In a rapidly evolving commercial landscape, executives express confidence in their go-to-market (GTM) strategies, yet many lack confidence in the data and insights that build them. This paradox emerged as a central theme in SBI’s latest invite-only CEO and CRO Growth Forums. Where top executives candidly discussed the challenges of data reliability, AI adoption, and tech stack optimization. Coupled with the insights from SBI’s latest CEO Value Creation Pulse Report, one thing is clear: organizations must prioritize a strong data foundation if they want to fully leverage AI and optimize their strategies for success.
If you’re an executive interested in joining a future growth forum, request your invite here.
Despite significant investments in GTM strategies, less than half of CEOs express confidence in their data and insights. If organizations lack reliable data, they may lag in response to market shifts, emerging customer needs, or opportunity triggers. As one CEO noted, “What am I not doing that will impact my growth rate because others are capturing it faster?"
For CROs, frustration with poor foundational data is even more pronounced. Traditional data sources often fail to deliver the insights needed to drive sales efficiency, making it difficult to measure ROI or optimize commercial motions. Instead of attempting to overhaul the entire database, executives emphasized focusing on a few core metrics to build a better data foundation and scale AI use cases effectively.
Organizations are eager to leverage AI for commercial productivity, yet in many cases AI maturity is further along in product development than in GTM functions. Most companies are still in the experimental phase, with only a subset achieving mid-level maturity of AI integration.
A lack of clear use cases and lack of learning mindsets are major barriers to progression. AI is beginning to yield benefits at the management level for decision-making, but organizations have yet to provide meaningful advantages for frontline reps. A clear articulation of “what’s in it for me” is required for broader adoption across the general employee population.
While AI tools can enhance data hygiene and streamline decision-making, organizations struggle to scale AI-driven initiative beyond forecasting and sales enablement. Leading companies are beginning to treat AI as a strategic imperative rather than an experiment, but progress remains inconsistent.
To unlock AI’s full potential, organizations must first invest in data integrity and infrastructure. Advanced AI solutions are emerging to clean and validate data in real time, allowing companies to improve forecasting accuracy, refine customer segmentation, and optimize strategies.
Another major hurdle to adopting new technology is the hesitation to integrate AI solutions until companies see ROI from their existing tech stack. This approach can lead to stagnation, where organizations delay critical innovation that could unlock future value. Many organizations struggle to move beyond fragmented systems and legacy processes. Performing a tech stack assessment on your current tech stack can help eliminate redundancies, identify where true value is being derived.
If you’re interested in a tech stack assessment, SBI can help. Request a tech stack assessment with our RevOps experts here.
The key is to view AI and revenue technology investments as catalysts for systematic GTM improvements rather than one-off tools. When evaluating your tech stack, executives should focus on:
Data confidence fuels AI success, and AI maturity plays a key role in GTM efficiency. The executives in SBI’s Growth Forums recognize the urgent need to improve data quality and identify and scale AI use cases.
For organizations ready to take action, the priority must be investing in data driven strategies, AI-enabled insights, and commercial execution frameworks that drive predictable growth. Those who make these changes now will be accelerating past the competition and driving long-term differentiation and success.
For deeper insights, review SBI’s latest CEO Value Creation Pulse Report.