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Greg Kihlstrom

Principal at The Agile Brand

Washington DC, United States

Greg Kihlström is a best-selling author, speaker, and entrepreneur, and serves as an advisor and consultant to top companies on marketing technology, marketing operations, customer experience, and digital transformation initiatives. He has worked with some of the world’s top brands, including Adidas, Coca-Cola, FedEx, HP, Marriott, Nationwide, Victoria’s Secret, and Toyota.

He is a multiple-time Co-Founder and C-level leader, leading his digital experience agency to be acquired by the largest independent marketing agency in the DC region in 2017, successfully exited an HR technology platform provider he co-founded in 2020, and led a SaaS startup to be acquired by a leading edge computing company in 2021. He currently advises and sits on the Board of a marketing technology startup.

In addition to his experience as an entrepreneur and leader, he earned his MBA, is currently a doctoral candidate for a DBA in Business Intelligence, and teaches several courses and workshops as a member of the School of Marketing Faculty at the Association of National Advertisers. He has served on the Virginia Tech Pamplin College of Business Marketing Mentorship Advisory Board, the University of Richmond’s CX Advisory Board, and was the founding Chair of the American Advertising Federation’s National Innovation Committee. Greg is Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certified, is an Agile Certified Coach (ICP-ACC), and holds a certification in Business Agility (ICP-BAF).

Greg has had multiple best-selling books, including his 10-part Agile Brand Guides series on marketing technology platforms and practices. His most recent book, the best-selling House of the Customer (2023) discusses the 1:1 personalized customer experience of the future, and how brands can organize the people, processes, and platforms that enable it. His award-winning podcast, The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström, now in its 6th year with over 450 episodes and 2 million downloads, discusses brand strategy, marketing, and customer experience with some of the world’s leading experts and leaders.

Greg is a contributing writer to Fast Company, Forbes, MarTech, CustomerThink, and CMSWire, and has been featured in publications such as Advertising Age and The Washington Post. Greg has been named #1 on its list of the Top Global Marketing Thought Leaders by Thinkers 360, was named one of ICMI’s Top 25 CX Thought Leaders two years in a row, and a DC Inno 50 on Fire as a DC trendsetter in Marketing. He’s also participated as a speaker at global industry events and has guest lectured at prominent universities and colleges.

Available For: Advising, Authoring, Consulting, Influencing, Speaking
Travels From: Washington, DC
Speaking Topics: Customer Experience, Marketing Technology, Digital Transformation

Speaking Fee $10,000 (In-Person)

Personal Speaking Website: www.gregkihlstrom.com
Greg Kihlstrom Points
Academic 6
Author 2109
Influencer 221
Speaker 150
Entrepreneur 230
Total 2716

Points based upon Thinkers360 patent-pending algorithm.

Thought Leader Profile

Portfolio Mix

Featured Videos

Speaker Reel
December 01, 2022
The Agile Brand
December 01, 2022
Return on Experience
December 01, 2022

Featured Topics

Meaningful Measurement of the Customer Experience

Customer experience has become the primary method of competitive differentiation between most brands today. While most companies claim that customers and their needs drive decisions and priority within their organizations, when it comes time to prioritize customer needs, it can often be more difficult and less clear exactly how and what to do. There are several reasons for this, and these reasons form the foundation of Meaningful Measurement of the Customer Experience. The talk provides guidance on how to create a customer-centric culture that prioritizes customer needs while aligning internal teams around a common goal.

First Party Marketing: Staying Agile in an Experience-First, Privacy-Conscious, Customer-Centric World

Customers expect personalized experiences from brands, yet are increasingly concerned about how their data is being used. As consumer preferences shift, and data regulations increase, brands are caught in the middle. The solution to these challenges is to create a first party data strategy that enables the type of personalization that customers want, yet protects customer data in a way that anticipates future trends.

Agile Digital Transformation

Great customer experience (CX) is more than something that is nice to have. It is now one of the chief points of competitive advantage for many brands across a growing number of industries. One of the biggest roadblocks to providing a more seamless experience to customers is the need to digital transformation within the organization. Whether the transformation helps the direct interactions customers have with your brand, the operational aspects behind the scenes, the measurement of CX, or all of the above, it sometimes takes large-scale organizational change to enable a better customer experience.

Digital transformation enables benefits beyond CX, including smoother operations, a better employee experience, as well as a more streamlined method to collect, analyze and improve organizational KPIs. All of these combined with a customer-centric mindset, and an agile approach to implementation and improvement can help companies succeed in their digital transformation efforts.

Company Information

Company Type: Service Provider
Theatre: North America
Minimum Project Size: $50,000+
Average Hourly Rate: $150-$199
Number of Employees: 1-10
Company Founded Date: 2019

Areas of Expertise

Agile 41.05
Business Strategy 33.60
Change Management 37.79
Customer Experience 89.28
Digital Disruption
Digital Transformation 53.36
Emerging Technology 38.56
Innovation 30.35
Marketing 100
Analytics 35.67
Future of Work 32.16
HR 30.81
Startups 37.33
Leadership 32.78
Project Management 38.88
Customer Loyalty 32.08
Entrepreneurship 31.13
Sustainability 31.19
Management 30.46
AI 31.41
Culture 30.12
Retail 30.53
Privacy 30.25
Smart Cities 32.08
Design Thinking 30.15
Sales 30.22
CRM 30.22
Payroll 30.52
Generative AI 30.20
Big Data 30.04
Supply Chain 30.04
HealthTech 30.03
AR/VR 30.22

Industry Experience

Automotive
Consumer Products
Federal & Public Sector
Financial Services & Banking
Healthcare
High Tech & Electronics
Hospitality
Insurance
Professional Services
Retail

Exclusive Content    Join Greg Kihlstrom's VIP Club

1 Article/Blog
The Metrics of Customer Experience, Part 1
Thinkers360
August 06, 2022
The first part in a 7-part series on customer experience measurement, based on ideas and insights from Greg Kihlström’s recent book, Meaningful Measurement of the Customer Experience.

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Tags: Analytics, Customer Experience, Digital Transformation

Publications

1 Academic Course
ANA: Marketing Measurement and Analyutics
Association of National Advertisers
October 01, 2023
Analytics isn’t just about capturing data; it’s about uncovering insights from that data for better decision-making. A brand’s approach to data, measurement, and analytics can make the difference between category leaders and those left behind. Whether offline or online media, single- or multi-channel, the performance within a brand’s portfolio is important as it contributes to the whole. Brands need to meaningfully measure the performance of their work while supporting the needs of the business and uncover the best insights about their customers, products, and services so the business will pull ahead.

This course will cover how to establish and prioritize the right marketing KPIs that align with the business KPIs, how to work with internal teams to gather the right data to measure properly, and review how to analyze and interpret the analytics for insights to ensure both marketing and overall business alignment and growth.

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Tags: Analytics, Customer Loyalty, Marketing

4 Advisory Board Memberships
University of Richmond CX Advisory Board
University of Richmond
January 01, 2020
Greg Kihlström is a member of the University of Richmond School of Professional & Continuing Studies CX Advisory Board.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Customer Loyalty, Marketing

Founding Chair, National Innovation Committee, American Advertising Federation
American Advertising Federation
June 01, 2018
Greg was Founding Chair of the AAF's National Innovation Committee, bringing together advertisers, agencies, and martech platforms to talk about opportunities and challenges in the industry.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Emerging Technology, Marketing

Virginia Tech Pamplin College of Business Marketing Industry Mentoring Board Member
Virginia Tech Pamplin College of Business
April 03, 2017
Greg was a member of the Virginia Tech Pamplin College of Business Marketing Industry Mentoring Board, consisting of industry experts that advised on both curriculum as well as other issues related to the Marketing Program at Virginia Tech

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Tags: Customer Experience, Leadership, Marketing

Trust for the National Mall National Advisory Council
Trust for the National Mall
January 04, 2010
Was a member of the marketing committee for the Trust for the National Mall's National Advisory Council. The Trust for the National Mall is a partner of The National Park Service.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Leadership, Marketing

167 Article/Blogs
Personalization enhances marketing effectiveness
The Agile Brand
March 24, 2024
Personalization enhances marketing effectiveness by creating a more personalized and tailored experience for customers. This is especially important in the B2B space, where sales and marketing need to work together to effectively reach and engage potential buyers.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Laying the groundwork for AI in MOps: How to get started
Martech
March 21, 2024
As artificial intelligence technologies rapidly advance, marketing teams are tasked with integrating these powerful tools into their existing operations. However, this transition can be daunting, especially if your MOps function was established before the rapid rise of AI.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

CX Lead: 4 Types Of Customer Data You Should Be Using
The Agile Brand
March 21, 2024
It's a cliché, but knowledge is power—and that's certainly the case when it comes to your customers and your ability to understand what they want, as well as when, how, and where they want it.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

CustomerThink: Improving Customer Loyalty Through Data Minimization
The Agile Brand
March 19, 2024
Despite living in an era data is heralded as the new currency, a counterintuitive movement is gaining momentum among forward-thinking marketers and CX professionals: data minimization. For business leaders, understanding the pivotal role of data minimization in the modern marketing and CX landscape is no longer just an option; it’s an essential strategy for stewarding trust and enhancing customer experiences.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Customer Loyalty, Marketing

Contextual personalization in physical retail
The Agile Brand
March 17, 2024
Contextual personalization in physical retail refers to the practice of tailoring the shopping experience to individual customers based on their specific context or situation. This approach takes into account various factors such as location, time, weather, and customer preferences to deliver personalized and relevant content or offers.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

CMSWire: Implementing Customer Journey Orchestration With an Agile Approach
The Agile Brand
March 14, 2024
This article was written for CMSWire by Greg Kihlström. With competitive pressures mounting and customer expectations continually rising, organizations are under constant pressure to provide personalized and seamless experiences to their customers across various touchpoints.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

On the importance of customer lifetime value
The Agile Brand
March 10, 2024
Customer lifetime value (CLV) is a crucial metric for businesses to understand and prioritize. It refers to the total revenue a customer is expected to generate over the course of their relationship with a brand.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

The importance of optimizing and personalizing customer touchpoints
The Agile Brand
March 10, 2024
When customers have more options and higher expectations than ever before, optimizing and personalizing customer touchpoints has become crucial for businesses. The customer journey consists of every interaction a customer has with a brand, from the initial awareness and consideration stage to the purchase and post-purchase support stages.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Positive customer dialogue builds trust and engagement
The Agile Brand
March 03, 2024
A positive dialogue, on the other hand, is a two-way conversation that involves active listening, understanding, and responding to customers' needs and preferences. It is akin to walking into a local toy store and having a knowledgeable salesperson help you find the perfect gift for a child in your life. The salesperson listens to your requirements, provides helpful information, and guides you towards the right choice. This interaction builds trust and leaves a positive impression, making you more likely to return to the store in the future.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

CustomerThink: Mapping Measurement of Customer Lifetime Value to Financial Performance
The Agile Brand
February 27, 2024
The strategic management of Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) has become increasingly critical for securing both short-term gains and long-term financial performance in the enterprise. Both first-hand findings and recent research sheds light on the nuanced relationship between effectively measuring and improving CLV and its consequential impact on an organization’s financial performance. This article will discuss how modern businesses can leverage CLV insights to foster financial success.

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Tags: Digital Transformation, Marketing

Better marketing outcomes rely on better data
The Agile Brand
February 25, 2024
Good data drives better outcomes. This statement holds true in various industries, including digital advertising. In today's digital age, where data is abundant and easily accessible, advertisers have the opportunity to leverage this information to enhance their advertising strategies and ultimately achieve better results.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

MarTech: Driving growth through data: Optimizing the retention stage
The Agile Brand
February 24, 2024
This article was written by Greg Kihlström for MarTech. In this final article in the series, we’ll uncover how data can play an impactful role as we engage and retain existing customers, ideally turning them into lifetime loyal supporters of our brand and advocates to their friends, peers and colleagues.

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Tags: Digital Transformation, Marketing

Mapping Measurement of Customer Lifetime Value to Financial Performance
Customer Think
February 23, 2024
The strategic management of Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) has become increasingly critical for securing both short-term gains and long-term financial performance in the enterprise. Both first-hand findings and recent research sheds light on the nuanced relationship between effectively measuring and improving CLV and its consequential impact on an organization’s financial performance. This article will discuss how modern businesses can leverage CLV insights to foster financial success

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Forbes: How Brands Can Drive Emotional Engagement With Customers
The Agile Brand
February 20, 2024
This article was written for Forbes Agency Council by Greg Kihlström. With a fiercely competitive field of options for customers, simply offering a high-quality product or service is often no longer enough to set your brand apart. To truly stand out and build lasting relationships with your customers, you need to create an emotional connection that resonates with them on a deeper level.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Data-driven experimentation drives growth
The Agile Brand
February 18, 2024
Furthermore, data-driven experimentation helps companies bridge the gap between marketing and product teams. Traditionally, marketing teams focused on acquiring customers, while product teams focused on product development and usage. However, this siloed approach is no longer effective in today's digital landscape. By using experimentation, companies can track the adoption and usage of their products, allowing product teams to provide valuable insights to the marketing teams. This collaboration ensures that marketing efforts are aligned with product usage, leading to higher customer retention and satisfaction.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

CustomerThink: Using customer journey orchestration to create memorable moments
The Agile Brand
February 17, 2024
Simply offering a high-quality product or service is no longer enough to set your business apart from the rest. In fact, according to Salesforce, almost 90% of customers value the experience of buying and using a product or service as much or more than the product or service itself.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

MartechView: From Hype to Harmony: AI Embraces “The Great Reconciliation” in 2024
The Agile Brand
February 13, 2024
AI buzz continues, but 2024 shifts focus from playful exploration to tangible results. Join us as we delve into “The Great Reconciliation”: standardizing tools, integrating AI into processes, and demanding proven ROI.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Product leaders need customer empathy
The Agile Brand
February 11, 2024
Product leaders need customer empathy in order to build more customer-centric experiences. This means understanding the actual problems that customers are trying to solve and ensuring that the products being built address those needs. It also involves considering the global economic trends and technology changes that may impact customers and incorporating innovation into products.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

CXO Magazine: The Importance of Customer Journey Governance
The Agile Brand
February 10, 2024
The following was written by Greg Kihlström for CXO Magazine. As an advisor and consultant to enterprise organizations, I have seen firsthand the importance of customer journey governance.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

CMSWire: Website Redesign: Your Brand-New Website Is Just the Beginning
The Agile Brand
February 06, 2024
This article was written by Greg Kihlström for CMSWire. We’ve all been there (or at least most of us have). Your company’s massive new website project has just launched, and you’ve played a big role in getting it to this point. Now it’s time to relax and reap the rewards of a job well done and never think about your website ever again.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Using customer journey orchestration to create memorable moments
Customer Think
February 06, 2024
Simply offering a high-quality product or service is no longer enough to set your business apart from the rest. In fact, according to Salesforce, almost 90% of customers value the experience of buying and using a product or service as much or more than the product or service itself.

