From sales department to revenue engine

In many media organizations, departments operate in silos. Sales focuses on closing. Marketing (or promotions) generates leads or brand campaigns. Operations delivers. And no one often owns the post-sale relationship. That structure worked when media sold inventory, but not when you’re trying to build long-term advertiser value.”

Todd Handy is a growth architect and transformation strategist who’s helped reshape the digital media, AdTech and SaaS landscapes

Implementing the change

Diagnosing the problem is only half the battle. The real work, and the real opportunity, comes in implementing change.

The path to recurring, scalable media revenue is not just about new pricing models or packaging. It requires rethinking how your entire go-to-market (GTM) operation functions, from the first touchpoint with a prospect to long-term customer success. In SaaS companies, this system is called Revenue Operations (RevOps), and it aligns marketing, sales, customer success and operations under a shared playbook for growth.

Here’s how local media companies can begin building this system and driving real transformation.

GTM alignment + revenue operations for media

In many media organizations, departments operate in silos. Sales focuses on closing. Marketing (or promotions) generates leads or brand campaigns. Operations delivers. And no one often owns the post-sale relationship. That structure worked when media sold inventory, but not when you’re trying to build long-term advertiser value.

RevOps brings those teams together under a single strategy, tech stack, data model and set of KPIs. This requires:

• A single source of truth for advertiser data (CRM, order management system, lead to cash platform)
• Shared goals and definitions for acquisition, onboarding, retention and expansion
• Clear GTM ownership, someone who’s responsible for end-to-end revenue performance, not just sales

This is how you begin to operationalize customer success and recurring revenue, not as a side project, but as a core business function.

Customer success as a growth engine

In SaaS, Customer Success (CS) is not a support team; it’s a growth driver. Media companies must shift from reactive service (“we fulfilled the impressions”) to proactive success management:

• Every new advertiser is onboarded with clarity on goals and campaign performance metrics.
• Advertisers receive mid-flight check-ins and optimization guidance.
• A named CS contact becomes the go-to for retention, upsell and renewal strategy.
• Monthly/Quarterly Business Reviews (MBRs/QBRs) are implemented with advertisers to reinforce value, surface new needs and deepen relationships.

This motion reduces churn, increases LTV and shifts the media company from a vendor to a strategic partner.

Monthly packaging + MBRs/QBRs

Product packaging and customer cadence go hand-in-hand. You can’t run a recurring revenue model without recurring value. Here’s how to start:

• Repackage products into monthly programs that include always-on placements, rotating creative, branded content slots, performance reporting and access to audience insights.
• Introduce tiered options: Bronze/Silver/Gold or Starter/Growth/Pro — structured around outcomes and services.
• Launch MBRs/QBRs: Even a 15-minute monthly performance call can dramatically improve retention. For top spenders, QBRs are a must.

These touchpoints aren’t just about checking in; they’re opportunities to reinforce value and ROI, upsell new services and flag potential churn before it happens.

Change requires discipline

Implementing these changes isn’t about doing everything overnight. It’s about:

• Selecting one area to pilot (i.e., introduce MRR packaging in a single market, pilot a dedicated CS role for 10 key advertisers, track CAC for one product offering, etc.)
• Assigning GTM ownership
• Measuring progress with real SaaS KPIs
• Aligning teams with shared success metrics

SaaS companies didn’t master this model in a quarter. But they got there by starting small, aligning early and iterating fast.

Local media can do the same. With a modern GTM motion, recurring packaging and a real customer success function, any media company can reduce churn, grow advertiser LTV and build a more durable business.

In the final section, we’ll explore how this transformation fits into a broader dual transformation strategy, and what’s required to future-proof your business model long term. In the next article, we’ll look at how to apply this framework to build a recurring revenue engine and what it takes to operationalize it across your team. I’ll also lay out what you can do to begin building this system and driving real transformation.

Todd Handy is a growth architect and transformation strategist who’s helped reshape the digital media, AdTech and SaaS landscapes. He’s led revenue, marketing, customer success, operations and transformation for companies including Deseret Digital Media, Beasley Media Group, MarketStar and Tout. As founder of Disruptive Impact, he partners with companies to reinvent their business models using proven frameworks and dual transformation principles. A frequent keynote speaker and LMA board member, Todd offers fractional leadership and advisory services to drive measurable, recurring revenue growth. Reach him at todd@disruptiveimpact.co.