Builders Wanted

This episode features an interview with Grammarly’s Chief Marketing Officer, Lena Waters, and Eric Weber, Head of Data. Lena leads marketing strategy, focusing on delivering the brand promise to customers, driving demand for products, and growing revenue to scale the company.  Eric leads teams of data scientists and software engineers who are responsible for improving how to measure and iterate on the product to create the best communication assistant. In this episode, Kailey, Lena, and Eric discuss their collaborative approach to aligning business and customer priorities, the implications of a cookieless world on marketing attribution, and the balance of data insights and human judgment to drive meaningful customer experiences.-------------------Key Takeaways:Leaders should have a clear understanding and conviction about their business goals and use data to test and refine their hypotheses, instead of relying solely on data to dictate actions.The key to navigating a cookieless world is to focus on fundamental marketing principles and broader customer understanding, rather than obsessing over the loss of precise individual data.Creating a culture where leaders and team members feel empowered to make informed decisions ensures that teams leverage data effectively to drive meaningful business outcomes.-------------------“I think as leaders, we have to think about that decision-making environment that we're creating for our teams so that they do have the right resources, but we're not overloading them with false expectations of we have to try everything. We would drown. We're looking for, I think, clarity. We're not necessarily looking for everything.” – Lena Waters“You're going to have to have conviction and a hypothesis and a belief about what is true, and you should still use data to try to refute that or gather evidence against it. But, you're going to have many fewer situations where the data's going to be like, ‘Here's the path forward.’ Guess what? That's not going to happen. I think the more that we embrace that, we're going to be more successful in one or two years when a lot of this visibility is actually gone.” – Eric Weber-------------------Episode Timestamps:‍*(03:14) - How data and marketing work together at Grammarly*(05:30) - Trends impacting customer experience*(22:45) - How Grammarly is measuring effectiveness in a cookieless world*(29:13) - How marketers can address the overreliance on data and dashboards*(36:34) - How Grammarly is using AI*(43:32) - Lena and Eric’s advice for upleveling marketing and data strategies-------------------Links:Connect with Lena on LinkedInConnect with Eric on LinkedInConnect with Kailey on LinkedInLearn more about Caspian Studios-------------------SponsorGood Data, Better Marketing is brought to you by Twilio Segment. In today’s digital-first economy, being data-driven is no longer aspirational. It’s necessary. Find out why over 20,000 businesses trust Segment to enable personalized, consistent, real-time customer experiences by visiting Segment.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This episode features an interview with Robert Gash, Chief Consumer Commerce Officer at Hearst. Robert is a software and product development executive with extensive experience leading software development, product strategy, research, and design. Prior to joining Hearst, he served as VP of Engineering at Nurx and Symphony Commerce, and as the VP of Operations Technology at Grove Collaborative. In this episode, Kailey and Robert discuss strategies for making purchasing decisions easier for consumers, reducing informational friction, and how AI is redefining consumer experiences.-------------------Key Takeaways:Incremental improvements with AI can help to provide context and personalized recommendations to consumers.Recording as much contextual data as possible enables deeper insights and helps create a flexible and adaptive data strategy that can respond to evolving consumer needs.Marketers have to earn and maintain consumer trust by offering valuable and reliable guidance through transparent practices.-------------------“Everybody knows in commerce, the easier it is to purchase something, the higher your conversion rates typically are. But, that works mid funnel too. Going from moment of inspiration into lower funnel research and doing that as seamlessly as possible with fewer open tabs and fewer searches, maybe in the middle, is a key way we can play a real role in making that journey easier and faster for folks.” – Robert Gash-------------------Episode Timestamps:‍*(02:23) - Robert’s career journey*(07:36) - Trends impacting consumer experience*(13:37) - Hearst’s shoppable media model*(22:04) - AI in commerce*(32:16) - How Robert defines good data ‍*(38:34) - Robert’s advice for his younger self-------------------Links:Connect with Robert on LinkedInConnect with Kailey on LinkedInLearn more about Caspian Studios-------------------SponsorGood Data, Better Marketing is brought to you by Twilio Segment. In today’s digital-first economy, being data-driven is no longer aspirational. It’s necessary. Find out why over 20,000 businesses trust Segment to enable personalized, consistent, real-time customer experiences by visiting Segment.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In a fascinating discussion, Alex Levin, Co-founder and CEO of Regal.AI, dives into the future of contact centers by emphasizing the blend of AI and human interaction. He highlights the importance of creating personalized customer experiences, noting that human touch remains vital even in a digital-first world. Alex warns that up to 90% of contact center roles may shift to AI over the next decade. He also advocates for cross-functional collaboration to meet evolving market demands, ensuring organizations foster a customer-centric culture.