See publication

Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Continuous experimentation drives business growth
The Agile Brand
February 04, 2024
Experimentation is a crucial driver of business growth in today's rapidly evolving market. It is important to have a hypothesis and be open to failure to learn and move forward. Thus, the role of experimentation in business growth and success, particularly in the marketing and product functions is key.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

CMSWire: Customer Satisfaction Strategies: Taking Action on Priorities
The Agile Brand
February 01, 2024
This article was written by Greg Kihlström for CMSWire. It’s a new year. Time to reconsider our priorities, set better goals and achieve more. Perhaps your priorities are similar to last year, but you want to make more progress toward your customer satisfaction strategies. Or perhaps it’s time to take a step back and take a look at all of the above.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

CustomerThink: Increasing customer engagement through the power of participation
The Agile Brand
January 30, 2024
This article was written by Greg Kihlström for CustomerThink. To stand out in today’s competitive marketplace, brands need to go beyond just offering a high-quality product or service. To truly connect with your customers, you need to create an emotional bond that goes deeper, and utilizing a customer journey orchestration approach can be incredibly effective here.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Think of AI as a content partner
The Agile Brand
January 28, 2024
Content creation has become a crucial aspect of marketing strategies. With the rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI), marketers now have a powerful tool at their disposal to create content more efficiently and effectively.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

17 Author Newsletters
Priority is Action: If Everything’s a Priority, Then Nothing’s a Priority
LinkedIn
March 28, 2024
The second principle of priorities that I explore in my book, Priority is Action is that if everything is a priority, then nothing is truly a priority. You have to make decisions, and often tough ones, but if you can assess which decisions need to be made (and when), the payoff is worth it. Let’s explore this some more.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

House of the Customer | Implementing Customer Journey Orchestration with an Agile Approach
Linkedln
March 19, 2024
With competitive pressures mounting and customer expectations continually rising, organizations are under constant pressure to provide personalized and seamless experiences to their customers across various touchpoints. Customer journey orchestration (CJO) has emerged as a pivotal strategy in achieving this goal, allowing businesses to design, manage and optimize customer journeys in real-time.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

The Agile Brand: Pay Transparency and the Employee Experience
LinkedIn
March 11, 2024
While we mostly talk about marketing and the customer experience on this show, as we all likely know, employees and the employee experience directly affect customers, so today we’re going to talk about salary transparency and key ways business leaders can successfully take a more modern approach to HR and navigate pay transparency within their organization.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Martechipedia: Weekly Recap (Mar 8)
LinkedIn
March 08, 2024
Each week, we will be giving an update on the conversations and articles that enterprise professionals need to know before taking a well-deserved break.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

House of the Customer | Tying Customer Lifetime Value to Financial Performance
LinkedIn
March 05, 2024
The strategic management of Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) has become increasingly critical for securing both short-term gains and long-term financial performance in the enterprise. Both first-hand findings and recent research sheds light on the nuanced relationship between effectively measuring and improving CLV and its consequential impact on an organization’s financial performance. This article will discuss how modern businesses can leverage CLV insights to foster financial success.

See publication

Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

House of the Customer | From AI Hype to Harmony: Embracing The Great Reconciliation
Linkedln
February 20, 2024
With the abundance of discussions and written content around artificial intelligence (AI) in 2023, one might assume it was a recent invention, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. AI has become unavoidable in marketing technology, advertising, and everyday conversations.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Priority is Action: It's all about the follow-through
LinkedIn
February 15, 2024
In the last two newsletters, we explored the first two components of priorization: 1) making our prioritized list of items based on our chosen criteria, and 2) making the decision to act on those priorities.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Martechipedia: Weekly Recap (Feb 9)
Martechipedia
February 09, 2024
Each week, we will be giving an update on the conversations and articles that enterprise professionals need to know.

See publication

Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

House of the Customer: Emotional engagement in the customer journey
House of the Customer
February 06, 2024
Without good data collection, access and analysis, it is harder for brands to understand their customers. Likewise, it is more difficult for customers to indicate their preferences for the brands they support. This article series explores this challenge and opportunity across the customer journey

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Priority is Action: Setting Priorities & Marking Informed Decisions
Priority is Action
February 01, 2024
Now that you have a list of prioritized items, it's time to determine the true order of importance. It may sound simple, but it's a crucial step in ensuring effective prioritization. If an item rises to the top of your list and you believe it cannot be adequately prioritized, it's essential to replace it with another item that aligns better with your goals. However, remember to provide justification to relevant stakeholders for any shifts in priority.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Priority is Action: Beginning the process of prioritization
Linkedln
January 18, 2024
Prioritization involves determining the relative importance or urgency of each goal among a set of high-priority items. To achieve this, we evaluate each item against specific criteria or factors and consider the potential consequences of not completing each task within the given time frame.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

House of the Customer: Let's talk about priorities
House of the Customer
January 16, 2024
Our priorities are what we do not what we say we’d like to do. This premise forms the foundation of Priority is Action: 7 Principles for Better Strategies, Decisions, and Outcomes. In this twentieth book from best-selling author Greg Kihlström, readers are given a reality check on the difference between a strategic priority and business realities. The book is centered around seven principles that separate leading organizations from laggards, and the mindsets and ideals that make the difference between achieving important goals and getting mired in bureaucracy, groupthink, and a focus on the wrong things at the wrong times.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Priority is Action: An Alternate Definition of Priority
Linkedln
January 04, 2024
Thanks for subscribing to this newsletter, dedicated to exploring the difference between talk and action, and where we discuss thoughts and ideas from my upcoming book, Priority is Action: 7 Principles for Better Strategies, Decisions, and Outcomes, available January 16, 2024 and available for pre-order now.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Priority is Action: Introduction
LinkedIn
December 07, 2023
My new newsletter is all about the difference between what brands and leaders say they want to do, and what actually gets done. #Priority isn’t eloquently spoken or carefully written words. Priority isn’t an intricate flow chart or an expressive illustration. Priority isn’t a detailed rank-ordered, weighted average list. Priority isn’t what we wish to do or hope others will do with us or for us. Priority is action. I'd love to hear what you think, and if you find this interesting, my new book, Priority is Action is available for pre-order now, and available January 16, 2024.

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Tags: Marketing

The Agile Brand
LinkedIn
November 08, 2023
Weekly newsletter from Greg Kihlström featuring articles and the latest episodes of The Agile Brand podcast.

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Tags: Digital Transformation, Marketing

House of the Customer: Let's have the right conversations about AI
LinkedIn
October 18, 2023
This month's featured article discusses a timely topic, indeed! While there is a lot of hype and just as much concern over adoption of #AI, it is important not to get distracted and to focus on the core issues, often digging a layer beneath the hype. When building your House of the Customer, your meaningful adoption of data and #artificialintelligence is critical to your future success.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Generative AI

House of the Customer: Picking an AI Philosophy
LinkedIn
September 20, 2023
This month's featured article discusses a topic that is top of mind for most: the importance of clearly defining your stance on #AI and its place within your organization. When building your House of the Customer, how you utilize data to personalize the #customerexperience while maintaining compliance and inclusivity and avoiding bias is critical to your future success.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

2 Board Memberships
Board member, Workhouse Arts Foundation
Workhouse Arts Foundation
July 01, 2022
Greg is a Board member and Chair of the Marketing Special Committee for the Workhouse Arts Foundation, based in Lorton, VA

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

American Advertising Federation - DC Chapter
American Advertising Federation DC
January 01, 2014
Was President of the Board of Directors for AAF DC for two years.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Leadership, Marketing

22 Books
Priority is Action: 7 principles for better strategies, decisions, and outcomes
The Agile Brand
January 16, 2024
What do our words truly mean, whether they are posted on a website, spoken on a shareholder call, projected on a wall in an internal meeting, or shared with a customer? While eloquently written prose may inspire and engage any audience for a short time, it is our actions that define both our priorities as well as our future success.

Our priorities are what we do not what we say we’d like to do. This premise forms the foundation of Priority is Action: 7 Principles for Better Strategies, Decisions, and Outcomes. In this twentieth book from best-selling author Greg Kihlström, readers are given a reality check on the difference between a strategic priority and business realities. The book is centered around seven principles that separate leading organizations from laggards, and the mindsets and ideals that make the difference between achieving important goals and getting mired in bureaucracy, groupthink, and a focus on the wrong things at the wrong times.

These seven principles are explained in terms of what we should be striving for as well as some of the myths that often plague otherwise high-functioning teams. Mixing real-world examples and stories with some hypotheticals, Kihlström has created a business book that offers practical advice and actions that readers can take immediately.

Drawing on Kihlström’s experience working with some of the world’s top brands, as well as hundreds of interviews with Fortune 500 customer experience leaders and industry-leading platform marketing technology executives and thought leaders for this book and his podcast, The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström, the blueprint to achieve a customer-centric, sustainable platform for growth is made tangible.

Priority is Action is Kihlström’s twentieth book, following the internationally best-selling House of the Customer (2023), and his best-selling The Agile Brand Guide series of short-read books on marketing technology platforms and concepts. The House of the Customer will be available in January of 2024 in print, digital, and audio formats.

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Tags: Change Management, Leadership, Marketing

The Agile Brand Guide: Generative AI: Effectively using artificial intelligence to create compelling content at scale (Agile Brand Guides)
The Agile Brand
November 04, 2023
While there is a lot of conversation around artificial intelligence (AI) and its potential applications in marketing and customer experience, there are still more question than answers around how to use it effectively. Within this realm, Generative AI tools that create text, images, or even music and videos are increasingly being evaluated and used by marketing professionals.

There remain several aspects to consider when utilizing these tools, however. What is the best way to create scalable content that still stays true to a brand, what about intellectual property concerns? What should be disclosed to customers about the origins of content used for marketing purposes? These and many other questions should be top of mind for marketing teams, in addition to exploration of many benefits, which include the greater scale and personalization that Generative AI tools can provide.

In this latest book in the best selling Agile Brand Guide series, the successful planning, implementation, and optimization of Generative AI-based tools and platforms is explored. The Agile Brand Guide: Generative AI by best selling author Greg Kihlström gives marketing professionals a solid overview of the space in a short guide format. The book features a foreword by Bernadette Nixon, CEO of Algolia, plus contributions from thought leaders at Optimizely, Pega, Infinum, and other companies at the forefront of generative AI.

Drawing on Kihlström’s experience working with top organizations, and his ongoing conversations with leaders in marketing and customer experience as part of his award-winning podcast, The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström, this guide provides insights and ideas that both beginning and seasoned leaders can utilize to be successful in evaluating and implementing Generative AI solutions for their teams, and it includes insights and interviews with some of the thought leaders in marketing and customer experience.

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Tags: AI, Marketing

The Agile Brand Guide: Marketing, Measurement & Analytics: Prioritizing, Integrating, and Utilizing KPIs and Metrics to Drive Customer and Business Growth (Agile Brand Guides)
The Agile Brand
October 10, 2023
Data and measurement are critical aspects of any marketing strategy, and how this is approached can make the difference between category leaders and those that are left behind. The performance of each individual channel in a brand’s portfolio is important as they contribute to the whole. This means that brands who are able to have the best insights about their customers, their products and services, and their business will pull ahead.

In this latest book in the best selling Agile Brand Guide series, the successful measurement of single and multi-channel marketing efforts is explored. The Agile Brand Guide: Marketing Measurement & Analytics by international best selling author Greg Kihlström gives marketing professionals a solid overview of marketing measurement and a winning framework to do it successfully, and will be available in print, digital, and audio formats.

This book gives marketers of all skill levels the knowledge and understanding to meaningfully measure the performance of their work while supporting the needs of the business and incorporating omnichannel customer behaviors into their view of marketing success. It also features a foreword by JR Sherman, CEO of RainFocus, an influential leader in the experiential technology space.

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Tags: Analytics, Digital Transformation, Marketing

The Center of Experience, Second Edition
The Agile Brand
July 24, 2023
We find ourselves at an inflection point in the relationship between brands and their audiences, where customers and employees are demanding better and more valuable experiences. Companies must keep up with this demand in order to remain competitive. This includes competition for both customers as well as employees. More importantly, while many organizations have traditionally focused on external-facing initiatives first, it is the ones which start internally that have the greatest potential to provide long-term positive benefits.

The book provides a blueprint for organizations to implement a center of excellence incorporating brand experience, or the combination of customer and employee experience. Each property of experience is articulated and explained in detail, including brand, governance, culture, platform, measurement, and environment. The book also provides recommendations on how an organization can begin to implement a Center of Experience of their own, and how success is measured.

The Center of Experience features a foreword from Diane Magers, Former Interim CEO for the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA) and Founder and CEO of Experience Catalysts, and pioneer in the discipline of experience.

This second edition provides additional insights from during and after the pandemic, and clarifies many of the book’s points to focus the reader on tangible first steps. It serves as a companion piece to Kihlström’s Meaningful Measurement of the Customer Experience (2022), and the internationally best-selling House of the Customer (2023).

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

The Agile Brand Guide: Marketing Operations: Building and Optimizing High-Performing Teams, Processes, and Platforms for Marketers
The Agile Brand
July 11, 2023
The demands on marketing teams within the enterprise continue to compound as rising expectations from stakeholders and consumers require improvements in results from marketing efforts while improving the efficiency with which they are performed. Marketing Operations is thus becoming a more critical function within high-performing marketing departments focusing teams on optimizing marketing processes to increase efficiency and effectiveness in meaningful and sustainable ways that benefit customers and the business.

In this seventh book in the best selling Agile Brand Guide series, the successful planning, implementation, and optimization of Marketing Operations is explored. The Agile Brand Guide: Marketing Operations by international best selling author Greg Kihlström gives marketing professionals a solid overview of the Marketing Operations and how to best approach and implement it successfully in a short guide format and will be available in print, digital, and audio formats.

The book explores how marketing leaders and aspiring leaders can be successful in their implementation of high-performing and continuously improving marketing teams and includes insights and interviews with some of the thought leaders in marketing and customer experience. It features a foreword by Tommi Marsans, Verizon Business Group Transformation Lead.

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Tags: Digital Transformation, Marketing, Project Management

The Agile Brand Guide to Agile Marketing Implementation
The Agile Brand
May 02, 2023
Marketing moves at a faster pace than ever. Many teams have implemented practices utilizing Agile principles, such as Scrum, Kanban, or similar methods, to varying success. While the principles of Agile approaches offer the prioritization, collaboration, and focus on continuous improvement that can provide great results, many teams struggle with implementation of these methods.

In this fifth book in the best selling Agile Brand Guide series, the successful adoption and improvement of Agile marketing practices within an organization is explored, and both challenges and opportunities are illustrated in practical ways that marketing teams can factor in as they implement Agile Marketing in their organizations.

The book explores common best practices and things to avoid as marketing leaders and their teams strive to be successful in their implementation of Agile Marketing. This includes recommendations on working with other teams (whether they utilize Scrum or other Agile practices or not), as well as special considerations to be made when large-scale initiatives such as digital transformations are currently in progress. The book also features a foreword by Anthony Coppedge, Business Agility Lead, Digital Sales at IBM.

Drawing on Kihlström’s experience working with top organizations, and his ongoing conversations with leaders in marketing and customer experience as part of his award-winning podcast, The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström, this guide to Agile marketing implementation provides ideas and insights that both beginning and seasoned leaders can utilize to be successful.

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Tags: Agile, Digital Transformation, Marketing

The Agile Brand Guide to AI & Marketing
The Agile Brand
March 29, 2023
Artificial intelligence, while certainly not new to marketers, is having a moment. Whether through generative AI that creates original imagery or text, the automation of repetitive tasks, or determining the propensity of consumers to take action, artificial intelligence is becoming indispensable for leading brands and their marketing teams..

In this fourth book in the best-selling Agile Brand Guide series, the successful planning, adoption, and optimization of artificial intelligence tools to improve marketing results is explored.The Agile Brand Guide to AI & Marketing by Greg Kihlström is now available in print and digital formats.

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Tags: Digital Transformation, Marketing, Agile

The Agile Brand Guide to Agile Marketing Fundamentals
The Agile Brand
February 01, 2023
The work of a marketing team continues to expand to include more channels, quicker response times, and more variations of content, offers, and campaigns that personalization demands. Agile marketing can help brands be more nimble and adaptive to both internal and external pressures.

