So, you’re shopping for a go to market (GTM) platform. Maybe your team's tired of duct-taping together spreadsheets, CRM tools, and a half-dozen Slack channels. Or maybe your current platform is more sizzle than steak. Either way, this guide’s for you—no fluff, just what matters.
Below, I’ll walk through the must-have features in a GTM platform, what’s mostly noise, and how Velaris stacks up in the real world. Whether you’re in sales, product, or customer success, you’ll get a clear sense of what you need (and what you don’t).
Who Actually Needs a GTM Platform?
First off: not everyone. GTM platforms are built for teams who need to move beyond just tracking leads—they want to nail handoffs, spot churn risks, and actually see what’s working. If you’re still in founder-led sales, a notebook and a decent CRM might be all you need.
But if your company is:
- Selling to multiple customer segments
- Coordinating sales, marketing, and CS
- Repeatedly missing out on expansion or renewal opportunities
- Struggling to get a clear view of pipeline or customer health
…then it’s time to get serious about your tools.
1. Unified Customer View (Don’t Settle for Less)
What matters:
You want a single place to see everything about a customer: interactions, contracts, support tickets, usage data, and upcoming renewals. If your GTM platform can’t give you this, you’re already on the back foot.
- Why it matters: Scattered info = dropped balls.
- What to avoid: Platforms that just layer a new UI on top of your CRM without actually pulling in all the data.
How Velaris does it:
Velaris pulls together data from CRM, help desk, product analytics, and more—so you’re not bouncing between tabs. The “Customer 360” view isn’t just a buzzword; it’s actually useful. You see timelines, health scores, and account notes in one spot.
Honest take:
No tool gets this perfect, especially if your source data is a mess. But you shouldn’t have to play detective every time a customer calls.
2. Playbooks and Workflows (Automate the Repetitive Stuff)
What matters:
Look for customizable playbooks or workflows that fit your sales, onboarding, and renewal motions. You want to automate reminders, tasks, and follow-ups—so things don’t slip through the cracks.
- Why it matters: Manual processes are fine until you start dropping the ball (and you will).
- What to avoid: Platforms that lock you into “their way” of doing things, or require a consultant for every change.
How Velaris does it:
Velaris lets you create playbooks for common tasks—onboarding, QBRs, renewal sequences, etc. You can tweak them as you learn what works (and what doesn’t). It’s drag-and-drop, not an IT project.
Honest take:
Automations can go off the rails if you overdo it. Use them to handle the boring stuff, not to spam your customers.
3. Reporting That Doesn’t Suck
What matters:
You need to see what’s working—without spending days in Excel or begging Ops for a custom report. Good GTM platforms give you dashboards, pipeline views, and churn/expansion tracking out of the box.
- Why it matters: If you can’t measure it, you can’t fix it.
- What to avoid: Tools that bury reporting behind paywalls or force you to export everything to CSV.
How Velaris does it:
Velaris offers pre-built dashboards for pipeline, renewals, churn, and more. You can slice and dice data by segment, owner, or product. And, crucially, you can build custom reports without needing a data science degree.
Honest take:
No report will make a bad process look good. Start with the basics: churn, expansion, time-to-close. Get fancy later if you need to.
4. Collaboration Without the Chaos
What matters:
Your sales, CS, and product teams need to share notes, tag each other, and keep everyone on the same page—without endless email threads or Slack noise.
- Why it matters: Missed context = missed opportunities.
- What to avoid: Tools that treat collaboration as an afterthought, or try to replace Slack entirely (it won’t work).
How Velaris does it:
Velaris bakes in comments, mentions, and shared notes. You can pull in product feedback and assign follow-ups without leaving the platform.
Honest take:
Don’t expect any GTM platform to magically fix communication problems. It’s a tool, not a team therapist.
5. Integrations That Actually Integrate
What matters:
A GTM platform is only as good as its connections. It should sync with your CRM, support tools, product analytics, and whatever else you rely on.
- Why it matters: If you can’t trust the data in your GTM platform, you’ll ignore it.
- What to avoid: Platforms that promise “easy integrations” but really mean “call our support team.”
How Velaris does it:
Velaris has native integrations with major CRMs (Salesforce, HubSpot), support (Zendesk, Intercom), and usage analytics (Mixpanel, Segment). Setup is straightforward, and their docs don’t assume you’re a developer.
Honest take:
Integrations are never truly “set and forget.” Plan for a little wrangling, but you shouldn’t need a full-time admin just to keep things synced.
6. Real Customer Health Scoring
What matters:
Health scores should be more than just “did they log in this week.” Look for platforms where you can define what “healthy” means for your business—mixing usage, contract status, support activity, and NPS.
- Why it matters: A fake health score is worse than none at all.
- What to avoid: Black-box scores you can’t customize or understand.
How Velaris does it:
Velaris lets you build health scores using your own criteria—weighting product usage, support tickets, engagement, and more. You can see the inputs, adjust the formulas, and actually trust the results.
Honest take:
Don’t obsess over the perfect health model on day one. Start simple, get feedback, and tweak as you go.
7. Permissions and Data Privacy (Don’t Sleep on This)
What matters:
You need to control who sees what—especially if you’re handling sensitive customer data or working with partners.
- Why it matters: Accidental leaks are a real risk, especially as your team grows.
- What to avoid: Platforms with “all or nothing” access, or ones that treat security as an afterthought.
How Velaris does it:
Velaris gives you granular permissions: by role, team, or even down to the field level. Audit logs let you see who did what. They’re not flashy about it, but it’s there.
Honest take:
Boring? Maybe. But it’ll save your bacon when someone asks who had access to that customer list.
8. Pricing and Vendor Transparency
What matters:
You want pricing that’s clear, without surprise “implementation fees” or forced upgrades for basic features.
- Why it matters: Budget creep kills a lot of good software relationships.
- What to avoid: Tools that hide pricing behind a sales call or nickel-and-dime you for essentials.
How Velaris does it:
Velaris lists transparent pricing on their site, with clear tiers. Most core features are included, without a lot of gotchas. You can start small and add as you grow.
Honest take:
Always ask for a real demo with your own data. If the sales process feels slippery, walk away.
Features That Are Usually Overhyped
A quick note on what doesn’t matter for most teams:
- AI everywhere. Automated insights sound cool, but if your data’s messy, it’s just more noise.
- Widgets and dashboards galore. Flashy UI doesn’t fix broken process.
- “All-in-one” promises. Most platforms are good at a few things. Don’t expect them to replace your CRM, help desk, and analytics in one go.
Focus on what makes your team’s job easier and your customers happier. Ignore the rest.
Keep It Simple, Iterate Fast
There’s no perfect GTM platform—just the one that fits your actual workflow, not your aspirational one. Here’s how to move forward:
- List your real pain points first (not just “nice to haves”).
- Demo with your own data if you can.
- Start with the basics, then build up.
- Don’t be afraid to tweak or even switch tools if things change.
Velaris checks a lot of the boxes without overselling itself. But, as always, test it for yourself and see if it solves more problems than it creates.
You don’t need a “digital transformation.” You just need tools that get out of your way so you can do your job. That’s it.