That shift in expectations has outpaced the systems supporting it. Instead of a unified go-to-market engine, companies are left with a gap between the story being told and the results being delivered. Marketing is running fast—but not always in sync with what sales actually needs.
And when that gap exists, revenue leaders start feeling the drag.
When Marketing Activity Doesn’t Translate to Revenue
You’ve likely seen the signs:
• Campaign performance looks strong, but the pipeline tells another story.
• Reports show rising engagement, but your sales team isn’t seeing it in their calendars.
• Marketing celebrates the quarter—while sales misses quota.
This isn’t about finger-pointing. It’s about recognizing a disconnect in how success is being measured and what the business actually needs.
Marketing can’t drive revenue if it’s not equipped to think, act, and operate like a revenue function.
What Alignment Actually Looks Like
Fixing this isn’t about replacing people—it’s about resetting expectations and re-engineering the flow between marketing and sales.
Revenue-aligned marketing leaders:
• Define success in terms of qualified pipeline, not just impressions
• Collaborate with sales on ICP, messaging, and conversion points
• Measure velocity and progression—not just volume and visibility
• Own their impact beyond the top of the funnel
When this happens, you stop seeing marketing as a separate initiative and start seeing it as an integrated engine that accelerates every part of your go-to-market system.
The System Is the Problem—Not the People
We’ve worked with companies where marketing was filled with smart, capable leaders who wanted to drive pipeline—but the structure wasn’t there.
They weren’t invited into revenue conversations. They didn’t have the data or tools to optimize for qualified leads. And they weren’t being measured on the same outcomes as sales.
This is where the breakdown happens. Not in talent—but in systems.
Fix the system, and those same leaders start hitting revenue goals fast.
Ready to Build a Revenue-Aligned Marketing Engine?
If you’re carrying a number and wondering why marketing still isn’t helping you hit it, don’t assume it’s a talent problem.
Ask whether your structure actually allows for marketing to own revenue.
Ask whether your GTM teams are aligned on what success really looks like.
Ask whether your systems make it easy—or hard—for marketing to deliver what sales needs.
If the answer isn’t clear, that’s where we come in.
At StringCan, we help teams connect the top of the funnel to real revenue outcomes—with strategy, structure, and accountability that flows across the organization.
Let’s turn your marketing team into your biggest growth lever. Contact us today.
Work Habits & Productivity
StringCan's Director of Client Services and Strategy, Steve DePuys, has a wealth of knowledge and experience in supporting entrepreneurs and businesses through exceptionally well planned strategy and thoughtful execution. Steve is an incredible teammate and mentor. You'll find him grilling, chilling on the golf course, wishing hockey was back in AZ, or absorbing some world history.
Jay, the CEO of StringCan, oversees strategy and vision, building culture that makes going into work something he looks forward to, recruiting additional awesome team members to help exceed clients goals, leading the team and allocating where StringCan invests time and money.
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