Doing this requires a combination of people and processes that utilize methods like Scrum and the related practices and roles associated with creating, managing, and completing work utilizing Agile principles.

In this third book in the best selling Agile Brand Guide series, Agile marketing, and concepts surrounding implementing Scrum as a marketing team are defined and demystified. The Agile Brand Guide to Agile Marketing, Part 1: Fundamentals by Greg Kihlström is now available in print and as an ebook.

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Tags: Digital Transformation, Marketing, Agile

House of the Customer: A blueprint for one-to-one, customer-first, employee-driven business transformation
The Agile Brand
December 12, 2022
Between consumer demands for more personalized and greater data privacy and competitive pressures to provide better omnichannel customer experiences, brands are faced with a dilemma: build a foundation for the future of customer relationships or lose relevancy in a crowded marketplace.

Doing this, however, is not without its challenges. While many enterprises a engaging in digital transformations in order to modernize and anticipate future changes, these efforts are often fraught with challenges, and many fail to deliver the results promised.

The way to do this forms the foundation of House of the Customer. In this new book from best-selling author Greg Kihlström, readers are guided through the elements of a 1:1, customer-first, employee-driven enterprise that includes seven key elements, why they are important, and how to implement them. These seven elements are explained in terms of building your brand as a “house” for your customers and aligning, people, processes, and platforms in a customer-centric manner driven by strategic key performance indicators (KPIs) and measured by tangible business outcomes.

Drawing on Kihlström’s experience working with top organizations, as well as dozens of interviews with Fortune 500 customer experience leaders and industry-leading platform marketing technology executives and thought leaders for this book and his podcast, The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström, the blueprint to achieve a customer-centric, sustainable platform for growth is made tangible.

House of the Customer is Kihlström’s eleventh book, following Meaningful Measurement of the Customer Experience (2022), The Center of Experience (2020), and his Agile series, which includes The Agile Brand (2018), The Agile Consumer (2019), and The Agile Workforce (2021).

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

The Agile Brand Guide to Customer Data Platforms: Evaluating, buying, and implementing a CDP for marketers - audiobook
Audible
November 18, 2022
The current marketing technology landscape has thousands of platforms, with a continually growing set of feature sets, functionality, and potential. It is becoming increasingly difficult to determine how to approach marketing technology growth in the best and most relevant way. Agile Brand Guides are created to help marketers evaluate, buy, and implement critical pieces of marketing technology infrastructure most effectively.

Customer Data Platforms (CDPs) are increasingly important in a marketing landscape where one-to-one personalization based on a customers behaviors and preference is key to achieving long-term customers. This, balanced with an increased need for data privacy and transparency over how customer data is used, make CDPs a critical part of a brand’s marketing technology infrastructure.

In this first Agile Brand Guide, Customer Data Platforms are explored and demystified. The book explores marketers’ need for a Customer Data Platform, as well as the roles a CDP should play, the different types on the market, as well as how to evaluate and implement a platform once you have selected it.

Drawing on Kihlström’s experience working with top organizations, and his ongoing conversations with leaders in the marketing technology industry as part of his award-winning podcast, The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström, this guide to CDPs provides insights, ideas, and guidance for marketers of all experience levels as they work to successfully implement Customer Data Platforms in their organizations

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Digital Delight: Second Edition: Planning, measuring, and optimizing great digital customer and employee experiences - audiobook
Audible
November 17, 2022
We are living in the age of experience. With the proliferation of tools that allow better and more holistic design of customer experience and employee experience, comes an increased ability to measure, analyze, and optimize. This new age of increased integration means that successful CX and EX involves many teams and departments within an organization to become successful.

Best-selling author and advisor Greg Kihlström shares thoughts based on his work with Fortune 500 companies and countless conversations with leading experts on his podcast, The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström.

In this expanded second edition, Digital Delight is explored in terms of both customer and employee experience, and both leaders and aspiring leaders can gain inspiration and ideas as they plan and implement important changes in their own organizations.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

The Agile Brand Guide to Customer Journey Orchestration : Evaluating, buying, and implementing a CJO platform for marketers
The Agile Brand
November 15, 2022
Customer Journey Orchestration (CJO) enables marketers to create more engaging customer experiences that span online and offline channels, and generate greater customer loyalty and purchases over time. Consumers’ demands for more consistency in the way that brands communicate with them, combined with the increase in channel switching between devices and methods by customers means that brands need to provide a personalized, omnichannel experience in order to stay competitive.

Doing this requires a combination of people, process, and platforms that enables brands to meet their customers where they are, and to adapt and optimize this omnichannel approach over time.

In this second Agile Brand Guide, Customer Journey Orchestration Platforms are explored and demystified. The Agile Brand Guide to Customer Journey Orchestration Platforms: Evaluating, Buying, and Implementing a CJO for Marketers by Greg Kihlström is now available in print as an ebook.

The book explores marketers’ need for a customer journey orchestration, as well as the roles a CJO platform should play, the different types on the market, as well as how to evaluate and implement a platform once you have selected it. It also features a foreword by Mark Smith, SVP of Digital Experience at CSG and former President at CJO industry leader Kitewheel.

Drawing on Kihlström’s experience working with top organizations, and his ongoing conversations with leaders in the marketing technology industry as part of his award-winning podcast, The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström, this guide to customer journey orchestration provides insights, ideas, and guidance for marketers of all experience levels as they work to successfully implement Customer Journey Orchestration Platforms in their organizations.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

The Agile Brand Guide to Customer Data Platforms: Evaluating, buying, and implementing a CDP for marketers
The Agile World
September 15, 2022
The current marketing technology landscape has thousands of platforms, with a continually growing set of feature sets, functionality, and potential. It is becoming increasingly difficult to determine how to approach marketing technology growth in the best and most relevant way.
Agile Brand Guides are created to help marketers evaluate, buy, and implement critical pieces of marketing technology infrastructure most effectively.
Customer Data Platforms (CDPs) are increasingly important in a marketing landscape where one-to-one personalization based on a customers behaviors and preference is key to achieving long-term customers. This, balanced with an increased need for data privacy and transparency over how customer data is used, make CDPs a critical part of a brand’s marketing technology infrastructure.
In this first Agile Brand Guide, Customer Data Platforms are explored and demystified. The Agile Brand Guide to Customer Data Platforms: Evaluating, Buying, and Implementing a CDP for Marketers by Greg Kihlström is now available in print as an ebook.
The book explores marketers’ need for a Customer Data Platform, as well as the roles a CDP should play, the different types on the market, as well as how to evaluate and implement a platform once you have selected it.
Drawing on Kihlström’s experience working with top organizations, and his ongoing conversations with leaders in the marketing technology industry as part of his award-winning podcast, The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström, this guide to CDPs provides insights, ideas, and guidance for marketers of all experience levels as they work to successfully implement Customer Data Platforms in their organizations.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

The Agile Brand Guide to Customer Data Platforms: Evaluating, buying, and implementing a CDP for marketers
The Agile World
August 20, 2022
The current marketing technology landscape has thousands of platforms, with a continually growing set of feature sets, functionality, and potential. It is becoming increasingly difficult to determine how to approach marketing technology growth in the best and most relevant way.
Agile Brand Guides are created to help marketers evaluate, buy, and implement critical pieces of marketing technology infrastructure most effectively.
Customer Data Platforms (CDPs) are increasingly important in a marketing landscape where one-to-one personalization based on a customers behaviors and preference is key to achieving long-term customers. This, balanced with an increased need for data privacy and transparency over how customer data is used, make CDPs a critical part of a brand’s marketing technology infrastructure.
In this first Agile Brand Guide, Customer Data Platforms are explored and demystified. The Agile Brand Guide to Customer Data Platforms: Evaluating, Buying, and Implementing a CDP for Marketers by Greg Kihlström is now available in print as an ebook.
The book explores marketers’ need for a Customer Data Platform, as well as the roles a CDP should play, the different types on the market, as well as how to evaluate and implement a platform once you have selected it.
Drawing on Kihlström’s experience working with top organizations, and his ongoing conversations with leaders in the marketing technology industry as part of his award-winning podcast, The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström, this guide to CDPs provides insights, ideas, and guidance for marketers of all experience levels as they work to successfully implement Customer Data Platforms in their organizations.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

The Agile Workforce: Automation, Decentralization, and Their Role in the Future Workforce
The Agile World
March 25, 2021
We live in an agile world. Incremental growth and continuous improvement have brought about change in just about every field imaginable. The workforce and work as we know it has been changing for a while, and it's about to undergo a major shift.

With continued globalization, an increase in the use of artificial intelligence to perform both routine and complex tasks, and the rise of outsourcing and contracting in new industries, the Agile Workforce is here.

The book discusses the future of work, and how humans and AI-driven machines will work together to create our future. It also describes the rise of the freelance economy, and how remote work, gig workers, and a global mindset will transform the traditional workplace into a hybrid model where the best of all worlds can be combined for the benefit of individuals and companies alike.

The Agile Workforce is the fourth book in Kihlström's Agile series, which started with 2016's The Agile Web, exploring how the agile methodology applied properly website design, can create dramatic improvements in their efforts. 2018's The Agile Brand explored how brands that embrace consumer feedback and create a "living" brand that evolves over time while staying true to its values. In 2019, Kihlström released The Agile Consumer, which gives practical examples of how agile thinking and approaches, as well as a shift in consumer behavior are changing the brand-consumer relationship with the opportunity for better outcomes for both.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Future of Work

Meaningful Measurement of the Customer Experience
The Agile World
January 11, 2021
Customer experience has become the primary method of competitive differentiation between most brands today. While most companies claim that customers and their needs drive decisions and priority within their organizations, when it comes time to prioritize customer needs, it can often be more difficult and less clear exactly how and what to do.

There are several reasons for this, and these reasons form the foundation of Meaningful Measurement of the Customer Experience. The book provides guidance on how to create a customer-centric culture that prioritizes customer needs while aligning internal teams around a common goal. It also provides a framework to create a system of meaningful measurement that can not only improve the customer experience by holistically looking at the customer journey, but provide a sustainable method for analysis and optimization with a more agile approach to continuous improvement. This provides internal teams with the metrics and justification they need to continue improving the customer experience, creates a collaborative, customer-centric culture aligned around common goals, and ultimately benefits the customers, who buy, buy more, buy more often, and tell others about their experiences.

Drawing on Kihlström's experience working with top organizations, as well as dozens of interviews with Fortune 1000 customer experience leaders for this book and his podcast, The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström, the secrets of planning, implementing, analyzing, and improving great customer experience in a sustainable way are demystified and made practical.

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Tags: Analytics, Change Management, Customer Experience

The Center of Experience: A blueprint for creating the experience-led enterprise
The Agile World
January 28, 2020
We find ourselves at an inflection point in the relationship between brands and their audiences, where customers and employees are demanding better and more valuable experiences. Companies must keep up with this demand in order to remain competitive. This includes competition for both customers as well as employees. More importantly, while many organizations have traditionally focused on external-facing initiatives first, it is the ones which start internally that have the greatest potential to provide long-term positive benefits.

"With honest expression and stimulating, provocative thinking, Greg comes from a place of passion and understanding of what it takes to achieve value. You'll be reading words from someone who has been there and done that. Who has a vision and a plan for the "how to" rather than just theory," says Diane Magers, CEO of Experience Catalysts.

The book provides a blueprint for organizations to implement a center of excellence incorporating brand experience, or the combination of customer and employee experience. Each property of experience is articulated and explained in detail, including brand, governance, culture, platform, measurement, and environment. The book also provides recommendations on how an organization can begin to implement a Center of Experience of their own, and how success is measured. The Center of Experience features a foreword from Diane Magers, Former Interim CEO for the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA) and Founder and CEO of Experience Catalysts, and pioneer in the discipline of experience.

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Tags: Change Management, Customer Experience, Digital Transformation

The Agile Consumer: Navigating the Empowered Economy and the Future of Customer Experience
The Agile World
August 04, 2019
We are living in an agile world. What started with technologists and marketers has spread across entire organizations, and didn't stop there. Consumers are thinking agile as well. They are more willing to be part of product development and the process of building brands than ever before, due to a number of social, technological, and economic factors. Also, as employees, they are also more interested in sharing values with the companies they work for, and are looking for new types of management and work environments. All of this adds up to the makings of an Agile World led by newly-empowered consumers in an evolving economy.The book gives practical examples of how agile thinking and approaches, as well as a shift in consumer behavior, are changing the brand-consumer relationship with the opportunity for better outcomes for both. As brands become more sophisticated and consumers have an increasing amount of choices, the power dynamic in the brand-consumer relationship has shifted to giving consumers more control than ever before. While this is a shift from the early days of branding and marketing, it is one that provides new opportunities for consumers and positions brands as facilitators of an evolving creative economy. It provides examples of how companies like Procter & Gamble, ING, Google, Betabrand, LEGO, and others are shaping this new dynamic while achieving innovative and profitable outcomes.The book features a foreword from Lisa Nirell, Chief Energy Officer of EnergizeGrowth and author of EnergizeGrowth NOW: The Marketing Guide to a Wealthy Company and The Mindful Marketer: How to Stay Present and Profitable in a Data-Driven World.The Agile Consumer is the third book in Kihlström's Agile series, which started with 2016's The Agile Web, exploring how the agile methodology applied properly website design, can create dramatic improvements in their efforts. 2018's The Agile Brand explored how brands that embrace consumer feedback and create a "living" brand that evolves over time while staying true to their values.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Emerging Technology, Marketing

Digital Delight: Planning, measuring, and optimizing great digital customer experiences
The Agile World
April 16, 2019
We are truly living in the age of customer experience. With the proliferation of tools that allow better and more holistic design of customer experience and consumer journeys, comes an increased ability to measure, analyze, and optimize. This new age of increased integration means that successful customer experience involves many teams and departments within an organization to become successful.

Marketing, Customer Service, Technology, Operations, and HR are now all on the front lines in an effort to provide the absolute best experience that draws new customers in, and keeps existing customers coming back.

Digital Delight uncovers the methods, approaches, and measurements needed in order to compete in a customer-centric world. The book gives practical examples of how to plan, build, measure, and optimize a successful customer experience platform, as well as how to prepare an organization for such an effort.

Digital Delight is Kihlström’s latest Ebook, following Ever Seeking: A History and Future of Search. These have been completed in addition to his Agile series of books, which started with 2016’s The Agile Web, exploring how the agile methodology applied properly website design, can create dramatic improvements in their efforts. 2018’s The Agile Brand explored how brands that embrace consumer feedback and create a “living” brand that evolves over time while staying true to its values.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Ever Seeking: The History and Future of Search
The Agile World
October 17, 2018
Starting from the origins of the classification of information, to early Web-based search engines, and finishing with predictions about the future, this book discusses search and its impact on marketers and society.

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Tags: Emerging Technology, Marketing, Startups

The Agile Brand: Creating Authentic Relationships Between Companies and Consumers
The Agile World
June 17, 2018
Brands have evolved over several centuries from simple tools for recognition to something much more nuanced and sophisticated in the modern age. Being an agile brand means taking part in a relationship with consumers. While this means giving up some control over your brand, it rewards you with loyal long-term customers. The Agile Brand follows the story of branding from its beginnings to the authentic relationship with brands that modern consumers want, and gives practical examples of what you can do to modernize your brand in meaningful ways.

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Tags: Business Strategy, Customer Experience, Marketing

The Agile Web: A Challenge to Re-Examine the Methods and Processes Used to Plan, Enhance, and Optimize Websites
The Agile World
October 02, 2016
By tracing the history of software development back to its beginning, this book forces a re-examination of the website design, development and optimization approach that many organizations take for granted.

