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

Expert mode marketing technology, AI, and CX insights from top brands and Martech platforms fill every episode, focusing on what leaders need to know to build customer lifetime value and long-term business value. The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström® features executives and thought leaders from top brands and tech platforms discussing the industry's trends, like AI adoption, first-party data strategies, artificial intelligence in the consumer journey, consumer data privacy, omnichannel customer experience, and more.The Agile Brand is hosted by Greg Kihlström, martech and artificial intelligence transformation advisor and consultant to leading brands, speaker, entrepreneur, and best-selling author. It provides a fresh perspective on the continually evolving dynamic between brands and the audiences they serve.

Latest episodes

Jan 3, 2024 • 31min

#466: Inclusivity and Innovation as Competitive Advantage with Johane Domersant, John Deere

It’s increasingly clear that businesses that invest in their employees to achieve great employee experience are investing in their own future. To achieve this, inclusion across the organization, programs for professional development, and opportunities for employees to pursue their passion and purpose are critical for businesses.Today we’re going to talk about how leading organizations need to think about diversity and inclusion as a competitive advantage, as well as a benefit to all involved.To help me discuss this topic, I’d like to welcome Johane Domersant, Global Head of Human Resources at John Deere.ResourcesPartnerHero: to waive set up fees, go to https://partnerhero.com/agile and mention “The Agile Brand” during onboarding!John Deere website: https://www.johndeere.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

Dec 29, 2023 • 34min

#462: Collaboration for successful experimentation with Collin Crowell and James McCormick

Today we’re going to talk about collaboration between product and marketing teams and how, when done well, this can drive business growth and an improvement in the customer experience overall.Some of what we will be discussing will be directly from Kameleoon’s 2023 Experimentation and Growth Survey and report, and we’ll make sure to put a link to access that report in the show notes.To help me discuss this topic, I’d like to welcome Colllin Crowel, VP of Growth at Kameleeon and James McCormick.ResourcesPartnerHero: to waive set up fees, go to https://partnerhero.com/agile and mention “The Agile Brand” during onboarding!Kameleoon website: https://www.kameleoon.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

Dec 20, 2023 • 29min

#461: Raising the stakes of stakeholder design with Curt Schreiber, VSA Partners

One of the biggest challenges business leaders face today is managing multiple stakeholders. For the past half-century, most CEOs have simply sought to please board members and shareholders, with less regard to other stakeholders like employees, government entities or suppliers. But as demands for corporate responsibility have increased, CEOs are under increasing pressure to cater to a wide variety of stakeholder needs, and to find solutions that deliver across diverse groups.Today we’re going to talk about stakeholder design and how to approach it, and related approaches like horizontal thinking, to benefit the business, all of its stakeholders, as well as its customers.To help me discuss this topic, I’d like to welcome Curt Schreiber, Chief Creative Officer at VSA Partners. ResourcesPartnerHero: to waive set up fees, go to https://partnerhero.com/agile and mention “The Agile Brand” during onboarding!VSA Partners website: https://www.vsapartners.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/versionnextnow The 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

Dec 18, 2023 • 26min

#460: Retention in an Omnichannel World with Ann Fellman, Bloomerang

Today we’re going to talk about a topic we don’t talk about much on this show - nonprofits, and more specifically since it’s December, end of year giving. If you’re like me, you’re probably currently being inundated with calls to donate from nonprofits on TV, email, social media, and any other channel you interact with.Just like other much larger brands, nonprofits struggle with acquisition and retention issues, and today we’re going to talk about how customer, or donor, retention is both a challenge and an opportunity, and even those in the for-profit space might get some insights from this discussion as well.To help me discuss this topic, I’d like to welcome Ann Fellman, CMO at Bloomerang.ResourcesPartnerHero: to waive set up fees, go to https://partnerhero.com/agile and mention “The Agile Brand” during onboarding!Bloomerange website: https://bloomerang.co/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

Dec 15, 2023 • 29min

#459: Product leaders and the customer experience with Jess Keeney, Duck Creek Technologies

