The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström®: Expert Mode Marketing Technology, AI, & CX

We are here at Medallia Experience 2024 at the Wynn in Las Vegas and there’s a lot of exciting announcements we’ve been seeing, plus a chance to hear from leaders at Medallia as well as their customers about where the world of customer experience is heading.One brand that is presenting here, and who I’m excited to introduce in a second here, is from CVS, a brand that serves over 120 million customers, including over 55 million digital customers, and to illustrate their reach, 85% of the US population lives within 10 miles of a CVS Health location.Today we’re going to talk about igniting customer-centricity by personalizing, simplifying the customer experience, and empowering employees to do amazing work.To help me discuss this topic, I’d like to welcome Sri Narasimhan, Vice President, Head of Enterprise Customer Experience at CVS Health.ResourcesSign up for The Agile Brand newsletter here: https://www.gregkihlstrom.comGet the latest news and updates on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-brand/For consulting on marketing technology, customer experience, and more visit GK5A: https://www.gk5a.comCheck out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.comThe Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems. Learn more here: https://www.teksystems.com/versionnextnowThe Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.companyLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In an increasingly data-driven world, modern brands have been forced to adapt to keep pace with the changes in the market, including one of the most significant areas of focus - which is customer data management.There are several reasons for this, from customers’ expectations of more personalizaed experiences to the impending deprecation of third-party cookies and the increasing emphasis on consumer data privacy.Today we’re going to talk about what it really means to understand your customers better using your data, and what do do as you build out your first-party data strategy.To help me discuss this topic, I’d like to welcome Heidi Bullock, CMO at Tealium, and author of the foreword for The Agile Brand Guide to Customer Data Platforms, 2024 Edition, available soon!ResourcesTealium website: https://www.tealium.comSign up for The Agile Brand newsletter here: https://www.gregkihlstrom.comGet the latest news and updates on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-brand/Check out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.comThe Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems. Learn more here: https://www.teksystems.com/versionnextnowThe Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.companyLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We are here at Medallia Experience 2024 at the Wynn in Las Vegas and there’s a lot of exciting announcements we’ve been seeing, plus a chance to hear from leaders at Medallia – like my guest today - as well as their customers about where the world of customer experience is heading.Today we’re going to talk about what it means to be a leader in customer experience and what trends and innovations CX leaders and leading brands need to understand to keep their competitive edge.To help me discuss this topic, I’d like to welcome Joe Tyrrell, CEO at Medallia.ResourcesMedallia website: https://www.medallia.com Sign up for The Agile Brand newsletter here: https://www.gregkihlstrom.comGet the latest news and updates on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-brand/For consulting on marketing technology, customer experience, and more visit GK5A: https://www.gk5a.comCheck out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.comThe Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems. Learn more here: https://www.teksystems.com/versionnextnowThe Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.companyLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

eTail West in Palm Springs, CA is coming up in a few weeks and I’m excited to be attending as well as moderating a panel there. To get ready for the event, I have invited the two event directors here today, and we’re going to talk about some of the top trends for retailers to watch out for and certainly topics that will be discussed in much detail at the conference.To help me discuss this topic, I’d like to welcome Kristin Schoenstein and Elizabeth Robillard from Worldwide Business Research and event directors of eTail Palm Springs, February 26-29 in Palm Springs, CA.ResourcesLearn more and Register for eTail West, February 26-29 in Palm Springs, CA: https://etailwest.wbresearch.com/Worldwide Business Research: https://wbresearch.com/Sign up for The Agile Brand newsletter here: https://www.gregkihlstrom.comGet the latest news and updates on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-brand/For consulting on marketing technology, customer experience, and more visit GK5A: https://www.gk5a.comCheck out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.comThe Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems. Learn more here: https://www.teksystems.com/versionnextnowThe Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.companyLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As marketers, there is a lot to keep up with. From trends like generative AI to platforms and methods, and new channels popping up, there is always more to learn. So much so that some of the time-tested, tried and true channels often get overlooked in these conversations. One of these is phone calls - you remember them, it’s what you did before texting, messaging, emailing, and all the other things.Yet phone calls remain incredibly important and effective. Today we’re going to talk about effectively using data to make the most of phone conversations with your customers.To help me discuss this topic, I’d like to welcome Ryan Johnson, Chief Product Officer at CallRail.ResourcesPartnerHero: to waive set up fees, go to https://partnerhero.com/agile and mention “The Agile Brand” during onboarding!CallRail website: https://www.callrail.comSign up for The Agile Brand newsletter here: https://www.gregkihlstrom.comGet the latest news and updates on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-brand/For consulting on marketing technology, customer experience, and more visit GK5A: https://www.gk5a.comCheck out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.comThe Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems. Learn