Building upon agile software development and agile marketing practices that are still evolving, author and agency founder Greg Kihlström walks the reader through new ways to look at the way we treat websites, and plan for their redesign and optimization. The life of a website becomes a marathon with incremental improvements over time, instead of a sprint that ends when a new website is created to replace the previous one.

Kihlström builds on his experience designing and marketing interactive experiences for top brands, and running an agency since the early 2000s and provides a unique vision for how marketers can create websites that continue to grow in sophistication and effectiveness over time without the need for a continual process of redesigns.

This book is aimed at the marketer who wants to create the most effective website possible, and is willing to take a fresh look at how they approach their organization’s online presence.

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Tags: Agile, Customer Experience, Marketing

6 Coursewares
Utilizing Agile to Improve Marketing & Digital Transformation
Association of National Advertisers
October 03, 2022
With a foundation of Agile principles and an Agile marketing approach, organizations can move more quickly and achieve greater transformation with a stronger focus on customer experiences. Adaptive approaches with continuous feedback loops and iterative methods allow advanced types of marketing to be more effective and efficient. These include increased personalization, customer journey orchestration, and increased use of machine learning and next best action approaches.

The approach outlined in this course was created to help marketers take advanced steps towards omnichannel, 1:1 personalization, and next best action approaches to the customer experience. Led by an industry expert, best-selling author, and keynote speaker with 20+ years in the marketing technology and customer experience profession for Fortune 500 companies, this course will walk you through how to be successful in utilizing Agile approaches in your marketing campaigns and initiatives.

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Tags: Digital Transformation, Marketing, Agile

Introduction to Customer Data Platforms
The Agile Brand Academy
September 28, 2022
Customers continue to demand a more personalized experience with the brands they trust and support, going so far as to switch brands when they don’t receive the level of service they expect. While the expectations from consumers are increasing, the data privacy demands that eschew third party data harvesting and identity stitching are also growing more complex.

All of this adds up to a need for brands to create a first-party data strategy that allows these companies to collect information directly from consumers and provide world-class customer experiences in return.

And this need for a first-party data strategy means the brands need a Customer Data Platform (CDP) to help them enable this.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Agile Marketing in Collaborative Environments
Association of National Advertisers
August 01, 2022
Why are some organizations better able to adapt to changing consumer and external market conditions than others? The ability to be Agile in approaches from marketing to customer experience and beyond allows brands to anticipate and adapt to rapidly shifting internal and external needs. Agile organizations set themselves up to learn quickly and evolve as needed, in a climate of continuous change and improvement and allow teams that frequently work together, such as marketing, technology, and others to collaborate and achieve greater success. While the goals of customer growth and increased revenue remain constant, the methods and approaches to reaching those goals adapt as conditions demand.

The approach outlined in this course was created to help marketers enable their organizations to become more Agile and encourage cross-team collaboration using Agile principles and approaches. Led by an industry expert, best-selling author, and keynote speaker with 20+ years in the marketing technology and customer experience profession for Fortune 500 companies, this course will walk you through how to be successful in utilizing Agile approaches in your marketing campaigns and initiatives.

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Tags: Agile, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Practicing Agile Marketing
Association of National Advertisers
July 01, 2022
While many organizations may embrace the philosophy of a more iterative, agile approach, they struggle to implement the methods, processes, and roles that unlock its true benefits. Using frameworks such as Scrum, which is built upon agile principles, can enable marketing teams to be more efficient, effective, and provide opportunities to learn and improve more quickly.

The approach outlined in this course was created to help marketers take agile principles and the related Scrum framework to create better ways of approaching marketing. Led by an industry expert, best-selling author, and keynote speaker with 20+ years in the marketing technology and customer experience profession for Fortune 500 companies, this course will walk you through how to use agile roles and methods within your marketing campaigns and initiatives.

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Tags: Agile, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Introducing Agile Marketing
Association of National Advertisers
May 01, 2022
Most organizations struggle to keep up with the pace of change, whether that is consumer behaviors, the rate of technological advancement, or other movement in the market. An approach based on Agile principles helps marketers within an organization maintain the ability to adapt to changes, learn from continual testing, yet still maintain a focus on their overall goals. This course will provide marketers with essential knowledge and tools that they can use to begin implementing Agile marketing within their organizations.

The approach outlined in this course was created to help marketers better and more quickly realize value from their personalization efforts. Led by an industry expert, best-selling author, and keynote speaker with 20+ years in the marketing technology and customer experience profession for Fortune 500 companies, this course will walk you through Agile fundamentals and how they can be directly applied to your marketing efforts and the team implementing them.

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Tags: Agile, Digital Transformation, Marketing

On Demand Course: Measuring and Improving the Customer Experience
Association of National Advertisers
October 13, 2021
Customer experience (CX) is quickly becoming a key competitive differentiator for brands, yet many marketers and CX practitioners do not have a clear understanding of how measurement (establishing the right KPIs, methods, and processes necessary to make meaningful improvements) can bridge the gap between ‘good’ CX and one that consistently drives sales, brand affinity, and lifetime value.

Enabling great experiences for customers supported by people, processes, and technology within an organization is a game-changer for those companies that succeed. The speed at which these practices are applied could mean the difference between steady growth and losing out to the competition. A critical step to success is the ability for an organization to understand what, where, when, and how to measure customer experience.

The framework outlined in this course was created to help marketers with the tools, methods, and processes needed to measure customer experience with the goal of continuous improvement. Led by an industry expert, best-selling author, and keynote speaker with 20+ years in the marketing and customer experience profession for Fortune 1000 companies, this workshop will walk you step-by-step through the processes and methods needed to successfully measure and optimize customer experience efforts.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

2 eBooks
Forever Unified: Customer and Employee Experience
Medallia
August 22, 2022
More engaged employees create more engaged customers, benefiting everyone, including the business. Leading companies understand customer and employee experience as a unified element, and benefit from a lift that occurs when both are done well and in coordination with one another.

Download our latest guide and learn how to achieve growth in ways that other companies can’t replicate by connecting employee and customer experiences.

What’s inside:

How a unified view of customer and employee experience contributes to revenue growth
Tips for continually gathering and measuring feedback
Best practices for ongoing experience improvements
How to turn experience measurements into action

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Tags: Business Strategy, Customer Experience, Future of Work

Ektron to Drupal Website Migrations: A Guide
Acquia
August 03, 2016
In January of 2015, Accell-KKR, a private equity firm, combined Ektron and the Swedish company Episerver into a single company and CMS platform.

Between the high cost of an Episerver license upgrade and the fact that the open source landscape had evolved significantly over the prior decade to the point where many enterprise organizations (from private and public corporations to government entities) had embraced Drupal and the open source community, this has caused many organizations to choose to migrate off of the Ektron platform and onto a CMS like Drupal.

As one of the top three most-used Content Management Systems across the Web, Drupal is a natural choice for many organizations based on its popularity alone.

But there are several other reasons that Drupal earns top consideration. Since you are reading this eBook, we assume you are either considering a switch from Ektron to Drupal or are perhaps already decided and looking for some further advice. Let’s briefly discuss some of the benefits of Drupal versus Ektron, or in choosing a different licensed Content Management System.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

3 Founders
Digics
Digics, Inc.
July 01, 2020
Co-founded in 2020; acquired in December of 2021 by Alef Edge Inc.

SaaS-based freelance hiring platform utilizing AIML that we built and grew to an audience of over 850,000 freelancers.

We graduated through the Newchip Accelerator Program in late 2020. In January 2021, we acquired Moonlighting, a complementary SaaS platform that enabled strategic growth for the platform.

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Tags: Future of Work, HR, Startups

Founder and Principal, The Agile World, LLC
The Agile World, LLC
January 01, 2018
Founder of The Agile World, LLC which runs both The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström podcast as well as GK5A, a strategic consulting company that helps organizations with digital transformation, marketing technology, and customer experience strategy.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Carousel30
Carousel30
December 13, 2003
Carousel30 was a digital experience agency founded in 2003 and acquired by Yes& Agency in 2017.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

3 Industry Certifications
ICAgile Certified Professional - Agile Coaching
ICAgile
September 01, 2021
Received a certification from leading Agile certification and training company ICAgile for Agile Coaching.

Credential ID 6bfd45e1-d913-47d9-90e1-5083aa28e4d5

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Tags: Agile, Change Management, Leadership

Lean Six Sigma Black Belt
The Council for Six Sigma Certification (CSSC)
March 01, 2021
Greg earned the Lean Six Sigma Black Belt from The Council for Six Sigma Certification (CSSC)

Credential ID j0qD5OwKGQ

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Tags: Business Strategy, Change Management, Project Management

ICP-BAF Business Agility Foundations Certification
ICAgile
January 04, 2019
Achieving the ICAgile Certified Professional in Business Agility Foundations (ICP-BAF) demonstrates an ability to articulate the values, principles, and dimensions of business agility. Business agilists can formulate an action plan for applying agility in their workplaces and can appraise and use a variety of frameworks, tools, and techniques to jumpstart the organizational and individual transformation towards a more responsive, value-driven reality.

Credential ID 17-11869-6bfd45e1-d913-47d9-90e1-5083aa28e4d5

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Tags: Agile

5 Influencer Awards
Signal Awards for Podcast Excellence
Signal Awards
January 09, 2023
The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström was awarded a Bronze award in the Business Category in the inaugural Signal Awards for Podcast Excellence.

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Tags: Marketing

HERE ARE ICMI’S TOP 25 THOUGHT LEADERS FOR 2023
ICMI
December 21, 2022
Each year, we ask the contact center community to nominate their choices for the ICMI Top 25 Thought Leaders of 2023. From several hundred nominations, we present the 25 thought leaders for the coming year. Please click on their LinkedIn profiles below, and be sure to congratulate them for their service to the CX and contact center industries

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Tags: Customer Experience, Leadership

25 Best Marketing Technology Podcasts
Feedspot
August 01, 2022
The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlstrom featured on Feedspot's 25 Best Marketing Technology podcasts.

The best Marketing Technology podcast list curated from thousands of podcasts on the web and ranked by traffic, social media followers, domain authority & freshness.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Marketing

ICMI Top 25 Thought Leader of 2022
ICMI
January 13, 2022
Greg Kihlström was named a Top 25 Thought Leader in Customer Experience by ICMI

Those who make a good career in the contact center industry are often happy to share their knowledge to help others grow. That’s one of the great things about this field.

Each year, ICMI puts out a call for nominations for the Top 25 Thought Leaders in the spheres of contact center management and CX; those nominated share their wisdom on social media so others might benefit from what they’ve learned.

From the many nominations we’ve received, we’ve hand-picked this final list of thought leaders. Click on their names to find a link to their Twitter or LinkedIn account, and be sure to thank them for collectively offering professional development for the contact center professionals.

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Tags: Customer Experience

DC Inno: 50 on Fire Award
DC Inno
October 02, 2018
Greg Kihlström was named one of DC Inno's 50 on Fire in the Media, Marketing & PR Category.

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Tags: Marketing

12 Keynotes
Operationalizing AI in Your Organization
CIMPA
November 03, 2023
Greg Kihlström spoke at the CIMPA annual conference on the topic of artificial intelligence and how to adopt a winning philosophy and adoption strategy.

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Tags: AI, Digital Transformation

DSF 23 - CX Governance Workshop
Document Strategy Forum
May 23, 2023
206 POWER SESSION: PART 1 - Initiating Change: How to Create Greater Customer Experience Success
The ever-changing business landscape has forced companies to find new ways of engaging customers, providing superior experiences and staying ahead of their competition. Consumers have become increasingly sophisticated, expecting a level of service that meets their individual needs and wants. This means that businesses must be prepared to adapt and evolve in order to remain successful. In this interactive group discussion, we’ll share how to overcome internal and external obstacles, how to prioritize efforts and how to create agile, iterative approaches to reach a goal. Attendees will learn from their peers and from real-world industry changemakers on how to propose and implement change initiatives that lead to better customer experiences (CX) within an organization.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Change Management

Master Class: The ROI of Personalized Digital Experiences
DigicMarCon
May 02, 2022
DigiMarCon is the premier digital marketing, media and advertising conference and exhibition in the Mid-Atlantic. I presented a Master Class on the ROI of Personalization on May 2, 2022

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

AGILE CREATIVITY - HOW TO USE PROCESS TO BE MORE SUCCESSFUL WITH CREATIVE PROJECTS
American Advertising Federation Baltimore
January 12, 2022
How to use process to be more successful with creative projects

It would seem that process and creativity are at odds with one another. How, for instance, could a rigid set of rules help inspire great design, great experiences, or new approaches to challenges? In fact, the two can not only co-exist, but work together to create better results and enable teams to be more creative and productive. The secret is in how project process is designed and connected to the creative process.

what is discussed

The “healthy tension” between process and creativity
How repeatable processes free up mental real estate so that more creative work can be done
The value of continuous improvement to the creative process

what you’ll learn

How a carefully designed process can bolster new ideas and creativity while saving time and effort
How to design a process that enhances creativity while boosting productivity
How to sell your internal team and stakeholders on creating a process that is sustainable and achieves long-lasting success

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Tags: Agile, Marketing, Project Management

The Agile Brand: Creating authentic relationships between companies and their customers
American Marketing Association Madison Wisconsin
September 30, 2021
Greg Kihlström spoke at the AMA Madison Annual Conference on the topic of The Agile Brand, his book by the same name.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Spotlight Speaker Series: The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström
American Advertising Federation Buffalo, NY
November 17, 2020
Join our Spotlight Series session with Greg Kihlstrom, CEO & Co-Founder of CareerGig, to discuss the impact of the evolution of the brand-consumer relationship and what it means for the future of marketing and advertising.

Greg is a customer and employee experience & digital transformation expert, as well as best-selling author of the Agile series of books and host of The Agile World podcast. His presentation will cover a few examples of what to do and what not to do in order to stay agile, along with discussions about customer-centric, agile brands withstanding change while staying true to their values.

Read more about Greg here.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Fusion92 Presents: The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström
Fusion92
November 05, 2020
Chicago, Nov. 5,2019 – Today, Fusion92 hosted guest speaker Greg Kihlström at its River North office to discuss the theme of his new book, “The Agile Brand.” The talk, titled “The Agile Brand: Creating Authentic Relationships Between Companies and Consumers,” centered around the future of brands and how an agile, collaborative approach to branding and marketing creates strong brand-consumer relationships that yield lasting results. Kihlström’s visit is part of the Chicago-based marketing innovation company’s Bits & Bites series that it launched in spring of 2018. Fusion92 created the series as a perk dedicated to educating employees on relevant topics in the world of digital marketing and innovation.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Rochester Advertising Week: The Agile Brand
Rochester Advertising Week
November 04, 2018
Greg Kihlström will deliver the opening keynote address at the 2018 Rochester Advertising Week. He will then moderate a panel comprised of industry experts from Xerox, Constellation Brands, and Partners & Napier. The keynote and panel discussion will be based on thoughts and ideas from Kihlström's 2018 book, The Agile Brand.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

October Speaker Series with Greg Kihlström
American Advertising Federation, Charlotte, NC
October 25, 2018
An award-winning creative director and digital strategist who's worked with brands like AOL, MTV, Starbucks and Toyota, Greg will be speaking on how to apply agile marketing principles to a brand with examples drawn from his new book, The Agile Brand. Learn how companies can remain relevant beyond a logo and how to embrace customer feedback without compromising core values.

After a hugely successful inaugural event last month, we're expecting an even better turn out on October 25th. Get your ticket today before we sell out!

And thanks to a generous donation from Robert Half, The Creative Group, the first 10 people to purchase tickets will receive a free copy of The Agile Brand.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Return on Creativity: The Agile Brand Book Release Keynote
Arlington Economic Development, BizLaunch
August 16, 2018
Telling the story of how business and branding work gets a novel look when creatives become published authors.

In the third seminar in the Return on Creativity Series, Arlington Economic Development partners with Arlington Public Library, the Rosslyn BID and the American Advertising Federation in Rosslyn’s brand new pop-up retail space at The Alcove.

Keynote speaker Greg Kihlström is Senior Vice President, Digital, at Yes& and Chair of the American Advertising Federation National Technology Advisory Committee. His new book, “The Agile Brand,” traces the evolution of branding, from its beginnings to its authentic relationship with brands that modern consumers want.

The book gives practical examples of how companies can create a more modern, agile brand while staying true to their core values.

According to Kihlström, being an agile brand means taking part in a relationship with consumers. While this means giving up some control, the reward is loyal, long-term customers.

Immediately following Kihlström’s presentation, a distinguished panel led by moderator Genelle Schuler of Arlington Public Library will continue the conversation and discuss the place that books play in today’s society and their approach to writing.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Digital Day Forum Keynote
Direct Marketing Association Digital Day Forum
October 16, 2013
The Direct Marketing Association (DMAW) is providing a “Digital Day Forum” in McLean, Virginia on Wednesday, October 16, 2013, to help uncover new revenue opportunities emerging from online media.

Web-based media is the fastest growing medium out there as more organizations integrate it into their marketing mix. The “Digital Day Forum” will provide ‘non-profit’ and ‘for profit’ organizations ways to capitalize on the latest tools and technology to help grow their business.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Emerging Technology, Marketing

The Convergence of Customer Service, PR and Marketing on Social Media
Virginia Tech Pamplin College of Business 2011 Conference on Social Media and Tourism
October 11, 2011
Web 2.0 communication platforms such as blogs and other forms of social networking are altering the playing field for many hospitality and tourism providers. Therefore, the purpose of the 2011 Conference on Social Media in Hospitality and Tourism is to explore opportunities associated with this revised business environment.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

21 Media Interviews
Greg Kihlstrom on Getting Comfortable Being Uncomfortable - Chief Influencer - Episode # 037
YouTube
February 07, 2024
Greg Kihlstrom is a best-selling author, speaker, and entrepreneur, who serves as an advisor and consultant to top companies on marketing, technology, marketing operations, customer experience, and digital transformation initiatives. Greg is the Host of an award-winning podcast, The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström Podcast, and has written numerous books, the latest of which is Priority is Action. Greg joins Host Anthony Shop for an insightful look into the way leaders should respond to advances in technology like generative AI, why it’s so important to try new things that push your limits, and how to influence lasting change within an organization.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Video Interview: Are we ready for an AI-driven customer experience?
The Agile Brand
May 15, 2023
This is part 2 of a 3-part video series where Matthew Egol of JourneySpark Consulting and Greg Kihlstrom talk about an AI-driven Customer Experience.

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Tags: AI, Customer Experience, Marketing

House the Customer: Navigating CX, EX and Data Challenges
CMSWire
April 13, 2023
Greg Kihlstrom, author of "House the Customer," and Barry Padgett, Amperity CEO, explore CX, EX, first-party data and privacy in this contributor Q&A.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Enterprise Podcast Network: If You Want to Lead in Business, the Customer Comes First
Enterprise Podcast Network
April 10, 2023
Greg Kihlström, the Principal and Chief Strategist at GK5A and the author of his 11th book “House of the Customer” joins Enterprise Radio.

This episode of Enterprise Radio is on association with the Author Channel.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Business Strategy, Customer Loyalty

Market Impact Insights: House of the Customer - Greg Kihlstrom
Market Impact Insights
April 04, 2023
Best-selling author and GK5A Principal, Chief Strategist Greg Kihlstrom shares how putting customer experience first is key in maintaining competitiveness in today's dynamic marketplace. Knowing your customer and proactively making their journey better really pays off when you also deliver positive employee experiences every day.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Episode 162: Demystifying CDP with Greg Kihlström
Salesforce Developers Podcast
February 06, 2023
Greg Kihlström is the Principal and Chief Strategist at GK5A, a marketing consultant agency in Arlington, VA. He’s a consultant to many C-level types and an expert in marketing. He also hosts The Agile Brand podcast and is the author of 11 books.

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Tags: Digital Transformation, CRM, Marketing

CONTACT CENTER INDUSTRY PREDICTIONS FOR 2023
ICMI
December 21, 2022
Greg Kihlström was featured as one of several thought leaders that provided their predictions for the industry in the year ahead.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Customer Loyalty

14 tips companies need to consider before going fully remote
Forbes
December 09, 2022
As hybrid-remote work options continue to rise, some employers may be thinking that now is the time to transition to a permanent remote business. Whether it’s to save on unnecessary real estate spending, continued health safety, or ability to expand your talent acquisition and client base globally, you’ll need to be strategic about how your company plans to move ahead without missing a beat.

Below, 14 Fast Company Executive Board members discuss essential details that every leader should take into account when transitioning from a traditional on-site company to an entire remote establishment.

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Tags: Digital Transformation, Future of Work, Leadership

12 tips to strengthen cross-company communication
Fast Company
November 22, 2022
Implement these methods to distribute newsworthy information, solidify manager-team engagement, and build a culture of trust.

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Tags: Marketing, Future of Work, Business Strategy

15 Potential Game Changers For Underperforming Campaigns
Forbes
August 09, 2022
14. Focus On More Personalized Offers And Multichannel Experiences

If you aren’t doing so already, start focusing on more personalized offers and on personalizing experiences across more of your channels and touch points. Work to create a more consistent experience and messaging for an individual everywhere that they interact with your brand, and increase your ability to understand which offers work best with which individuals and segments. - Greg Kihlstrom, GK5A

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Connecting CX to your bottom line with Greg Kihlstrom, GK5A
Zoomin Software
June 09, 2022
The most valuable brands out there are able to draw a direct line between customer experience and their bottom lines. In this episode, Greg Kihlstrom, best-selling author, speaker, advisor and Principal and Chief Strategist for GK5A, breaks down how to measure important aspects of CX so you can put the right metrics in front of a CEO. As you listen, you’ll learn how to tie customer experience to revenue enabling CX to become an investment priority for your organization.

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Tags: Business Strategy, Customer Experience, Marketing

Creating Your Personal Brand with Greg Kihlström
Entrepreneurs Circle
June 06, 2022
The goal of this show is to bring my experience (both successes and failures) to the table and to share some of my insights to building businesses and relationships. I’ll also interview fellow entrepreneurs to inspire and give you some tools you may need on your journey to freedom, legacy, and spiritual growth!

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Tags: Customer Experience, Entrepreneurship, Marketing

Daily Ad Brief
Daily Ad Brief
March 17, 2022
“More 2 Media” is a show made for people in the world of marketing and media who want to grow their media knowledge. Interviewing experts around the country, “More 2 Media” is the place to go for tips, tricks and entertaining quips to take your business to the next level.

This week our host interviews Greg Kihlstrom from GK5A.

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Tags: Analytics, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Greg Kihlström: King of Agile
Tech 2025
July 01, 2021
On this episode, Charlie crowns Greg Kihlström “King of Agile” and with good reason! Greg (founder of The Agile World where he consults, writes and hosts a podcast) has spent the past several years helping companies to incorporate agility into their digital transformation strategies and also advising on customer and employee experience.

He has written several books on how companies can become more agile including: The Agile Workforce (2021), Center of Experience (2020), The Agile Consumer (2019), Digital Delight, 2nd edition (2019), The Agile Brand (2018), Ever Seeking (2018), The Agile Web (2016).

Greg and Charlie discuss what it means to be agile during and post-pandemic, how companies should navigate bringing employees back to the office in a way that optimizes employee experience, and how the pandemic is forcing companies to innovate in ways they never imagined before the pandemic (and why that’s great but also challenging).

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Tags: Agile, Customer Experience, Digital Transformation

The New P&L Business Book Review Club speaks to Greg Kihlström, author of The Agile Workforce
The New P&L
May 26, 2021
We believe in a New 'P&L' for business: one focused as much on Principles & Leadership as Profit & Loss, because we know that if your principles are right and aligned with your purpose, and your leadership has clarity of vision and is strong and empathetic, then your business will be in profit and not in loss in many ways. Each week we interview entrepreneurs and business people to understand their views on the importance of Principles and Leadership, and how to work together to build more productive, collaborative, creative and ultimately successful businesses. www.principlesandleadership.com

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Tags: Customer Experience, Future of Work, Leadership

THINK Business Podcast: Jon Dwoskin Talks with Greg Kihlström
THINK Business Podcast
April 06, 2021
Greg was interviewed by Jon Dwoskin on the THINK Business Podcast.

Greg is a best selling author, keynote speaker, and entrepreneur. He is currently CEO and Co-Founder at CareerGig, after his digital experience agency, Carousel30, was acquired in 2017. He has worked with some of the world’s top brands, including Coca-Cola, Dell, FedEx, GEICO, Marriott International, MTV, Starbucks, Toyota and VMware. He currently serves on the University of Richmond’s CX Advisory Board.

Greg’s newest book, The Center of Experience (2020) talks about how customer and employee experience can be operationalized into a cohesive brand experience. Greg’s previous book, The Agile Consumer (2019) explores the most recent shifts in the brand-consumer relationship and how companies must become more agile across their entire operation to remain successful. Greg is a regular contributing writer to Forbes, and has been featured in Advertising Age, SmartCEO, Website Magazine, and The Washington Post.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Future of Work, Startups

Navigating the Customer Experience: Episode 122 : The Advantages Of Mastering Agility While Navigating Your Customer’s Experience
Navigating the Customer Experience with Yanique Grant
March 17, 2021
Greg was interviewed by Yanique Grant for her Navigating the Customer Experience podcast.

Greg shared that he has played a few different roles over his career and depending on how you look at it, he has been a freelancer and employee, entrepreneur, executive, so on and so forth.

Also, he has played roles in creative marketing technology and what he has tried to do throughout his career, some of that is he likes to learn new things and so he constantly tries to challenge himself to learn them. But some of it also is he thrive when he’s able to find connections between whether it’s different disciplines or industries or things like that.

And so, he has always just tried, at first it wasn’t so intentional, he’ll confess but towards getting a few years down in his career, it started to become more intentional that he always wanted to kind of push himself and be a little bit uncomfortable. If he was too comfortable, it meant that he wasn’t learning enough, and he wasn’t pushing himself to do more than he was currently doing.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Idea to Exit to SaaS Founder - What it takes to build an Enterprise B2B brand with Greg Kihlström
LeadGen Podcast
December 07, 2020
Greg is a digital transformation expert with a very interesting resume. He is in the online industry since the early days of the New Economy and Dotcom boom.

He spent 3,5 years working at a SaaS-based tech start-up in Virginia (US), before he made the jump to start his own digital agency, Carousel30 back in 2002.

Greg has come a long way, building up the brand into a leading digital experience agency, working with brands like NASA, Toyota, Volkswagen, Porsche and the United Nations.

We are speaking with Greg to hear about his journey building up an agency from the ground up, from humble beginnings to working with the most renowned enterprises in the world.

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Tags: Digital Transformation, Marketing, Startups

NBC4 Washington DC: Virginia Company Connects Freelancers with Projects and Offers Benefits
NBC 4 Washington DC
September 24, 2020
Greg Kihlström was interviewed by NBC4 in Washington DC about his role in an Arlington VA-based startup.

Whether you’ve lost your job during the pandemic or simply need a more flexible schedule because the kids are stuck at home, a new local company may be able to connect you with your next career.

Digics is based in Arlington, Virginia. It’s free to sign up, and you’ll only pay if you land a project through the site. The fees range from 3.5% to 10% of what you earn, and the more you work, the lower your percentage.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Future of Work, Startups

CareerGig: The Ultimate Gig Marketplace | Greg Kihlström
Radio Free Enterprise with Frank Felker
August 05, 2020
Greg Kihlström, CEO of CareerGig was interviewed via live stream on Radio Free Enterprise Wednesday, August 5, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. EDT.

If you’re a gig worker looking for contract jobs that include benefits, or an employer trying to rapidly locate and onboard verified skill workers, you need to tune in.

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Tags: Future of Work, Innovation, Startups

Greg Kihlström: “Inspiration comes when you are able to relax your focus and be in the moment”
Top Interactive Agencies
July 31, 2015
Greg was interviewed by Top Interactive Agencies about his experience with his digital agency, Carousel30.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Leadership, Marketing

1 Miscellaneous
The Agile Brand logo New Book House of the Customer by Greg Kihlström Discusses How Brands Can Create the Personalized Customer Experience of the Future
MarketingDive
January 11, 2023
Between consumer demands for more personalized and greater data privacy and competitive pressures to provide better omnichannel customer experiences, brands are faced with a dilemma: build a foundation for the future of customer relationships or lose relevancy in a crowded marketplace.
Doing this, however, is not without its challenges. While many enterprises undertake digital transformations in order to modernize and anticipate future changes, these efforts are often fraught with roadblocks, and many fail to deliver the results promised.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

3 Panels
Digital Experience Summit: How AI is Evolving the Customer Experience
CMSWire
August 17, 2022
AI promises to provide us with information that can transform the interactions we have with our customers. At every touch point, brands now have the opportunity to gain valuable insights on the individual needs and pain points of their consumers. In this panel, we’ll learn how to provide intuitive and personalized connections using AI.

Topics may include:

How to build a more human AI interface
What Does the AI-Powered Journey look like
How to increase customer satisfaction metrics at each touch point

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Tags: AI, Customer Experience, Marketing

Live with CXPA: Exploring CX Metrics and Measurement
CXPA - Customer Experience Professionals Association
April 26, 2022
Greg Kihlström will be part of a panel with Jeb Dasteel, Founder of Customer Strategy Alliance and Muneer Mubashir, Co-Founder & CEO of Xmata. The panel is produced by CXPA and will feature a discussion of CX metrics and measurement.

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Tags: Analytics, Customer Experience, Marketing

The Marketing Skills Needed in an Age of Disruption
MAC Summit 2020: Marketing, Advertising & Communications
November 10, 2020
2020 has been a year of massive disruption in almost all areas of marketing — not to mention day-to-day life. What skills for marketers are even more necessary now after the disrputions of the past year? What skills are becoming less important? How can marketers position themselves by learning and acquiring the new skills that will be demanded the coming years.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing, Future of Work

174 Podcasts
Cross-functional collaboration plus AI augmentation with Mariam Asmar, Braze
The Agile Brand™
March 27, 2024
As companies continue to boast AI investments, marketers are struggling to keep up, according to a recent report from customer engagement platform Braze, which finds that less than 50% of marketers are using or intend to use AI in their everyday tasks.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

AI and the CMO with Amanda Cole, CMO at Bloomreach
The Agile Brand™
March 25, 2024
Today we’re going to talk about the impact of AI on Chief Marketing Officers, as well as personalization and how, with the help of AI, it might finally be the year of personalization.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

S6 | 501: AI and the CMO with Amanda Cole, CMO at Bloomreach
The Agile Brand
March 25, 2024
Today we’re going to talk about the impact of AI on Chief Marketing Officers, as well as personalization and how, with the help of AI, it might finally be the year of personalization.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

S6 | 500: March Madness Special: Hyper-paced CX in the iGaming Industry with Pini Yakuel, Optimove
The Agile Brand
March 22, 2024
Welcome to our first March Madness episode - and in the spirit of this, today we’re going to talk about the customer journey and experience in an industry that has one of the highest velocity of transactions, yet with very little differentiation between brands. The iGaming industry, which includes sports betting and online casinos is often looked at as a commodity product/service with little differentiation between brands.

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Tags: Digital Transformation, Marketing

S6 | 499: AI and Digital Transformation with Jonathan Boakes, Infinum
The Agile Brand
March 20, 2024
Today we’re going to talk about AI’s incorporation into both existing and new digital transformation initiatives, and what some of the implications are when doing so. We’ll also be touching on some of the ideas in Infinum’s recent report, Beyond Buzzwords: Decoding the Digital and AI Revolution.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

S6 | 498: The value of B2B2C E-commerce with Carlos Manalo and Tom Flierl
The Agile Brand™
March 18, 2024
Today we’re going to talk about the value of B2B2C, and how to create a win-win situation for all parties involved despite the challenges and risks associated with B2B2C and self-service models, in 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.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

S6 | 497: Great omnichannel CX in retail with Tracey Brown, Chief Customer Officer at Walgreens
The Agile Brand™
March 15, 2024
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.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

S6 | 496: The link between creativity and innovation with Anne Jacoby
The Agile Brand
March 13, 2024
Today we’re going to talk about the link between creativity and innovation and how leaders that empower their teams to tap into their own creative sparks can achieve stellar results while increasing their teams’ engagement.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

The role of #ai in the creative process and creative teams
Youtube
March 13, 2024
Host Greg Kihlström talks with author Anne Jacoby about the role of #AI in the creative process and creative teams on the latest episode of The Agile brand #podcast

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

#496: The link between creativity and innovation with Anne Jacoby
Youtube
March 13, 2024
Today we’re going to talk about the link between creativity and innovation and how leaders that empower their teams to tap into their own creative sparks can achieve stellar results while increasing their teams’ engagement.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

S6 | 495: Pay transparency and the employee experience with Sydney Artt, Anaconda
The Agile Brand
March 11, 2024
We are here at eTail Palm Springs in Palm Spring, California and While we mostly talk about marketing and the customer experience on this show, as we all likely know, employees and the employee experience directly affect customers, so today we’re going to talk about salary transparency and key ways business leaders can successfully take a more modern approach to HR and navigate pay transparency within their organization.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Quick Take: Online marketplaces as growth area in ecommerce
Youtube
March 08, 2024
Greg Kihlström talks with Todd Walsh from HP about online marketplaces as growth area in ecommerce.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Quick Take: Defining placemaking and its role in creating spaces
Youtube
March 07, 2024
Host Adam Chen talks with TJ Carvis of Gresham Smith about defining placemaking and its role in creating spaces.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Quick Take: The marketing job market so far in 2024
Youtube
March 06, 2024
Greg Kihlström talks with Sue Keith of Ceres Talent about hiring for the customer marketing role.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Quick Take: The customer marketing role
Youtube
March 06, 2024
Greg Kihlström talks with Sue Keith of Ceres Talent about hiring for the customer marketing role.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

#493: The Top 3 in-demand marketing jobs for 2024 with Sue Keith, Ceres Talent
Youtube
March 06, 2024
In this special episode, brought to you by Ceres Talent, a marketing recruiting firm run by modern-day marketing matchmakers, we’re going to talk about a few things, including a brief review of the state of the marketing hiring landscape, the top in-demand jobs for 2024, and what hiring managers should keep in mind about AI and hiring for marketing roles.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

S6 | 493: The Top 3 in-demand marketing jobs for 2024 with Sue Keith, Ceres Talent
The Agile Brand
March 06, 2024
In this special episode, brought to you by Ceres Talent, a marketing recuiting firm run by modern-day marketing matchmakers, we’re going to talk about a few things, including a brief review of the state of the marketing hiring landscape, the top in-demand jobs for 2024, and what hiring managers should keep in mind about AI and hiring for marketing roles.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Marketing

#23: How Physical Spaces Impact Work Life with TJ Carvis, Project Executive, Gresham Smith
Youtube
March 05, 2024
Host Adam Chen talks with TJ Carvis of Gresham Smith about the impact of the physical environment on the employee experience.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

S6 | 492: Building and maintaining a culture of customer centricity with Abhii Parakh, Head of Customer Experience at Prudential
The Agile Brand
March 04, 2024
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.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

#491: Data collection done right with Sean Falconer, Skyflow
Youtube
March 01, 2024
Today we’re going to talk about doing data collection right, by also exploring how to do it wrong, and what brands need to pay attention to when they are collecting information to power personalized experiences, marketing efforts, and many other aspects of the business.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Quick Take: Unlocking the power of cx and ex collaboration for enhanced customer success
Youtube
February 29, 2024
Greg Kihlstrom talks with Simonetta Turek, Chief Product Officer from @Medallia about unlocking the power of #cx and #ex collaboration for enhanced customer success

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Quick Take: Customizing customer communications with AI
Youtube
February 29, 2024
Greg Kihlstrom talks with Simonetta Turek, Chief Product Officer from @Medallia about unlocking customizing customer communications with #AI

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

S6 | 490: AI & Great Customer and Employee Experiences with Simonetta Turek, Chief Product Officer at Medallia
The Agile Brand
February 28, 2024
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.

Today we’re going to talk about AI and its role in creating and delivering winning customer experiences.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

#490: AI & Great Customer and Employee Experiences with Simonetta Turek, Chief Product Officer at...
Youtube
February 28, 2024
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.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Quick Take: Navigating the gaps between business and tech with machine learning
Youtube
February 27, 2024
Host Greg Kihlström talks with best-selling author and founder of Machine Learning Week Eric Siegel about overcoming common pitfalls in #enterprise #machinelearning projects.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

8 Profiles
The Agile Brand Guide to Customer Journey Orchestration by Greg Kihlström is the latest in the Agile Brand Guides series
Martech Series
November 15, 2022
In this second Agile Brand Guide, Customer Journey Orchestration Platforms are explored and demystified. The Agile Brand Guide to Customer Journey Orchestration Platforms: Evaluating, Buying, and Implementing a CJO for Marketers by Greg Kihlström is now available in print as an ebook.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Author Profile on MarTech
MarTech
September 19, 2022
Profile of Greg Kihlstrom on MarTech as an author and member of their SME contributor program.

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Tags: Analytics, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Greg Kihlström Profile on Fast Company
Fast Company
September 06, 2022
The profile for Greg Kihlström on Fast Company Executive Board.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

From Exiting Digital Agency to SaaS Co-Founder: Greg Kihlstrom
SpeakerHub
July 04, 2022
Profile of Greg Kihlstrom on SpeakerHub

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

CMSWire Profile on Greg Kihlstrom
CMSWire
August 03, 2021
Greg is a best-selling author, speaker, and entrepreneur. He has worked with some of the world’s leading organizations on customer experience, employee experience, and digital transformation initiatives, both before and after selling his award-winning digital experience agency in 2017.He has worked with some of the world’s top brands, including AOL, Choice Hotels, Coca-Cola, Dell, FedEx, GEICO, Marriott, MTV, Starbucks, Toyota and VMware. He currently serves on the University of Richmond’s Customer Experience Advisory Board, and is Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certified, and holds a certification in Business Agility from ICP-BAF.

He currently provides consulting, training, and speaking services at The Agile World, and writes for top publications while working on his latest book. His podcast, The Agile World with Greg Kihlström is available on all major outlets.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Greg Kihlström on Crunchbase
Crunchbase
August 01, 2021
Greg is a best selling author, speaker, and entrepreneur. He is currently President and Chief Experience Officer at Cravety, after selling his digital experience agency, Carousel30, in 2017. He has worked with some of the world’s top brands, including AOL, Choice Hotels, Coca-Cola, GEICO, Marriott International, MTV, Starbucks, Toyota and VMware.He currently serves on the University of Richmond’s Customer Experience Advisory Board, and was the founding Chair of the American Advertising Federation’s National Innovation Committee, and served on the Virginia Tech Pamplin College of Business Marketing Mentorship Advisory Board.
Greg’s newest book, The Center of Experience (2020) talks about how customer and employee experience can be operationalized into a cohesive brand experience. He wrote another book on customer and employee experience called Digital Delight (2019), that focuses on designing, implementing, and measuring CX and EX. Greg’s previous book, The Agile Consumer (2019) explores the most recent shifts in the brand-consumer relationship and how companies must become more agile across their entire operation to remain successful. The Agile Brand (2018), follows the evolution of branding from its beginnings to the authentic relationship with brands that modern consumers want, and gives practical examples of what you can do to create a more modern, agile brand while staying true to your core values. His first book, The Agile Web (2016), discusses the changing landscape of digital marketing and customer experience. His podcast, The Agile World, launched in early 2019 and discusses brand strategy, marketing, and customer experience.

Greg was named a 2018 50 on Fire winner from DC Inno as one of DC’s trendsetters in Marketing. He is a regular contributing writer to Forbes, and has been featured in publications such as Advertising Age, SmartCEO, Website Magazine, and The Washington Post. He’s participated as a keynote speaker, panelist and moderator at industry events around the world including Internet Week New York, Internet Summit, EventTech, SMX Social Media, Social Media Week, Mid-Atlantic Marketing Summit, ABA Bank Marketing Summit, and VMworld. He has guest lectured at several schools including VCU Brandcenter, Georgetown University, Duke University, American University, University of Maryland, Howard University and Virginia Tech.

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Tags: Digital Transformation, Marketing, Startups

ANA Profile for Greg Kihlstrom
Association of National Advertisers
July 01, 2021
Profile for Greg Kihlström's position as an instructor for Association of National Advertisers.

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Tags: Agile, Customer Experience, Marketing

Muck Rack Profile for Greg Kihlstrom
Muck Rack
June 02, 2020
Greg is a best selling author, speaker, and entrepreneur. He has worked with some of the world’s leading organizations on customer experience, employee experience, and digital transformation initiatives, both before and after selling his award-winning digital experience agency, Carousel30, in 2017. He has worked with some of the world’s top brands, including AOL, Choice Hotels, Coca-Cola, Dell, FedEx, GEICO, Marriott, MTV, Starbucks, Toyota and VMware. He currently serves on the University of Richmond’s Customer Experience Advisory Board, was the founding Chair of the American Advertising Federation’s National Innovation Committee, and served on the Virginia Tech Pamplin College of Business Marketing Mentorship Advisory Board. Greg is Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certified, and holds a certification in Business Agility from ICP-BAF.

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Tags: Business Strategy, Customer Experience, Marketing

12 Videos
Quick Take: Building #creative confidence
Youtube
March 13, 2024
Host Greg Kihlström talks with author Anne Jacoby about building creative confidence on the latest episode of The Agile brand #podcast

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Quick Take: The impact of AI organizations of all sizes
Youtube
February 21, 2024
Jon Ricketts of AGYL AI talks about how artificial intelligence is able to have a meaningful impact on both very large enterprise organizations as well as the smallest of companies.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Quick Take: Navigating the challenges of Generative AI-driven content creation
Youtube
February 21, 2024
Jon Ricketts of AGYL AI talks about some of the challenges with creating great Gen AI-based content.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Innovation Economy Quick Take: Commercial real estate resiliency
Youtube
February 21, 2024
Marc McCauley from Arlington Economic Development discusses the commercial real estate market and how Arlington County, Virginia approaches it to create a business-friendly environment that supports the many needs of a community.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

#487: (Actually) great content with generative AI, with Jon Ricketts, AGYL AI
Youtube
February 21, 2024
It didn’t take long but the world is awash in generative AI-based content, and let’s face it. A lot of it isn’t great. But that’s not the way it has to be.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

QUICK TAKE: Commercial Real Estate as an Indicator of the Overall Economy
Youtube
February 20, 2024
Marc McCauley from Arlington Economic Development discusses the commercial real estate market and how Arlington County, Virginia approaches it to create a business-friendly environment that supports the many needs of a community.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Quick Take: Building a customer centric culture
Youtube
February 20, 2024
Sri Narasimhan from CVS Health talks about building a customer centric culture on the podcast.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

#486: Igniting customer centricity with Sri Narasimhan, Head of Enterprise Customer Experience at...
Youtube
February 20, 2024
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.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

#22: Commercial Real Estate Resiliency with Marc McCauley, Arlington Economic Development
Youtube
February 19, 2024
Today we’re going to talk about resiliency in the commercial real estate market and how innovative solutions matched with realistic expectations can mean good things for the industry, and for the businesses utilizing office space.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Quick Take: Empowering employees to deliver great customer experience
Youtube
February 19, 2024
Sri Narasimhan from CVS Health talks about empowering employees to deliver great customer experience on the podcast.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

#484: What it takes to be a category-leading CX brand, with Joe Tyrrell, CEO of Medallia
Youtube
February 14, 2024
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.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

#21: Storytelling for Career Growth with Sarah Johnston
Youtube
February 06, 2024
In this episode, we are talking one of the most progressive, forward-thinking executive resume and LinkedIn branding experts out there. Sarah Johnston is the Briefcase Coach and she shares the secret sauce to standing out in our digital-firstt world. From messaging to marketing, she approaches the resume through the one proven method that cuts through the clutter. Two words. Story telling. Sarah herself has quite a story as she is approaching one million followers on LinkedIn. How in the world did she amass a million followers? She'll tell you. Don't miss this episode.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

1 Visiting Lecturer
Lecture on Agile Branding
Virginia Tech Pamplin College of Business
October 17, 2018
Greg Kihlström was a visiting lecturer at Virginia Tech's Pamplin College of Business in Fall of 2018, speaking to a Marketing class at the Blacksburg, VA campus

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Tags: Digital Transformation, Emerging Technology, Marketing

7 Webinars
Enhancing the Ecommerce Experience with Generative AI and Personalization
CMSWire
July 18, 2023
Customers expect a more personalized experience from the brands they support, and the buyer’s journey is a key opportunity for brands. Utilizing AI-based tools to provide more relevant images and videos that educate the customer and manage their expectations can provide greater conversion and fewer returns.

Learn how personalized imagery helps brands reach a more diverse array of customers while enabling their internal teams to product a greater volume of personalized content.

During this webinar you'll learn about:

The role that images and personalization play in Ecommerce
How generative AI enhances Ecommerce
How to tie personalization and generative AI together for winning customer and business outcomes

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Tags: AI, Customer Experience, Marketing

Omnichannel Personalized Experiences: 3 Components of a Winning eCommerce Platform
CMSWire
July 27, 2022
While brands know that customers increasingly expect more personalized experiences across all channels and devices, delivering on that promise is not without its challenges.

This live, hour-long webinar will talk about three key components of an omnichannel personalized customer experience, based on real-world experience and best practices.

This webinar will cover three primary areas:

Understanding the importance of a first-party data strategy and how it impacts the buyer's journey
Understanding how personalized content, offers, and actions can increase critical metrics such as revenue per session and customer lifetime value
Understanding ways to measure and optimize your e-commerce efforts to continuously improve your results

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Tags: Digital Transformation, Emerging Technology, Marketing

Boston CXPA: Agile CX Roundtable
CXPA Boston Chapter
May 17, 2022
A follow up discussion with the Boston chapter of the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA) about using agile practices within CX.

This interactive session will continue our November 3, 2021 agile CX discussion, diving deeper into how to meaningfully implement agile methods and work in an agile method even if the rest of your organization isn’t agile. We’ll also explore how to build a cross-disciplinary agile workflow as well as how to build the business and ROI case to help engage, educate, and gain internal support from stakeholders and executive sponsors.