Today we’re going to talk about the role of product leaders in shaping the customer experience, and how continuous learning and continuous improvement help build great product teams.To help me discuss this topic, I’d like to welcome Jess Keeney, Chief Product Officer at Duck Creek Technologies.Resources PartnerHero: 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.com Get 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.com Check out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.com The Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems. Learn more here: https://www.teksystems.com/versionnextnow The 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.company Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 13, 2023 • 30min

#458: Demystifying CX Governance with Sami Nuwar

Today we’re going to talk about demystifying CX governance, what exactly we mean by “governance,” as well as the components that make it truly work for an organization—and their customers.To help me discuss this topic, I’d like to welcome Sami Nuwar back to the show. He is a Customer Experience Leader and Thought Leader who has worked with some of the world’s top brands on CX initiatives.Resources PartnerHero: to waive set up fees, go to https://partnerhero.com/agile and mention “The Agile Brand” during onboarding! Flavors of Governance: Governance can take many forms, but here we describe two types. We ask ourselves a key question: what are we governing? For operational governance, we're managing how we work or operate. For accountability governance, we're managing the changes to the business. Governance Functions: What are the types of work or functions that exist in a governance role? This document highlights the key jobs to be done within a governance function. Key Questions Gov Should Answer: As we drive our governance, what are the key questions we should be asking ourselves and our peers to be able to tell if we're making an impact? Goals and Measurements Success: measurements can depend on the state of your program and the readiness of the business, both of which can and will change over time. And so too should your measurements. Sign up for The Agile Brand newsletter here: https://www.gregkihlstrom.com Get 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.com Check out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.com The Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems. Learn more here: https://www.teksystems.com/versionnextnow The 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.company Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 11, 2023 • 32min

#457: Building a culture of experiementation, with Kirsty Dawe, Webeo

Today we’re going to talk about building a culture of experimentation and how it can benefit B2B brands.To help me discuss this topic, I’d like to welcome Kirsty Dawe, CEO at Webeo.RESOURCES PartnerHero: to waive set up fees, go to https://partnerhero.com/agile and mention “The Agile Brand” during onboarding! Webeo website: https://www.webeo.com/ Sign up for The Agile Brand newsletter here: https://www.gregkihlstrom.com Get 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.com Check out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.com The Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems. Learn more here: https://www.teksystems.com/versionnextnow The 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.company SYNOPSISPromoting innovation and experimentation in an organization begins with establishing clarity on the company's overall goals and ensuring that everyone is aligned towards those goals. This entails providing all employees with a clear understanding of the organization's collective objectives. Such clarity empowers individuals to confidently suggest ideas and communicate their thoughts, knowing that their contributions are in line with the company's overarching goals. Moreover, a clear understanding of the company's goals ensures that experiments and initiatives are more impactful, as they are aligned centrally rather than being isolated in individual silos.In the episode, it is emphasized that granting employees easy access to high-quality data is crucial for making informed decisions and determining where to focus experimentation efforts. The speaker underscores the significance of data within an organization, as it may sometimes be lacking. They suggest that access to data enables employees to decide where to begin and what to test or experiment with. By having easy access to data, employees can identify areas that are likely to have the greatest impact and allocate their time effectively. This access to data helps align experiments with the organization's goals and prevents individuals from working in isolation. Overall, the episode highlights the importance of providing employees with easy access to reliable data to drive effective experimentation and decision-making.According to the episode, creating a culture of experimentation involves celebrating both successes and failures. The speaker emphasizes the importance of acknowledging success and learning from failures. They suggest that failures should be presented as valuable insights into what doesn't work, rather than setbacks. This perspective reframes failures as opportunities for growth and learning. The speaker also highlights the need to share the lessons learned from failures across the organization. By doing so, everyone can benefit from the knowledge gained and avoid repeating the same mistakes in the future. This culture of celebrating both successes and failures and sharing the learnings fosters a supportive and innovative environment where experimentation is encouraged.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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