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

I am here at Hubspot’s INBOUND Conference in Boston to talk about the impact that AI is having on marketers and how they can more effectively reach their customers. Today we’re going to talk about how marketers can avoid the hype and meaningfully use AI to create better customer experiences and build loyalty. To help me discuss this topic, I’d like to welcome Nicholas Holland, VP of Product and GM of HubSpot Marketing Hub.RESOURCESPartnerHero: to waive set up fees, go to https://partnerhero.com/agile and mention “The Agile Brand” during onboarding!HubSpot website: https://www.hubspot.comThe Agile Brand podcast website: https://www.gregkihlstrom.com/theagilebrandpodcastSign 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.company           Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I am here at Opticon 2023, Optimizely’s annual conference, here in San Diego, California where there have been a lot of exciting announcements, and we’re going to get to at least a few of those today.Organizations that have a culture of experimentation are able to innovate more quickly and get to the best ideas by learning both what does and what doesn’t work.Today we’re going to talk about how marketers can use experimentation to get the most out of their MarTech stacks, their AI tools, and their collaborations in general. To help me discuss this topic, I’d like to welcome Kevin Li, VP, Product Strategy, Optimizely.RESOURCESPartnerHero: to waive set up fees, go to https://partnerhero.com/agile and mention “The Agile Brand” during onboarding!Optimizely: https://www.optimizely.comThe Agile Brand podcast website: https://www.gregkihlstrom.com/theagilebrandpodcastSign 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.companySYNOPSISBuilding a culture of experimentation is crucial for organizations to thrive, but it is a challenging task that requires collaboration and involvement from various teams, including marketing, product, design, legal, and compliance. However, many organizations struggle to establish this culture due to factors such as lack of visibility, poor communication, and inefficient workflows.Without the right tools and processes in place, teams can face difficulties in completing tasks and understanding what is happening. For instance, a customer from the financial services industry shared their experience of trying to solve a workflow problem using spreadsheets, approval chains, and email. In their case, a single change required approval from seven different people, resulting in inefficiencies and delays. This lack of streamlined processes and visibility can lead to confusion and frustration within the organization.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I am here at Opticon 2023, Optimizely’s annual conference, here in San Diego, California where there have been a lot of exciting announcements, and we’re going to get to at least a few of those today.Today we’re going to talk about an exciting announcement at the show this year, which is called Optimizely One, and while I will let my guest provide a more robust definition for us, it’s a SaaS platform for digital marketing that is decoupled, highly composable, and includes components for creation, delivery, personalization and testing of digital content to improve the customer experience.This connects to several trends happening in the market which include a shift towards both composable approaches while also providing marketers with the need to provide consistent and continually improving experiences in an omnichannel world.To help me discuss this topic, I’d like to welcome Rupali Jain, Chief Product Officer, Optimizely.RESOURCESPartnerHero: to waive set up fees, go to https://partnerhero.com/agile and mention “The Agile Brand” during onboarding!Optimizely: https://www.optimizely.comThe Agile Brand podcast website: https://www.gregkihlstrom.com/theagilebrandpodcastSign 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.companySYNOPSISIn this episode of the Agile Brand podcast, host Greg Kihlström and guest Rupali Jain, Chief Product Officer at Optimizely discuss the announcement of Optimizely One at the Opticon 2023 conference. Optimizely One is a SaaS platform for digital marketing that offers a decoupled and highly composable approach. It includes components for creation, delivery, personalization, and testing of digital content to enhance the customer experience. This aligns with the current market trends of composable approaches and the need for consistent and improving omni-channel experiences. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I’m excited to talk with my guests today on a special episode brought to you by The Office of Experience, a design-driven, digital-first, vertically integrated and collaborative agency that believes in the power of ideas and the strength of people.Today we’re going to talk about demystifying platform selection and how taking the right approach enables better strategic alignment, streamlined integration, and a better customer experience.To help me discuss this topic, I’d like to welcome Bryan Jones, CTO and Cara Bourdage, Director of Product at The Office of Experience.RESOURCESPartnerHero: to waive set up fees, go to https://partnerhero.com/agile and mention “The Agile Brand” during onboarding!The Office of Experience website: https://www.officeofexperience.comThe Agile Brand podcast website: https://www.gregkihlstrom.com/theagilebrandpodcastSign 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.companySYNOPSISIn this episode, the speakers discuss the importance of successfully adopting new platforms and how it can optimize operations and reduce maintenance time for organizations, allowing them to focus more on sales. They emphasize the significance of selecting the right platform and suggest considering key features and requirements to achieve these benefits. By identifying the most important features that drive revenue and minimize customization needs, organizations can streamline processes and enhance efficiency. This enables them to allocate more time and resources to sales and growth.The speakers also highlight the need to consider both the end customer experience and the internal customer experience. They