#Hashtags, The Gartner Marketing & Communications Podcast

In this #Hashtags episode, Gartner Analyst Chad Storlie discusses what true customer centricity looks like. Many companies remain product-focused rather than moving to a customer-centric model where they emphasize meeting customers’ needs and metrics such as loyalty, satisfaction and advocacy. CMOs must adopt processes to unite their organizations on customer centricity. Customer centricity places the customer at the center of decisions, activates employees to act in the customers’ best interest and drives multilevel process changes that result in customer experience (CX) improvements in loyalty and advocacy.

In this #Hashtags episode, Gartner Research Director LK Klein discusses the cost of unmanaged information overload on key business metrics like strategic alignment and intent to stay, as well as solutions marketing and communications leaders can use to reduce the burden of information on employees across the organization.LK Klein is the research director for Gartner for Marketers Corporate Communications and Executive Communications research agendas, leading large-scale research studies on topics such as change management, executive communications, organizational culture, employee engagement and DEI branding.

Halle Stern is an Analyst at Gartner, specializing in customer understanding and loyalty programs. In this engaging discussion, she reveals how brands can innovate their loyalty strategies by prioritizing experiential benefits over simple discounts. Stern emphasizes the importance of connecting with customers on a deeper level, especially in an era where younger generations value experiences. She also explores how community-building initiatives can enhance loyalty programs and discusses the future of these programs amidst changing consumer expectations.

In this episode, Gartner analysts Alex de Fursac Gash and Suzanne Schwartz share key insights from the newly released 2023 Gartner Multichannel Marketing Survey. The survey shows that a customer-centric “holistic channel strategy” is an effective approach to managing channel complexity. Yet if it was so easy, everyone would be doing it. We also talk about how CMOs can take these insights and apply them to their organizations, cutting through this channel complexity.Gartner Senior Director Alex de Fursac Gash serves as a thought partner to clients and facilitates a wide range of executive-level discussions for heads of marketing and their teams globally. His responsibilities include advising marketing leaders on their functional objectives; sharing best practices and providing strategic guidance; and supporting senior leaders and their teams to plan and implement a number of initiatives.Senior Director Suzanne Schwarts advises marketers on multichannel marketing strategy and execution, orchestrating campaign execution across channels, scaling marketing content across channels, analyzing cross-channel campaign performance, and mobile marketing strategy. Suzanne has more than 12 years of global marketing experience across a range of industries, such as retail, e-commerce, IT, advertising, apparel, personal care, and luxury.

In this episode, Gartner analyst Ant Duffin discusses the state of social commerce, outlining what it is, what it’s not and its future potential as it rapidly evolves. The discussion also provides digital marketing leaders with insights and guidance on how to evaluate social commerce opportunities, navigate the risk of constant change, and where to place short- and long-term bets.Ant Duffin is a senior director analyst in the Gartner for Marketing Leaders practice, covering digital commerce.Ant advises on digital commerce business transformation across the end-to-end value chain, including digital marketing, multichannel e-commerce and business capability (talent, partners and martech), enabling functions such as IT, HR and supply chain.Ant has over 15 years of global digital consumer/brand experience across a range of industries, including consumer packaged goods, retail, U.K. government and automotive.

In this episode of #Hashtags, Gartner analyst Nicole Greene discusses the proven impact of generative artificial intelligence (AI) on content and the customer experience. We’ll cover the promise and the risks of bringing AI to your organization across data, creativity, culture, and ethics. The discussion outlines how CMOs should approach harnessing the power of generative AI.Nicole Greene analyzes marketing strategy, trends, and practices with an emphasis on content marketing and management, digital experience and artificial intelligence. Nicole helps clients achieve business results by focusing on storytelling to make relevant connections with consumers. She has held content, digital experience and social marketing roles for more than 15 years with industry leaders including The United States Tennis Association (U.S. Open), Viacom and ESPN.

In this episode of #Hashtags, Gartner analyst Kate Muhl leverages Gartner’s proprietary quantitative and qualitative consumer research to cut through the clutter and hone in on the consumer and cultural trends that will truly matter to CMOs in 2023. The discussion includes insight into inflation’s impact on brand relationships and the growing generation gap in attitudes and expectations for brands.Kate Muhl is a Gartner analyst specializing in cultural and consumer insights. She has been researching and advising on the consumer and U.S. culture for more than a decade.

In this episode, Gartner researcher Emily Weiss dispels some common misconceptions about Gen Z’s attitudes toward social media. She explores the values they espouse that make them different from their Millennial predecessors. We also dive into several trends in digital culture — from A.I.-generated artwork to the Dark Academia aesthetic — and uncover lessons learned about how to appeal to this up-and-coming cohort of consumers.Emily Weiss is a principal researcher with expertise in consumers and culture, brand, and value proposition. Weiss works to identify and track consumer trends, produce syndicated content, and translate the implications of those trends for marketers.

In this episode, Gartner analyst Chris Ross discusses how to establish a firm foundation for innovation initiatives, the critical distinctions between “Big I” and “little i” innovation, and how to more effectively communicate innovation impact.The discussion includes how CMOs can anticipate and respond to common innovation challenges and establish more robust support for innovation initiatives.Chris Ross advises CMOs at the world's leading organizations on marketing and brand strategy, innovation, and agency selection and management.

In this episode, Gartner Advisor Alexandra Earl discusses why trust is so important to get right — especially right now. Change-fatigued employees, burned out from the COVID-19 pandemic, have serious concerns about those in charge of their organization.Lack of visibility and transparency into change and future strategy are leaving employees to question their commitment to perform and remain. Trust is critical and carries many benefits for organizations — but so many are missing the mark. As such, leaders must rethink their communication to (re)build trust if they are to stand a chance of retaining employees and achieving strategic goals.We’ll share the key drivers of trust and what leading organizations are doing to enhance their executive communications at this critical time.