This episode features an interview with Des Cahill, Chief Marketing Officer at Tipalti. Des has served as CMO at multiple startups, such as Ensighten, Samepage and BridgeSpan, while also having successful experiences at companies like Apple and HP. Most recently, he drove global product marketing strategy for Oracle's Advertising & Customer Experience as Group Vice President.In this episode, Kailey and Des discuss the importance of foundational experiences and adapting to different company environments, crafting a solid messaging framework, and the evolving role of content marketing in the age of generative AI.-------------------Key Takeaways:A well-defined messaging framework is foundational, informing content across various channels such as websites, marketing collateral, sales pitches, and internal communications. Organizations can effectively tailor their communications and improve customer engagement through a phased approach to personalized marketing. Starting with a strong foundational messaging framework and then expanding it to specific personas and behaviors.Training AI tools like Grammarly to maintain brand tone and partnering with specialized AI vendors to leverage data in impactful ways can improve efficiency and ensure company communications remain aligned with brand messaging.-------------------“A lot of people think customer experience is about delighting the customer and I disagree. I think most of us, in our day-to-day lives, what we're trying to achieve is we're trying to get the information we want and we're trying to move on to the next thing. If you're marketing correctly, you've captured that signal, you've given them a message and you can always follow up with a nurture.” – Des Cahill-------------------Episode Timestamps:‍*(02:35) - Des’s career journey*(06:21) - Trends impacting customer experience*(12:02) - Personalization strategies*(22:24) - How Tipalti is building practical AI strategies‍*(35:04) - Des’s recommendations for upleveling customer experience strategies-------------------Links:Connect with Des on LinkedInConnect with Kailey on LinkedInLearn more about Caspian Studios-------------------SponsorGood Data, Better Marketing is brought to you by Twilio Segment. In today’s digital-first economy, being data-driven is no longer aspirational. It’s necessary. Find out why over 20,000 businesses trust Segment to enable personalized, consistent, real-time customer experiences by visiting Segment.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This episode features an interview with Jim Jackson, Executive Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer for Hewlett Packard Enterprise. He oversees all aspects of marketing for HPE with an emphasis on accelerating the digital transformation of the company to be the Edge-to-Cloud Platform-as-a-Service company. Jim has more than 25 years of IT industry experience and is passionate about the use of technology to inform a customer-centric, data-driven, and digital-first marketing approach across all areas of the business.In this episode, Kailey sits down with Jim (who subsequently announced his intention to retire from HPE at the end of October 2024) to discuss the importance of a customer-first approach, principles for responsible AI adoption, and implementing the right infrastructure for a seamless customer experience.-------------------Key Takeaways:Improving productivity and enhancing customer interactions requires extensive customer data and AI to create predictive models for targeted marketing.HPE follows core principles for ethical AI, focusing on privacy, human rights, inclusivity, responsibility, and robustness to guide their AI initiatives.Marketers can enhance customer experience through personalized, seamless interactions and leveraging real-time data for efficient communication across all touchpoints.-------------------“It's like going to the doctor's office and you fill out the forms and it's like, ‘Come on. It's a digital world, I should be able to give you all of this one time.’ At the end of the day, our enterprise customers want a lot of the consumer experience that they get in their daily lives. They want it more automated. They don't want to have to integrate multiple different ecosystem partners. They expect that the experience from HP will be as simple as their everyday lives.” – Jim Jackson-------------------Episode Timestamps:‍*(02:40) - Jim’s career journey*(05:49) - Trends impacting customer experience*(09:12) - HPE’s AI principles*(24:17) - Challenges on the customer engagement journey*(34:41) - Who Jim thinks is doing it right in terms of customer engagement‍*(39:25) - Jim’s recommendations for upleveling customer experience strategies-------------------Links:Connect with Jim on LinkedInConnect with Kailey on LinkedInLearn more about Caspian Studios-------------------SponsorGood Data, Better Marketing is brought to you by Twilio Segment. In today’s digital-first economy, being data-driven is no longer aspirational. It’s necessary. Find out why over 20,000 businesses trust Segment to enable personalized, consistent, real-time customer experiences by visiting Segment.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This episode features an interview with Dan Levi, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Clear Channel Outdoor. He leads the organization’s marketing strategy and connects brands and consumers through innovative advertising insights and solutions. Prior to joining Clear Channel Outdoor, Dan held positions at Captivate, Zoom Media, Monster Worldwide, and MTV. He has a proven track record of driving significant revenue growth, developing brands, and creating opportunities for B2B and B2C organizations.In this episode, Kailey and Dan discuss understanding consumer journeys, the role of out-of-home advertising in driving conversions, and the need for adaptability to optimize brand performance.