emphasize that if the teams using the platforms cannot effectively utilize them, it will hinder their ability to serve the end customers. Therefore, successful platform adoption should aim for a win-win situation where both internal and external customers benefit.The episode emphasizes that digital transformation should be approached as a top-down exercise, requiring alignment and buy-in from senior executives. It is crucial for all key stakeholders to share the same vision and work towards common goals to ensure a cohesive and effective digital transformation initiative. Additionally, involving employees who will be working with the new tools or platform on a daily basis is equally important. Their feedback should be sought early and often to understand what is currently working and what improvements they would like to see.The episode also stresses the importance of cultural fit when selecting an implementation partner. While expertise and capabilities are important, having a positive working relationship with the partner, even during disagreements and challenges, is crucial. The ability to handle tough situations professionally and respectfully is essential for a successful partnership. Collaboration and finding solutions together when things go wrong are also mentioned as important factors to consider. Cultural fit and the ability to work well together should be evaluated when choosing an implementation partner.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we’re going to talk about the power of data sharing and collaboration and how data clean rooms can help organizations in several ways.To help me discuss this topic, I’d like to welcome Kamakshi Sivaramakrishnan, Founder & CEO at Samooha.RESOURCESPartnerHero: to waive set up fees, go to https://partnerhero.com/agile and mention “The Agile Brand” during onboarding!Samooha website: https://www.samooha.tech/The Agile Brand podcast website: https://www.gregkihlstrom.com/theagilebrandpodcastSign 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.companySYNOPSISIn this episode, the concept of data clean rooms and their benefits for organizations in terms of data sharing and collaboration are discussed. The guest speaker explains that clean rooms are secure platforms for data collaboration and sharing, comparing them to popular tools like Zoom, Slack, and Teams. The speaker highlights the accessibility and comfort that non-technical individuals have developed with these tools, especially during the pandemic.A data clean room is defined as a secure environment for sharing data with external parties who share a common objective of gathering insights from the shared data. The speaker emphasizes that the data sets within a clean room are processed in a way that ensures data remains in its original location, stored on the cloud. Both parties can collaborate and combine their data sets without visibility into each other's data.The episode also emphasizes the importance of respecting customers' and consumers' data privacy. Using a data clean room eliminates the need to compromise data privacy. While the episode briefly mentions the benefits of data clean rooms for marketing and advertising professionals, it does not delve further into this topic.Guest speaker Kamakshi Sivaramakrishnan, the founder and CEO of Samuha, provides insights on data sharing and collaboration. She highlights the significance of these practices in the world of big data and the opportunities for enterprises to gain insights by sharing and collaborating within their ecosystem. Kamakshi acknowledges the availability of tools for data sharing and collaboration but emphasizes the need to make it easier and more accessible, particularly for non-technical audiences such as marketing, customer success, and customer experience teams. Her company, Samuha, aims to address this problem and create success in the B2B enterprise technology space. Kamakshi advises marketers to consider data collaboration as a critical part of their arsenal and choose a secure solution that aligns with their needs.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we’re going to talk about growing current leaders and aspiring leaders into the best possible version of themselves.To help me discuss this topic, I’d like to welcome Nate Prosser, Head of Learning, Leadership and change at Wawa and Host of the Leadership Chalk Talk Podcast.ResourcesPartnerHero: to waive set up fees, go to https://partnerhero.com/agile and mention “The Agile Brand” during onboarding!Leadership Chalk Talk website: https://www.leadershipchalktalk.com/The Agile Brand podcast website: https://www.gregkihlstrom.com/theagilebrandpodcastSign 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.companySynopsisBuilding positive leadership-focused habits is crucial for creating a successful team. When leaders are self-aware and conscious of their habits, they can effectively respond to trigger points and avoid negative reactions. By cultivating positive habits, leaders can operate on autopilot, making their team feel comfortable and psychologically safe. They can also coach and develop their team members, fostering an environment where everyone feels supported and motivated. Consistently exhibiting these positive habits encourages team members to go above and beyond, resulting in a strong and cohesive team working towards shared goals. Therefore, developing positive leadership-focused habits is essential for building a successful team.In the episode, the speaker highlights the significance of self-awareness and conscious habit-building for positive change. They mention that individuals often operate on autopilot for up to 40% of the time, similar to driving to work and realizing they don't remember the journey due to being lost in thought. Similarly, in a leadership context, individuals may unknowingly respond habitually to certain situations.