Fragmented Tools, Fractured Teams: The Hidden Harms of Siloed Misalignment

The tools that sales and marketing teams rely on for their specific uses and operations don’t always communicate seamlessly — unless, of course, you have one of those all-in-one software like Marketing Manager that’s designed to do exactly that.

Recent research by Unbounce and Ascend2 found that almost 1 in 10 GTM professionals say they work in largely siloed operations. 

“Just over half of GTM professionals (56%) describe their organizations as highly aligned, operating as a unified system with shared goals and shared data,” says the report, titled The Anatomy of Aligned Go-To-Market Teams. “But even for the highly aligned, improving or maintaining cross-team connectivity is an ongoing effort.”

More than a quarter of those surveyed said pool sales/marketing alignment has led to lower morale or frustration (29%), lost opportunities or wins (28%), inconsistent lead follow-up (28%), or duplicated work and wasted resources (26%). For 53% of those surveyed, the challenge stems from operational issues associated with workflows or tools.

(Source: Unbounce)

“Operational barriers associated with tools and workflows are reportedly the most pervasive issues preventing team alignment,” the report says. “ 

“While operational issues rank at the top for both marketing and sales, disjointed tools and workflows seem to be more of a problem for marketing teams,” the report says of the 58% of marketers and only 48% of sales professionals who blamed operational issues. “Marketers are also significantly more likely to feel that goal and incentive issues (48% vs 38%) as well as cultural issues (46% vs 36%) are main drivers of misalignment.”

Across both departments, 31% believe a CRM has the most potential to create alignment, with 31% also believing in reporting and analytics tools and 30% in collaborative or project management tools. Looking forward, 44% said data integration and AI-driven insights will be most critical for improving performance over the next year, with 40% pointing to marketing automation.

“Over half (56%) of GTM teams report tech budget increases over the past year,” the report says. “While companies are simplifying and streamlining their tools, they’re still investing in platforms that drive efficiency, data quality, and cross-team alignment.”

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