New data from Mural reveals the challenges go-to-market teams face in meeting business objectives due to breakdowns in collaboration.
Mural, the leading visual collaboration platform, today announced the results of its 2025 Global Go-to-Market (GTM) Alignment Gap Index conducted in collaboration with market research firm The Martec Group. The global survey uncovered that GTM teams made up of sales, marketing, and research and development (R&D) departments are often working toward different goals. It also found that decision makers and individual contributors on those teams disagree on the root cause of misalignment.
GTM teams are increasingly pressured to get products to market faster with less budget and resources. Mural's survey uncovered that 85% of them feel confident about how they collaborate to accomplish that, but the same number frequently find that they are working toward different goals and objectives. That misalignment results in frustrated staff, wasted investment, and revenue forfeited to competitors who get their products to market first.
"Across industries and geographies, we see organizations eager to transform, full of fresh ideas and a drive for change. Yet the true test lies in keeping teams unified throughout the transformation journey, especially during critical go-to-market motions," said Leigh-Margaret Stull, CEO of Mural. "As companies accelerate these initiatives and bring new products, AI transformations and processes to market, misalignment can undermine progress. Our latest research reveals where go-to-market efforts hit the most friction and provides useful strategies to help teams align, move forward together, and realize their transformation goals."
Mural's survey also revealed additional challenges and trends impacting how GTM teams work together:
Collaboration breakdowns negatively impact revenue: 89% of respondents recognized direct revenue-related impacts including reduced customer retention, lower conversion rates, and slower time-to-market. 83% recognized indirect revenue-related impacts including siloed systems and processes, lower morale, increased frustration, and frequent "fire drills."
Decision makers are more likely to see poor strategy as a leading cause: Decision makers are twice as likely (43%) to attribute misalignment to a lack of clear strategy and goals compared to individual contributors (22%). Decision makers are also more than twice as likely to attribute it to unclear deadlines and priorities (24% vs 10%).
Sales and marketing teams share learning styles, yet still struggle to communicate: They're equally likely to learn best visually or through reading and writing (61%). However, they are also nearly equally likely to say that it is difficult to communicate clearly between teams (41% for sales, 43% for marketing).
Even with endless software options, GTM teams still collaborate in spreadsheets: Despite massive software investments that should eliminate the need for spreadsheets, 87% of individual contributors use them to collaborate. The same percentage also experience misalignment often either weekly or monthly.
"Our research shows it's not enough to just spend time meeting together," said Christina Bottis, CMO of Mural. "Teams must collaborate to reach alignment so they can drive faster GTM outcomes. That alignment requires intentional co-creation, well-defined methods, and the right platforms applied across the GTM team. Mural helps teams achieve this by creating the central source of truth from which decisions get buy-in and made."
Over half of Fortune 100 companies use Mural to plan and execute on their GTM strategies. Sales, marketing, and R&D teams use its AI-powered workspace to increase efficiency, boost productivity, and improve revenue.
View Mural's full 2025 Global Go-to-Market (GTM) Alignment Gap Index for additional survey insights and guidance on achieving GTM alignment.
About Mural
Mural is a leading visual collaboration platform for driving organizational transformation and accelerating go-to-market results. Powered by AI-enabled, interactive workspaces, Mural empowers businesses to reimagine processes, unlock new ideas, and achieve outcomes faster through proven methodologies and visual tools. Learn more at mural.co.
Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the U.S. and Europe by The Martec Group on behalf of Mural from March-April 2025. Participants included 350 global marketing, sales, and R&D professionals in multiple industries who work in organizations ranging from mid-sized businesses to enterprise companies. They were asked about their current GTM practices, collaboration tools, challenges faced, and perceived impacts of misalignment on business outcomes.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250528640360/en/
Contacts:
Media Contacts
Bill Theis, btheis@mural.co
mural@finnpartners.com