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we’re going to talk about how to create compelling personalized content and campaigns even in highly regulated industries. To help me discuss this topic, I’d like to welcome Diana Lee, Co-Founder & CEO of Constellation.RESOURCESResources PartnerHero: to waive set up fees, go to https://partnerhero.com/agile and mention “The Agile Brand” during onboarding!Constellation website: https://www.helloconstellation.com/The Agile Brand podcast website: https://www.gregkihlstrom.com/theagilebrandpodcastSign 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 AI and the workforce, and how intelligent businesses embrace automation to empower citizen developers and others to work smarter.To help me discuss this topic, I’d like to welcome Jon Darbyshire, CEO at SmartSuite.RESOURCESSmartSuite website: https://www.smartsuite.comThe Agile Brand podcast website: https://www.gregkihlstrom.com/theagilebrandpodcastSign 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.com The 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.companySYNOPSISWorkflow automation using AI has become increasingly important for businesses seeking to enhance operational efficiency. The accessibility of AI tools, such as chat GPT, has brought AI to the forefront in recent months. As a result, many businesses are now turning to AI to streamline their workflows and make more informed decisions.One key issue that workflow automation can address is the reliance on multiple disconnected tools. Instead of using separate tools like Salesforce, HubSpot, Zendesk, and JIRA, businesses can consolidate their workflow automation needs into a single platform. This eliminates the need for manual data transfer and promotes a more seamless and integrated workflow.Another pain point that workflow automation can alleviate is the need for efficiency in business operations. By incorporating AI into workflows, businesses can automate tasks and approvals, reducing the time and effort required for manual processes. For instance, AI can validate information before granting approvals, ensuring that all necessary criteria are met. This not only saves time but also minimizes the risk of human error.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we’re going to talk about Customer Journey Orchestration with a focus on SMS and messaging to help brands drive greater customer engagement and personalize the customer experience for consumers that quickly grow impatient by being saturated with impersonal messages from the brands they support. In fact, according to a recent report by Twilio, two-thirds of consumers say they’ll quite a brand if their experience isn’t personalized.I’ve seen in my own work with leading brands that customer journey orchestration can help this, and to help me discuss this topic, I’d like to welcome Trent Rossini, Managing Director at inQuba.RESOURCESinQuba website: https://www.inquba.comThe Agile Brand podcast website: https://www.gregkihlstrom.com/theagilebrandpodcastSign 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.com The 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.companySYNOPSISIn this episode of The Agile Brand, host Greg Kihlström explores the topic of customer journey orchestration with a focus on SMS and messaging. He discusses the importance of personalized experiences and how customer journey orchestration can help brands engage with their customers more effectively. Joining Greg is Trent Rossini, Managing Director at inQuba, who shares his expertise on this subject. Tune in to learn how brands can leverage SMS and messaging to create a more personalized customer experience.The podcast also discusses the benefits of customer journey orchestration and its impact on understanding and influencing customer behavior. Customer journey orchestration goes beyond traditional customer experience (CX) by not only capturing feedback but also analyzing customer behavior. By understanding how customers progress along their journey, organizations can identify where customers may encounter obstacles or drop off.One key benefit of customer journey orchestration is the ability to maintain context and track customer interactions across multiple channels, such as call centers, websites, and instant messaging. By aligning with the customer's objectives, organizations can move the customer forward by providing relevant interactions that create value.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we’re going to talk about how to create engaged teams by creating a culture of self-awareness and continuous learning and improvement.To help me discuss this topic, I’d like to welcome Kelsey Bishop, Founder at Candor.RESOURCESCandor website: https://www.joincandor.com/The Agile Brand podcast website: https://www.gregkihlstrom.com/theagilebrandpodcastSign 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.com The 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.company SynopsisAccording to the podcast episode, self-awareness is crucial for both leaders and teams to improve and create a cohesive culture. The host and guest emphasize the importance of self-awareness in leadership and its impact on team performance. The guest shares their personal experience of seeing a coach for several years, which has greatly contributed to their leadership journey and team performance. They attribute their growth to being aware of how they show up to work every day and the unintentional culture they create. The guest also highlights the significance of recognizing one's own weaknesses and areas for improvement, and how having a supportive team can aid in this growth journey.The episode also emphasizes the benefits of self-awareness for teams as a whole. When individuals take responsibility for their own growth and development, it reduces the burden on managers in terms of coaching and performance management. It becomes a collective effort, with everyone working together to improve. The episode also stresses the importance of fostering a feedback culture and gaining a comprehensive understanding of oneself within the team.Overall, the episode underscores that self-awareness is key for high-performance individuals and can provide them with a competitive advantage. It helps individuals identify their weaknesses, create a growth plan, and seek support from their team. For leaders, self-awareness plays a significant role in how they influence the team and create a cohesive culture. The episode recommends engaging in coaching, 360 reviews, and utilizing tools like Candor profiles to cultivate self-awareness.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices