MOVE

Veteran marketers Vajre and Brown, both executives at software company Terminus, contend that “go-to-market” functions—the work of marketing, sales, and customer service teams—would find greater success if they were aligned and treated as a single, interconnected department. They further argue that this department should be personally overseen by the CEO, as it could guide a company’s overall strategy. They address three consecutive stages of corporate evolution—ideation, transition, and execution—and offer examples of how their MOVE framework (an acronym for market, operations, velocity, and expansion) can be applied to each phase. The book also includes sample rubrics for assessing how well a company is meeting its go-to-market goals, tailored to the varied demands of the different stages. The authors offer concrete advice for making strategic decisions about hiring, approaching potential customers, and turning current customers into recurring sources of revenue. The book’s format can be repetitive at times; for instance, the “six truths about GTM that will make your head spin” appear in the text, in a separate graphic at the end of the same section, and in the text again on the page following the graphic. The pages of recommended podcast episodes and influencers, while informative, result in ancillary material making up a substantial portion of the book. However, the main text is cohesive and educational, and it does an excellent job of explaining why companies should consider implementing the titular framework. Vajre and Brown also define their terminology clearly, and although the book is somewhat heavy on business jargon, it will be comprehensible to laypeople.