more here: https://www.teksystems.com/versionnextnowThe Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.companyLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the voice of the customer becomes increasingly important in driving business success, companies are recognizing the need to optimize and personalize every touchpoint along the customer journey. From initial awareness and consideration to purchase and post-purchase support, every interaction matters and can make or break a customer's loyalty and advocacy.Today we’re going to talk about customer journey management - how to do it well, how to measure success, and how to improve it over time. To help me discuss this topic, I’d like to welcome Stacy Sherman, Founder & Chief Customer Officer at Doing CX Right.ResourcesPartnerHero: to waive set up fees, go to https://partnerhero.com/agile and mention “The Agile Brand” during onboarding!Catch Stacy’s LInkedIn Learning course on Increasing Customer Loyalty by Doing Agent Experience (AX) Right here: https://bit.ly/LinkedLearnStacyDoing CX Right website: https://www.doingcxright.comSign up for The Agile Brand newsletter here: https://www.gregkihlstrom.comGet the latest news and updates on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-brand/For consulting on marketing technology, customer experience, and more visit GK5A: https://www.gk5a.comCheck out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.comThe Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems. Learn more here: https://www.teksystems.com/versionnextnowThe Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.companyLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recently, Zenni Optical, the world's leading online eyewear retailer with more than 50 million frames sold worldwide, chose the Algolia AI Search platform to improve its customer experience and elevate its position as a leading destination for online prescription eyewear. This change helped contribute to a 34% surge in search revenue, amongst other benefits.Today we’re going to talk about the power of search in improving the customer experience and generating greater revenue.To help me discuss this topic, I’d like to welcome David Ting, CTO at Zenni Optical.ResourcesPartnerHero: to waive set up fees, go to https://partnerhero.com/agile and mention “The Agile Brand” during onboarding!Sign up for The Agile Brand newsletter here: https://www.gregkihlstrom.comGet the latest news and updates on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-brand/For consulting on marketing technology, customer experience, and more visit GK5A: https://www.gk5a.comCheck out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.comThe Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems. Learn more here: https://www.teksystems.com/versionnextnowThe Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.companyLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we’re going to talk about the ethical use of AI, and how the concept of left-brain/right-brain AI can give businesses the best of all things, by helping them to create great customer experiences that are valuable to the business, while using AI in a responsible way.To help me discuss this topic, I’d like to welcome Peter van der Putten, Director AI Lab at Pega.ResourcesPartnerHero: to waive set up fees, go to https://partnerhero.com/agile and mention “The Agile Brand” during onboarding!Pega AI Manifesto: https://www.pega.com/ai-innovationPega website: https://www.pega.comSign up for The Agile Brand newsletter here: https://www.gregkihlstrom.comGet the latest news and updates on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-brand/For consulting on marketing technology, customer experience, and more visit GK5A: https://www.gk5a.comCheck out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.comThe Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems. Learn more here: https://www.teksystems.com/versionnextnowThe Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.companyLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There is a lot of talk about headless, composable, MACH, and the like these days. And I can say from personal experience that there are many instances where they are the perfect fit. But, as with any technology solution, it’s not always a one-size-fits-all. Sometimes headless isn’t the right fit, or a more nuanced approach is needed.Today we’re going to talk about this as well as how low-code or no-code solutions can help teams make the most of their website redesign. To help me discuss this topic, I’d like to welcome Liz Spranzani, Chief Technology Officer, EVP of Technology at Verndale.ResourcesPartnerHero: to waive set up fees, go to https://partnerhero.com/agile and mention “The Agile Brand” during onboarding!Sign up for The Agile Brand newsletter here: https://www.gregkihlstrom.comGet the latest news and updates on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-brand/For consulting on marketing technology, customer experience, and more visit GK5A: https://www.gk5a.comCheck out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.comThe Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems. Learn more here: https://www.teksystems.com/versionnextnowThe Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.companyLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Algolia, the world’s only end-to-end AI Search and Discovery platform, powering over 1.75 trillion search requests a year, has made some exciting announcements hear at the NRF show.Today we’re going to talk about two of these announcements, and how AI-powered search and discovery to build dynamic, customer-centric e-commerce experiences.To help me discuss this topic, I’d like to welcome Bernadette Nixon, CEO of Algolia.ResourcesPartnerHero: to waive set up fees, go to https://partnerhero.com/agile and mention “The Agile Brand” during onboarding!Algolia website: https://www.algolia.comSign up for The Agile Brand newsletter here: https://www.gregkihlstrom.comGet the latest news and updates on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-brand/For consulting on marketing technology, customer experience, and more visit GK5A: https://www.gk5a.comCheck out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.comThe Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems. Learn more here: https://www.teksystems.com/versionnextnowThe Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.companyLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices