Where to Begin with a Revenue Operations Framework

Defining revenue operations (RevOps) may be the most challenging part of building a framework.

A precise definition may not be essential to success, but understanding how technology and revenue work together is. RevOps is about putting a repeatable growth plan in place so that revenue teams can teach, measure, improve, expand, and apply growth strategies to the full revenue cycle using specific tools that disseminate and synthesize revenue data. It means making data-driven decisions that enhance the customer experience.

So, what does it take to construct a framework?

What is a Revenue Operations Framework?

Before discussing the process of building a RevOps framework, it’s important to understand what RevOps is and the role it plays in organizations.

To start, RevOps is not: new, alignment, a fancy word for marketing ops. Instead, understand that RevOps translates strategy into tactics.

Alignment is a byproduct of RevOps but it is not the full story. RevOps is the Science of Revenue Growth. It is built through repeatable processes across revenue teams that teach, measure, improve, and apply growth strategies using tools that collect, synthesize, clean, and disseminate revenue data across these processes and teams. And it does it all in an organized and trustworthy manner.

RevOps focuses on growing operating revenue generated from the sale of goods or the provisioning of services before deducting expenses. The framework uses data analysis and automation to inform customer-facing processes in departments such as sales, marketing, and customer service. The goal is to create a repeatable process that maximizes revenue, improves operational efficiencies, and delivers superior buyer journeys.

Related: Applying Buyer’s Journey Stages to Content Marketing

Enhances Customer Experience

Today’s customers expect positive experiences when conducting business. Up to 89% of consumers will change brands after a negative experience. For the majority of respondents, customer experience determines brand loyalty.

Consumers expect a consistent experience regardless of the channel. According to Adobe, omnichannel is the dominant trend for 2023. Omnichannel buyers spend 4% more in-store and 10% online than single-channel shoppers.

However, a Shopify survey found breaking down silos between physical and digital stores was the most challenging factor for 49% of respondents. Integrating data from online, in-store, and operations was difficult for 47%. RevOps removes barriers to interdepartmental communication to establish end-to-end visibility.

All of these observations can be applied to a business context, of course. Consumers are not so dissimilar to B2B shoppers, despite different needs and purchasing paths.

Improves Operational Efficiencies

RevOps focuses on operational efficiencies in customer interactions. The emphasis is not to reduce costs, although that’s always a plus, but to address the customer’s expectation for fast service. Promptly responding to customers is a key performance indicator (KPI) for customer satisfaction.

The following statistics illustrate how crucial prompt responses are to customer satisfaction.

• 31% of customers expect a same-day response when using social media to contact a brand, while 25% do not expect a response.
• 83% expect to reach someone immediately.
• 40% see resolving an issue in one interaction as crucial to good customer experiences, and 38% believe talking to a knowledgeable representative is most important.
• 70% of consumers expect a same-day response from customer service

A framework helps identify processes that slow response times. It looks at technologies that can deliver faster, personalized service to improve revenue growth by assisting companies in meeting or exceeding expectations.

Maximizes Revenue Growth

RevOps analyzes go-to-market (GTM) processes. The framework establishes ways to collect data and evaluate performance. Collecting data from every channel highlights what is and is not working. Nor is increasing force in the sales cycle to push higher returns. Focusing on force results in higher operational costs, increased complexity, and a decrease in value to the customer.

Instead, organizations can refine revenue generation strategies through data collection and analysis, resulting in increased growth. The data-driven methods ensure sustained growth. The process maximizes the tech stack for sales, marketing, and customer service. It delivers a cohesive solution that exceeds customer expectations and generates revenue.

Frameworks are company-specific. They are based on an organization’s data and growth strategies; however, there are steps that every organization should follow to build an effective RevOps process.

Related: Value of a Data Management Platform Integration

How Does a RevOps Framework Work?

Frameworks identify the data needed to evaluate existing processes and establish how the data will be ingested, cleaned, and processed. The framework integrates the data with a company’s tech stack so all parties, regardless of department, can access the same information to deliver an authentic omnichannel experience. The tactics are continuously evaluated and refined to ensure sustainable growth.

The process highlights areas where automation can accelerate growth. With this information, businesses can implement solutions that improve response times while freeing GTM teams to address more customer-centric tasks.

How does RevOps accomplish this? Let’s examine how a framework supports cross-functional teamwork, provides data-driven insights, and integrates with a tech stack for automated processes that accelerate growth.

Supports Cross-Functional Teamwork

A RevOps framework collects data and ensures it is accessible to everyone. There’s no need to transfer customers to another department if everything is available to every representative.

For example, customers call their sales reps to complain about an error in a recent shipment. The sales reps can access the original sales order, what was pulled for the order, and what was shipped and listed on the bill of lading. The sales rep resolves the problem on the first contact.

Siloed systems separate data by department, so sales reps have yet to learn what happens once the sales order is placed. To answer the customer’s question, sales agents must call different departments to determine where the error occurred. The conversations take time and interrupt workflows. 

Coworkers may become defensive and think management will blame them for the error. The process creates friction with other employees and frustrates customers who must wait for a response.

Frameworks enable teams to collaborate at a strategic and tactical level. With everyone working from the same data, the entire revenue pipeline is visible, allowing for improved transparency and accountability, which are essential for a collaborative work environment.

Delivers Data-Driven Insights

RevOps is about taking data collected throughout the customer journey and using it to identify strengths and weaknesses. By learning what works and what doesn’t, companies can create playbooks for revenue growth.

For example, a company is releasing two product bundles. One bundle contains three different scented candles, and the second has five. After analyzing the data, marketing finds that 47% of shoppers ask about substituting a specific candle for one in the five-candle bundle.

The company looks at the profit margin for the original bundle and then at the margin with the substitution. Substituting the candle lowers the profit margin. The company creates a third bundle that includes the requested scent and increases the price to maintain its profit margin.

After 30 days, the company revisits the sales volume of the three bundles. The data indicates that the three-candle bundle maintained its sales volume, but the original five-candle package lost 20% of its sales. The higher-priced bundle was 45% of the total sales.

Tweaking the bundles met the customers’ expectations, increased sales, and maintained profit margins. A well-designed framework identifies key indicators to track to help companies make data-driven decisions to generate growth. 

Automates the Tech Stack

Tech stacks are tools that companies use to facilitate work. Sales teams have tools such as CRM and lead-tracking solutions, while marketing has tools to assess SEO and track site visits. Customer service uses call tracking software to determine wait times and time to resolution. These tools often operate in isolation, limiting the data’s value.

Let’s not think about RevOps as a person – it is a science. System/data automation is not only a tool for empowering better revenue growth but it is the elastic connective tissue of the RevOps model, which pulls data from multiple sources to deliver a cohesive understanding of the revenue stream. This approach optimizes tech stacks to automate processes. The goal is to create a repeatable process that is continuously monitored for improvement. Minor tweaks based on data insights often result in significant revenue growth.

Implementing a revenue operations framework begins with an assessment of a company’s revenue stream. The process analyzes enterprise-wide data to identify ways to maximize growth. It optimizes a tech stack and defines areas where automation can help.

Vertify’s RevOps Automation platform enables organizations to create frameworks that deliver reliable revenue growth. It optimizes existing technologies to enable data sharing and leverages automation for operational efficiencies.