-------------------Key Takeaways:Balancing technological advancements like AI with the inherently human aspect of marketing, ensures that relationships and trust with customers remain central to marketing strategies.With consumers now relying on digital tools for navigability, advertisers should consider journeys and audience behaviors rather than just proximity to locations. When out-of-home advertising is combined with other channels, marketers are able to drive performance, brand awareness, and direct conversions.-------------------“Advertising, especially one that is such a local business, people, relationships, they're really important. I think there is a very big risk in trying to move too fast to embrace automation in a way that undermines the strength that we have. Which is we have people on the ground, in our local markets, working with our customers.” – Dan Levi-------------------Episode Timetamps:‍*(02:49) - Dan’s career journey*(05:38) - Trends impacting customer experience*(21:05) - The role of AI in Clear Channel’s strategy *(30:21) - Challenges on the customer engagement journey*(35:33) - How Dan defines “good data”‍*(42:14) - Dan’s recommendations for upleveling customer experience strategies-------------------Links:Connect with Dan on LinkedInConnect with Kailey on LinkedInLearn more about Caspian Studios-------------------SponsorGood Data, Better Marketing is brought to you by Twilio Segment. In today’s digital-first economy, being data-driven is no longer aspirational. It’s necessary. Find out why over 20,000 businesses trust Segment to enable personalized, consistent, real-time customer experiences by visiting Segment.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This episode features an interview with Mark Boothe, Chief Marketing Officer at Domo. Previously, Mark spent more than a decade working in Customer Relations and Marketing at Adobe, and worked at Instructure as the Senior Director of Customer Marketing. At Domo, he is responsible for driving business growth through marketing initiatives.In this episode, Kailey sits down with Mark to discuss how community can improve LTV and your bottom line, the role of AI in ensuring customer data security and privacy, and the importance of listening to customer feedback.-------------------Key Takeaways:Investing in customer-centric initiatives like community engagement and customer success programs is pivotal to reducing churn.AI can provide quick insights to business users without requiring deep technical expertise, but it’s important to use data responsibly and securely to drive business decisions.Building a strong community is a critical element of the customer experience strategy.-------------------“At the end of the day, it all comes back to are your customers successful and are they getting value out of your product? I think that too often, not only marketers, but companies in general can get shortsighted by the sale. You get them to a deal and then you're good. No, that's when the real work actually happens.” – Mark Boothe-------------------Episode Timestamps:‍*(02:32) - Mark’s career journey*(07:36) - The importance of community in customer retention*(16:22) - Leveraging AI and data for business insights*(21:24) - Challenges in creating great customer experiences*(29:46) - How Mark defines “good data”‍*(35:10) - Mark’s recommendations for upleveling customer experience strategies-------------------Links:Connect with Mark on LinkedInConnect with Kailey on LinkedInLearn more about Caspian Studios-------------------SponsorGood Data, Better Marketing is brought to you by Twilio Segment. In today’s digital-first economy, being data-driven is no longer aspirational. It’s necessary. Find out why over 20,000 businesses trust Segment to enable personalized, consistent, real-time customer experiences by visiting Segment.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This episode features an interview with Tom Studdert, Senior Vice President of Customer Experience at Payscale. Tom has extensive experience in customer experience, education, and leadership development. Prior to Payscale, he held leadership roles at ZoomInfo and DiscoverOrg, overseeing customer onboarding, education, support, and employee training. Tom also worked in higher education at Texas Christian University and University of Southern California, focusing on student development and orientation programs.In this episode, Kailey and Tom discuss parallels between education and customer experience, mapping the customer journey and maturity curve, and strategies for measuring adoption.-------------------Key Takeaways:Mapping the customer journey can reveal gaps and opportunities for enhancing the customer experience, leading to better retention and satisfaction.AI and other technologies can provide tailored experiences and support, thereby meeting customers' demands for immediate and personalized help.Making informed decisions requires various data sets to drive customer experience strategies and effective outcomes for customers.-------------------“That individual experience of that customer are how I think we're going to meet the needs of each customer. As opposed to just saying, ‘We offer a best-in-class customer experience.’ We do, but we offer a best-in-class customer experience for this customer, which is different from this customer, which is different from this customer.” – Tom Studdert-------------------Episode Timestamps:‍*(02:18) - Tom’s career journey*(04:21) - Trends impacting customer experience*(13:29) - Mapping the customer journey and maturity curve*(19:59) - How Tom defines “good data”*(27:00) -  Strategies for measuring adoption‍*(39:50) - Tom’s recommendations for upleveling customer experience strategies-------------------Links:Connect with Tom on LinkedInConnect with Kailey on LinkedInLearn more about Caspian Studios-------------------SponsorGood Data, Better Marketing is brought to you by Twilio Segment. In today’s digital-first economy, being data-driven is no longer aspirational. It’s necessary. Find out why over 20,000 businesses trust Segment to enable personalized, consistent, real-time customer experiences by visiting Segment.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This episode features an interview with Gino Palozzi, Chief Marketing Officer at DailyPay. Gino is a B2B marketing executive with experience in developing go-to-market strategies and leading transformation across organizations – both large and small. Prior to DailyPay, he led marketing for software and services divisions at Dun & Bradstreet, g2o, Cisco, and IBM.In this episode, Kailey sits down with Gino to discuss process over technology, who should be setting AI guidelines, and why B2B is becoming more like B2C.-------------------Key Takeaways:Effective marketing starts with detailed customer insights and a clear mapping of their decision-making processes.Successful data and tech implementation must be preceded by well-defined processes. Without the foundational process, technology alone cannot resolve data integrity issues.If you over-govern new technologies, you’re stifling innovation. Instead, gather insights from practical uses of data to understand customer needs and tailor services better.-------------------“Certain groups and people came in and said, ‘Oh yeah, all this [AI] is normal to me. This is how I grew up in front of a screen or with the internet.’ Why have folks that aren't as comfortable setting these governances in place that are going to restrict the possibilities? It's more of the governance and the processes of what to do and not to do.” – Gino Palozzi-------------------Episode Timestamps:‍*(02:23) - Gino’s career journey*(08:50) - Trends impacting customer experience*(20:48) - How marketers can avoid overbuilding AI processes *(25:17) - How Gino defines “good data”‍*(34:53) - Gino’s recommendations for upleveling customer experience strategies-------------------Links:Connect with Gino on LinkedInConnect with Kailey on LinkedInLearn more about Caspian Studios-------------------SponsorGood Data, Better Marketing is brought to you by Twilio Segment. In today’s digital-first economy, being data-driven is no longer aspirational. It’s necessary. Find out why over 20,000 businesses trust Segment to enable personalized, consistent, real-time customer experiences by visiting Segment.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This episode features an interview with Guneet Singh, Vice President of Customer Experience and Care at AppFolio. Prior to AppFolio, Guneet built customer experience, research operations, and business transformation functions to enable scale and meet the hyper-growth needs of companies like DocuSign, GE, and ADP. Today, he leads AppFolio’s CX strategy, building and driving sustainable experiences for consumers and businesses by accelerating value realization.In this episode, Kailey and Guneet discuss the role of customer experience in an organization, implementing effective feedback loops, and balancing AI and human interaction.-------------------Key Takeaways:We can use AI to provide instant resolutions to customers. In turn, freeing up agents to have meaningful and empathetic interactions with customers.However, AI isn't a magic tool. You have to understand which tasks are low risk enough to automate and grow from there.AI also allows customers to get support through LLMs while your agents create emotional connections with customers.-------------------“Same agent who was going to provide that instant resolution to the customer now is free or is available to now drive more empathy on the high complex or high painful experience. There are tasks which are highly emotional because we don't give our agents enough time to show empathy or to engage in a very emotional way with the customer. You're creating the time for them.” – Guneet Singh-------------------Episode Timetamps:‍*(02:51) - Guneet’s career journey*(07:14) - Trends impacting customer experience*(18:33) - The role of customer experience in an organization*(24:12) - Balancing AI and human interaction*(41:17) - How Guneet defines “good data”‍*(46:24) - Guneet’s recommendations for upleveling customer experience strategies-------------------Links:Connect with Guneet on LinkedInConnect with Kailey on LinkedInLearn more about Caspian Studios-------------------SponsorGood Data, Better Marketing is brought to you by Twilio Segment. In today’s digital-first economy, being data-driven is no longer aspirational. It’s necessary. Find out why over 20,000 businesses trust Segment to enable personalized, consistent, real-time customer experiences by visiting Segment.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.