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Tags: Agile, Customer Experience, Customer Loyalty

AMA DC: First Party Marketing
American Marketing Association DC
May 11, 2022
Greg Kihlström gave a talk on first party data strategies and the need for marketers to take new approaches to collecting and managing customer data.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

How to Create (and Support!) a Happy, Productive Hybrid Workforce
Mitel
March 24, 2022
There are plenty of benefits to remote work from an employees’ point of view. No commute, your own private bathroom, no one to complain if you burn your popcorn — you get the idea.

But there are also positives to being in an office with your peers. There’s the ability to bounce ideas off each other, meet for impromptu chats, hold meetings where everyone actually pays attention, and many more.

The pros and cons of both sides have many businesses opting for a hybrid model: Some employees work remotely, some show up to the office, and some might even switch between the two.

When a hybrid work environment is implemented strategically, with the right employee support, it can provide the best of both worlds. Without a solid plan and strong leadership, however, it’s sure to be the opposite.

This webinar will focus on the practicalities of planning and implementing a hybrid work strategy. We’ll cover topics including:

Ensuring equitable experience for remote and in-person employees
Supporting remote, in-person and flex employees from a tech perspective
How tech can help augment your team’s unique skill sets
Using technology to promote work-life balance and increase productivity
Pitfalls to avoid and obstacles to overcome
Making sure your work plan is stable and sustainable

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Tags: Customer Experience, Future of Work, Leadership

HOW TO CREATE AND SUPPORT A HAPPY PRODUCTIVE HYBRID WORKFORCE
Mitel
March 02, 2022
Watch this webinar to see how you can implement a strategic hybrid working program with the right support for your employees and create the best of both worlds. Check it out here.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Future of Work

AAF DFW: Return On Experience: How Do You Measure ROI of Customer Experience
American Marketing Association Dallas Fort Worth
June 30, 2021
Every company claims that customer satisfaction and experience is top of mind. There are often challenges, both internal and external, to following through on delivering great customer experience, however. Greg Kihlström, CX thought leader and author of the book The Center of Experience, details how to define, measure, and optimize return on experience-related initiatives by putting both customers and employees first.

Drawing on principles from his book that outlines a methodical approach to setting up an experience-led center of excellence, Kihlström will provide insights on how to deliver great experience that is consistent and continually improving.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

2 Workshops
CX Forums Chicago 2022
CX Forums
June 06, 2022
Greg Kihlström delivered a workshop on Meaningful Measurement of the Customer Experience for CX Forum Chicago.

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Tags: Analytics, Customer Experience, Digital Transformation

Workshop: Meaningful Measurement of the Customer Experience
Document Strategy Forum
April 04, 2022
Greg Kihlström presented a workshop on meaningful measurement of the customer experience.

For the past 14 years, DOCUMENT Strategy Forum (DSF) has been the only peer-driven, peer-reviewed and peer-produced educational event for professionals working within Insurance, Financial Services, Government, Healthcare, Utilities and other sectors. BOTTOM LINE: If you are responsible for creating and managing content, communications and strategies to support the customer experience, then DSF ’22 Chicago is a must-attend event!

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Thinkers360 Credentials

20 Badges

Radar

4 Predictions
The Great Reconciliation

Date : November 10, 2023

With 2023 being the year that AI catapulted into the mainstream of business conversations, 2024 is going to be the year that organizations need to reconcile their long-term digital transformation plans with the need to embrace relevant artificial intelligence applications in key areas.

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More content means a need to have a clearer perspective

Date : October 28, 2023

We are already flooded with content, but with generative AI, the volume of content created is only set to increase. As it becomes easier to create and generate content for even those for whom writing doesn't come easy or naturally, we will be buried in well-meaning, but sometimes less-than-focused content.

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Consolidation and Composable will Both Grow

Date : October 23, 2022

With 8000+ marketing technology platforms, there is a wealth of choices out there, but that can often lead to a fragmented infrastructure for brands. Consolidation will continue to happen in the marketplace, meaning more platforms will gain more features, though that may not always benefit brands if those individual features are not as robust as best-of-breed offerings.

Composable platforms, on the other hand, offer brands a unique way to stay with some of their current platforms while incorporating the best elements of marketing technology components that offer this functionality.

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The gap between leaders and laggards will continue to increase

Date : October 01, 2022

While digital transformation can have varying levels of success within an organization, there is also a growing gap between those organizations that are leaders and laggards in the three main areas digital transformation is intended to address: customer experience, operational excellence, and innovation

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Blog

8 Article/Blogs
Measurement and the Customer Journey
Thinkers360
October 02, 2022

The following is based on ideas from my recent book, Meaningful Measurement of the Customer Experience, now available everywhere. 

I’m sure you’ve run across this phrase at least a few hundred times: “Life’s a journey, not a destination.” It might be on a poster with some mountains, or an empty desert road, written in a script font in front of a sunset. Trust me, it’s been done to death. But that doesn’t make it untrue. You could say something similar about the customer experience—it’s definitely a journey, not a destination.

Because the definition of customer experience is an individual’s perception of their entire experience with a brand, CX itself isn’t defined by any single point within the beginning, middle, or end.

Additionally, from the company side of things, it is very important to not just understand what it takes to get a customer to complete a stage of a journey. It’s just as vital to understand and empathize with a customer at the many individual moments that occur during the journey.

In this article, I’m going to explore measurement and the customer journey so we can better understand how to effectively measure customer experience.

What happens after a sale?

Some would say that the real experience of being a customer begins after the first sale, with everything leading up to that being the equivalent of dating someone before moving in or getting married. Or, as I have often said, the real test of a relationship is when things go wrong, not when things are still in a “honeymoon” phase, whether that’s a real honeymoon or a figurative one.

By the same token, there are a number of moments and opportunities to win over a customer before that first sale, so you need to consider all of it.

All of this adds up to the need to clearly define and understand the process a customer goes through in order to learn about your product or service, choose it above your competitors, purchase it, and buy it again and/or refer it to their colleagues and friends.

This means that you need to map out your customer journey if you haven’t done so already.

Life’s a journey

Every organization I’ve worked with has their own slightly different definitions or delineations for the stages within  a customer journey, but most of them follow the one shown in the figure below (Figure 3.3.1) to some degree.

 

Figure 3.3.1, The Customer Journey

You can see that we’ve split the customer journey into the following stages:

  1. Educate, where the buyer still has fundamental questions as to the exact challenge they need to solve, as well as the potential providers of solutions.

  2. Influence, where the buyer has created a consideration set for brands and solutions, and is considering how each compares from a value perspective.

  3. Acquire, where the buyer begins and eventually completes the process of purchasing the product or service, resulting in a sale for the brand.

  4. Activate, where the buyer starts to use the product or service and has the opportunity to recommend it to others, purchase more products and services from the brand, or in some instances may run into technical difficulties which require customer service.

Now let’s explore some measurement considerations at each of the four stages in the journey.

Measurement considerations at each stage in the customer journey

You may have an overall metric you use to judge relative performance of customer experience from year to year, such as NPS, CSAT, CES, or all or some of the above. Regardless of that baseline metric, it is extremely important to be continually measuring, analyzing, and improving interactions with customers at each stage of the journey.

Let’s take a look at some of the considerations that should be made during the stages of the customer journey we defined earlier.

EDUCATE

As a customer is learning both about the problem they are trying to solve, as well as about your product, it is important to lead with information that educates (as the name of this stage suggests) more than sells. There will be plenty of time to make the sale and roll out all of your best marketing copy and offers. For the time being, however, you need to make sure that the customer knows what they need to buy in the first place, and positioning your brand as a helpful guide enables you to have a prime place once they are considering their options.

Metrics at this stage can include interactions with your thought leadership or educational materials, as well as inquiries at a high level about your product or service offerings. A well-educated buyer might reach out through some of these channels, but quickly identify themselves as belonging in the next stage.

INFLUENCE

At this next stage, you have an educated customer that needs to make a sometimes tough decision between several options, including your brand. This is the stage where you get more “marketing” heavy by providing personalized offers, and work more aggressively towards pushing to the next stage, which involves a purchase.

Make sure you find ways to identify if this buyer really belongs in this stage, or if they still need more education on their fundamental challenges. If you are able to do this, you will save a considerable amount of time and resources, and when you are able to educate the buyer, you’ll have a much easier sale on your hands. This process can be made much easier through customer journey orchestration tools, particularly if you are dealing with a large volume of customers.

ACQUIRE

You made the sale! Hold on, not so fast. This stage includes the entire sales process, and ends with the sale being made. Whether you are a B2B provider with a months-long sales process, or an e-commerce brand whose goal is the quickest checkout possible, it always takes a little more effort than you think it should to make the sale.

It is important to have metrics associated with buyers starting this process, and measuring how long it takes, what issues were encountered, and more. Again, regardless of the amount of time it takes and the people, processes, and technology involved in making the sale, there is a wealth of information to be gained.

While there are plenty of customer-facing metrics, both quantitative and qualitative, to capture during this stage, this is also one where the internal aspects, or product and process, are incredibly important. The last thing you want is for a small but critical point to be missed, take too long, or malfunction when a buyer is ready to buy!

ACTIVATE

Wait, aren’t we done after that last stage? Of course not. The sale can really be thought of as the beginning of a new relationship. A prospect now becomes a customer and many opportunities await. The customer experience measurement at this stage includes their behaviors using your product or service, their referral and word of mouth behavior, as well as whether they choose to purchase from your organization again.

This means that you have several teams working in parallel paths. For instance, in a B2B setting, you might have a customer success team working with a customer to ensure they are getting onboarded and extracting as much value as possible from your product in the first 30 days. Then, you have a marketing team that wants to cross-sell, up-sell, or get the customer to spread the word to their colleagues to increase the overall customer value. Finally, you might have a customer service or technical support team that addresses issues or questions when there is a real or perceived problem. This doesn’t even take into account any other potential teams, such as technical integration, or third parties that may be involved.

Suffice to say, there is a lot going on across many teams in your organization at this stage. It is critical that you have both an overall measure of success, as well as individual measures and goals for each of those teams. Your processes and governance of CX will unite these teams in their actions.

As you can see, there are so many opportunities throughout the customer journey in order to influence CX for the better, and just as many opportunities to measure the effectiveness at each of these stages. Through strategic planning and prioritization, you can make the most of this potential wealth of information.

This article is based on ideas from my recent book, Meaningful Measurement of the Customer Experience, now available everywhere.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

The Metrics of Customer Experience, Part 7: Process Measurements for Customer Experience
Thinkers360
September 19, 2022

The following is based on ideas from my recent book, Meaningful Measurement of the Customer Experience, now available everywhere. 

What do we mean by the term “return on experience” after all? I will start this chapter with a definition. Return on experience is the tangible return on investment from initiating, completing, and optimizing customer experience-related activities within an organization.

The goal of customer experience is to benefit customers (as the name implies) by creating consumers who buy, buy more often, and refer others. The goal of return on experience is to repeatedly demonstrate that, when customer experience is improved, the company also tangibly and directly benefits. This means that return on experience is as much about the company as the customer. Because of this, companies that measure return on experience are more likely to sustain their investments and initiatives related to CX.

Return on experience would be easier to measure if it was simply based on one of the dimensions I mentioned in the previous chapter. Instead, though, it is the return on investment in creating the overall experience that leads to either the customer or employee’s perception of their experience.  While this is more difficult than calculating individual touchpoints such as the effectiveness of an e-commerce checkout process, or measuring completions of an engagement survey, it is ultimately more rewarding and provides better insights on how you can create long-lasting customer and employee relationships.

While I will mainly focus on the customer experience portion of return on experience, it is important to understand the relationship between customer and employee experience as well. This is something I’ll discuss in a little more detail in the next article in this series.

Why is return on experience so important?

Let’s start with the obvious. Return on experience is important, just like it is critical to show a return on investment on any initiative in any organization. Diving deeper, however, there are several dimensions to its importance.

WHO DOESN’T LOVE THEIR CUSTOMERS?

I bet if you asked just about any company if they love their customers, their answer would be a definitive “yes.” After all, what kind of company doesn’t appreciate the individuals and organizations that bring them revenue and more customers through word of mouth?

While everyone says they love customers, many companies have a hard time justifying the expense of creating delightful experiences that go beyond selling a product or service for a reasonable price. One could argue that some companies have a hard enough time delivering on that.

The reasons behind why so many companies are still lagging behind in providing great customer experience are vast, and we certainly can’t go into detail about each rationale in this chapter. We can, however, say that companies that don’t invest in creating great experiences are losing out in an area that has become the primary differentiating factor between brands[vi].

RETURN ON EXPERIENCE HELPS BOTH THE CUSTOMER AND THE COMPANY

This brings us to return on experience, and why it is so important to companies in a world where consumers want and expect personalized service, and are surrounded by choices from other brands willing to go the extra mile to compete on experience.

The first step in creating great experiences is the intent to do so, but unless you’re able to measure it, you won’t know how or where it needs improvement. Being intentional about measuring and optimizing your return on experience initiatives helps you do just that. 

This helps your company to better allocate resources to areas where they are needed most, and it helps your customers by emphasizing the importance of a holistic approach to customer experience throughout the organization. It is only when customer experience is thought of in this way that you can create a win-win for both your customers and your internal stakeholders.

RETURN ON EXPERIENCE MAKES CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE A REPEATABLE PROCESS

Back to the idea that just about every company talks about loving their customers. Return on experience benefits an organization by demonstrating that investments in CX are worthwhile to the health and sustainability of the business itself.

While some might wish that it was enough to simply say that a company has happy customers and great word of mouth, the fact of the matter is that most companies simply can’t make long-term investments in initiatives that bear no tangible returns. So while a short-lived focus on customer experience may be able to occur in just about any organization, the long-term ones are those who measure return on experience from the start.

How to measure return on experience

Now let’s discuss how to measure return on experience by talking about the components of creating a great measurement program.

DEFINE YOUR KPIS

You can’t possibly be successful in customer experience improvement and measuring return on experience unless you can paint a clear picture of what success looks like.

First, remember that the things that are often easiest to measure are not always the most valuable. Start first with your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) before deciding what and how you will measure. As you dive into your platforms and measurement tools, you will undoubtedly run into statistics and metrics that you can plot out on charts, but just because there is a pre-formatted report that might look impressive doesn’t mean it will show you meaningful measurements of your customer experience.

Also remember that in order to ensure you are able to justify the return on experience, you need to keep both internal and external measurements in mind. Not only does this mean revisiting the measurement framework we explored in a previous chapter, but it also means that you need to be able to prove that investments in CX have real business returns.

MAPPING THE CUSTOMER JOURNEY

A critical part of improving the customer experience is to truly understand the path a customer takes to get from start to finish. For this, the tool of customer journey mapping is incredibly helpful and increasingly used by all types of organizations. 

For large organizations, the thought of mapping all customer journeys can be overwhelming, so it’s best to start small, with only a handful. It’s more important to be thorough in mapping only a few, instead of trying to capture every possible persona, journey, and edge case.

CREATE AN OPTIMIZATION PLAN

I’ll go into much more detail on this when we get to the section on operationalizing great customer experience, but for now, I will just say that any plan to measure return on experience (or return on investment in general), needs to be accompanied by a plan and processes to systematically measure, analyze, and improve them. As a proponent of both agile methods and and Lean Six Sigma approaches, I can say that it matters less about the exact methodologies than the fact that you are consistent in how you optimize your CX measurements and efforts.

How to prioritize measurements

Finally, with all of the potential data you can measure, and a good understanding of your customer journeys, you will be left with a potentially daunting amount of metrics that you can use to measure your customer experience.

This requires a method to prioritize your measurements, and that you regularly report on those metrics. Different companies approach this in different ways, but your KPIs should help point the way here. Create a method to prioritize your measurements by taking into consideration the following:

  • Alignment with KPIs

  • Potential audience(s) they impact

  • Potential for improvement when measured

  • Cost and difficulty to measure

In my experience, creating a weighting system based on those categories and similar ones can help you easily prioritize and determine what measurements will have the biggest impact.

As you can see, while the specifics may vary from business to business and industry to industry, there is a clear link between customer and employee experience. It is also important to understand the types of customer experience measurements available, as well as to be able to prioritize them for your organization and your return on experience initiative.

Making customer experience a metric tied to business success makes measuring return on experience such a valuable thing for any business. This approach also makes measuring, analyzing, and improving your customer experience more sustainable, and allows you to focus on getting results that create a more sustainable business.

Thanks for reading this article series on customer experience metrics. I hope you enjoyed it, and for more information and insights, check out my latest book, Meaningful Measurement of the Customer Experience

This article is based on ideas from my recent book, Meaningful Measurement of the Customer Experience, now available everywhere.

See blog

Tags: Analytics, Customer Experience, Marketing

The Metrics of Customer Experience, Part 6: Process Measurements for CX
Thinkers360
September 07, 2022

The following is based on ideas from my recent book, Meaningful Measurement of the Customer Experience, now available everywhere. 

In the last article in this series we explored the first category of internal customer experience metrics: product metrics. Now, we have the second of the two internal subcategories of customer experience metrics, which are the process metrics, as shown in the figure below (Figure 2.7.1).

 Figure 2.7.1, Quantitative measurement as defined in the CX measurement framework

Definition

Process metrics can be defined as the workflows and systems that enable a customer experience to occur. This includes how long it takes to respond to a customer request, or the number of steps or “hands” that need to touch a request in order for it to be fulfilled. A lot of this is based around efficiency and waste.

Examples

Here are a few examples of process metrics as they relate to customer experience:

  • How long it takes to respond to a customer request

  • The number of steps it takes or “hands” that need to touch a request across teams, departments, or partners

  • The frequency and process by which products or processes related to customer experience are analyzed and improved

  • The speed by which improvements to customer experience tools, platforms, and processes are designed, tested, and launched

How to Measure

Here are a few examples of how to measure process metrics for customer experience:

  • Time to solution for improvements to customer experience processes and platforms

  • Efficiency and productivity, including cost savings and/or revenue gains

  • Indirect methods such as increased purchases and customer satisfaction

Opportunities

Process measurement provides the biggest opportunity to have long-term sustainable gains and improvements in customer experience and satisfaction. Just as methods such as lean manufacturing or agile software development became game changers in those (and many other) areas of business, investments in customer experience process measurement and improvement ensure that what might be a good CX today doesn’t stagnate and become less effective over time.

Challenges

Measurement of process is probably the least direct of the four subcategories when it comes to tying improvements to customer experience gains. Thus, it can be one of the hardest to justify continued investment in, unless an organization is driven by a strong agile, lean, Six Sigma, or similar mindset.

The last category of customer experience in the framework helps organizations continually analyze and improve CX across people, processes, and technology. While the ultimate measure of any of these methods is customer satisfaction and return on experience (which we will explore in the next article in this series), being able to break CX measurement down into these parts gives insights that might simply get lost otherwise.

In the next article, we’re going to discuss how to tie all of these customer experience metrics together to measure and calculate return on experience.

This article is based on ideas from my recent book, Meaningful Measurement of the Customer Experience, now available everywhere.

See blog

Tags: Analytics, Customer Experience, Marketing

The Metrics of Customer Experience, Part 5: Product Measurements for Customer Experience
Thinkers360
August 29, 2022

The following is based on ideas from my recent book, Meaningful Measurement of the Customer Experience, now available everywhere. 

In the last two articles in this series, we explored two external, or customer-facing categories of customer experience metrics: quantitative and qualitative. Now we are going to move from the external, or customer-facing customer experience metrics, to the internal metrics. We will start with product metrics, as shown in the figure below (Figure 2.6.1).

Figure 2.6.1, Quantitative measurement as defined in the CX measurement framework

 

Definition

Product metrics include the tools and services the organization produces for customers. Thus product metrics can be defined as how a product or service performs, such as the up-time of a mobile app or website, or the effectiveness of search engine functionality. These types of measurements are often diagnostic in nature.

Examples

Here are a few examples of product metrics as they relate to customer experience:

  • Mobile app or e-commerce website up-time

  • Effectiveness of search functionality in FAQs/knowledgebase

  • Wait time in-store, online, or on a customer service line

How to Measure

Here are a few examples of how to measure product metrics for customer experience:

  • Analytics tools for web and mobile applications

  • Diagnostic tools for system performance

  • Customer service metrics such as queue times

Opportunities

Product metrics are ones that an organization often has direct control over, and they are most often objective, quantitative ones. This means that as long as the important metrics are well-defined, and measurement platforms are in place, they can be measured with relative ease.

This type of internal measurement also gives companies an opportunity to get out ahead of potential issues by seeing, and in some cases anticipating, them in advance of an issue that might create a poor customer experience.

Challenges

There are obvious cases such as an e-commerce website being unavailable, or content not loading in a mobile app, where customers will complain, or simply go elsewhere and not purchase from your company if they occur. Outside of those examples, you might not hear from your customers about some of the challenges they face, because your product or service metrics are not something that is as directly understood by consumers.

Instead, the onus is on your product and service teams to measure and identify existing and potential issues and stay on top of them as promptly as they can. Ideally, this would be before your customers even notice.

This can sometimes be a challenge because many products and platforms that affect your customers are managed by teams outside of the customer experience, success, or service departments. Whether it is marketing, IT, or any other number of teams, product metrics and issues with products often require collaborative solutions. Depending on how closely teams are aligned, and how much of a priority CX is across all teams, this can prove more of a roadblock than it should. When you add other partners and third party platforms to the mix, this can provide even greater complexity.

Product metrics provide an internal window into what your customers are experiencing and also provide a direct method for your teams to make meaningful improvements to key processes within the customer journey. You shouldn’t wait for customers to start complaining or for sales to drop off to measure, analyze and build processes to improve them. Get ahead of these potential challenges before your customers even realize they could have it better!

In the next article in this series, we are going to discusss process metrics for customer experience. 

This article is based on ideas from my recent book, Meaningful Measurement of the Customer Experience, now available everywhere.

See blog

Tags: Analytics, Customer Experience, Marketing

The Metrics of Customer Experience, Part 4: Qualitative Customer Experience Metrics
Thinkers360
August 21, 2022

The following is based on ideas from my recent book, Meaningful Measurement of the Customer Experience, now available everywhere. 

In the last article in the series, we explored quantitative customer experience metrics. Let’s now explore qualitative customer experience metrics, which will be the second subcategory of CX measurements within the framework, as shown in the figure below (Figure 2.5.1).

Figure 2.5.1, Quantitative measurement as defined in the CX measurement framework

Definition

If you are new to qualitative metrics, let’s compare them to quantitative metrics. While quantitative measurements are objective, verifiable numbers such as how many sales were made, or how many visits were made to a web page, qualitative metrics are based on someone’s subjective opinion. For instance, qualitative measurements include asking your customers what their experience was like in terms of good or bad, which is not as easy to interpret and assess. It’s like asking someone if they liked their cup of coffee. All of that depends on whether they like light or dark roast, hot or iced, sugar and cream or none, or any of the other myriad combinations possible.

Thus, qualitative measurements are those that can be subjectively measured like Net Promoter Scores (NPS), Customer Effort Score (CES), Customer Satisfaction (CSAT), or things like sentiment analysis and other similar types of metrics.

Examples

Here are a few examples of qualitative metrics as they relate to customer experience:

  • Net Promoter Score question(s), such as “How likely are you to recommend this product or service?”

  • Other types of survey questions and responses

  • Sentiment analysis on social media comments

How to Measure

Here are a few examples of how to measure qualitative metrics for customer experience:

  • Customer surveys, which can include measurements for NPS and CSAT

  • Focus groups

  • Other feedback mechanisms

  • Sentiment analysis tools

Opportunities

Qualitative measurements can be helpful because sometimes objective measurements are simply not enough to tell a story. For instance, a customer can make it through a shopping experience which counts as a successful sale, but if they were made miserable every step of the way, they are unlikely to return or refer others. Thus, getting their subjective opinion can add insight in order to provide a better understanding.

Also, while I stated earlier in this book that qualitative measurements like NPS or CSAT shouldn’t be the only methods your organization uses to measure customer experience, these types of qualitative measurements can be extremely useful when you look at them as a relative point over time.

In other words, if you are measuring Net Promoter Score, and have been for many years, you can look at it as an important baseline measurement that you can use to see upswings and downswings over time. Used this way, they are an extremely helpful indicator that something is either going very well or very poorly.

Challenges

The thing to remember with qualitative customer experience measurements is that they are an individual’s opinion, at a specific point in time. Both of those factors are worth discussing, albeit briefly.

An individual’s opinion about how their customer experience should proceed is useful information, but as every individual is unique in their own way, so is their expectation of what the optimal CX should be. In the aggregate, this is less of an issue because trends tend to normalize with a higher volume of inputs, but taken one-off, an anecdotal piece of evidence can sometimes skew internal perceptions about what may be either right or wrong.

The second component here is the fact that this is data gathered at a specific point in time. For instance, a customer may be extremely happy (or extremely upset) by the end of a process, but there might have been many things that went wrong (or well) throughout. If you only measure an individual’s opinion one time throughout the process, you’re really only gathering information about their feelings at a single point. I’m simplifying this here, of course, because good or bad experiences are built from multiple touchpoints, but it is also important to note that you may have extreme challenges at certain points in your customer journey that your buyers simply overlook because they made it through the process. Shoring up those gaps earlier in the process are still critical, because not all customers are alike, either. Some may be more affected by setbacks early on, or have longer memories!

Qualitative metrics are essential to understanding customer perceptions of your organization’s customer experience. As long as they are balanced with other metrics, including the quantitative ones, as well as the internal metrics we’ll be discussing in the two articles that follow in this series, they provide good context that is difficult to measure otherwise.

This article is based on ideas from my recent book, Meaningful Measurement of the Customer Experience, now available everywhere.

See blog

Tags: Analytics, Customer Experience, Marketing

The Metrics of Customer Experience, Part 3: Quantitative CX Measurements
Thinkers360
August 17, 2022

The following is based on ideas from my recent book, Meaningful Measurement of the Customer Experience, now available everywhere. 

 We’re going to start with the first of two of our customer-facing, or external sub-categories of measurement: quantitative measurement, as shown in the figure below (Figure 2.4.1).

 Figure 2.4.1, Quantitative measurement as defined in the CX measurement framework

With each of these measurements, we’re going to explore them according to five dimensions, which consist of the following:

  • Definition of the type of measurement

  • Examples of metrics that fit the description

  • How to measure, including methods and platforms that can be used

  • Opportunities that measurement of this type provides

  • Challenges in measuring this type of metric

The important thing to remember is that no single subcategory should be the only method that you use to measure customer experience.

Definition

Quantitative measurements are things that can be objectively measured, like repeat purchases, referrals, visits, or complaints. While this is often the easiest set of things to measure in terms of discrete metrics (e.g. Google Analytics can provide the number of page views, or your email platform can measure click-through rates on a campaign), it must be tied to multiple touchpoints and/or platforms to be most meaningful.  

Examples

Here are a few examples of quantitative metrics as they relate to customer experience:

  • Repeat purchases

  • # of complaints

  • # of referrals

  • In-store purchases through a loyalty program

  • Calls to a customer service hotline

  • Customer churn rate

How to Measure

It can be said that quantitative metrics can be some of the easiest to measure because they are numbers taken directly from interactions, though that can sometimes be misleading. Measurement and analysis of the most meaningful ones often takes more effort, statistical analysis, or the combination of several metrics to tell the story of a customer journey (or at least the full story of one stage within the journey) . Here are a few examples of how to measure quantitative metrics for customer experience:

  • Analytics tools such as website or web application statistics

  • Customer relationship management (CRM) tools and analysis

  • Other sales data platforms

  • Customer service/call center measurement data

Opportunities

Quantitative metrics provide an objective (i.e. “the numbers don’t lie”) method of gaining insight into your customers that can help build a comprehensive view of how they are interacting with your brand and your people, processes, and platforms throughout the customer journey. Because there are many tools available to capture quantitative data, the initial step of data collection can often have a low barrier to entry.

When measured and processed in real-time, quantitative metrics can also provide the foundations for a uniquely personalized customer experience. Real-time insights and customer journey orchestration can help set your organization apart from your competitors, and provide the type of personalized that customers have come to expect from the brands they purchase from.

Challenges

As I mentioned earlier, there are a myriad of quantitative metrics that you can collect in order to analyze. A challenge that often occurs, however, is that looking at one quantitative metric in isolation rarely tells the whole story.

This means that you often need to collect data from multiple sources and find methods to combine them to produce a clearer picture of the customer experience. Many organizations are undergoing digital transformation initiatives to make this easier, and as anyone who has undergone one of these types of transformations will attest, it is not a quick or inexpensive process. It is, however extremely valuable to be able to piece together all of your data points, quantitative and otherwise.

Quantitative customer experience metrics are a critical part of your measurement. Your organization’s ability to directly measure them, and analyze them to tell the story of your customer’s journey, makes them valuable in providing objective data about where there are challenges and opportunities, or strengths and weaknesses, in your CX program.

In the next article in this series, we will discuss qualitative measurements of customer experience. 

This article is based on ideas from my recent book, Meaningful Measurement of the Customer Experience, now available everywhere.

See blog

Tags: Analytics, Customer Experience, Marketing

The Metrics of Customer Experience, Part 2: A Framework for Customer Experience Measurement
Thinkers360
August 08, 2022

As we read in the previous article, a single metric like Net Promoter Score or CSAT doesn’t tell the full picture, and it isn’t prescriptive to all of the teams within your organization for how to improve customer experience along the entire customer journey. Because it is true that customer experience is everyone’s job in an organization, we need more holistic methods of measurement, analysis, and guidance or ideas for improvement.

The framework that I will be walking through in this chapter has been shared already in my previous book, The Center of Experience (2020), as well as with anyone who has seen one of my talks on return on experience. In the pages that follow in this chapter, I’m going to go into more detail about my customer experience measurement framework, and why I believe it is so valuable in order to get a fuller picture of the state of your CX.

We start with two primary categories, each with two subcategories underneath them, as shown below:

  1. External (Customer)

    1. Quantitative

    2. Qualitative

  2. Internal (Company)

    1. Product

    2. Process

As you can see, the main level categories are split into external, or customer metrics, and internal, or company metrics. Let’s take a look at these main categories, as well as why we split things in this way in the first place.

External and internal customer experience measurements

We will start our exploration of the dimensions of customer experience measurement with the two main categories and continue in the next four chapters by diving in deeper on the two subcategories within each one.

CUSTOMER METRICS

External, or customer metrics, are most often directly gathered from interactions with consumers. These could be qualitative insights, such as those from a survey or focus group, or quantitative, such as return visits to a website, or purchases in a store. Regardless of the exact metric, they are all measurements that result from a customer taking an action. We will explore these in more detail in the chapters that follow as well.

COMPANY METRICS

Internal, or company metrics, can be thought of as more indirect measures of factors that make up a customer’s experience with a brand. We will explore these in more detail as well in the chapters that follow this one, and they include measurements of your products and their performance, as well as the internal processes you use in order to measure, analyze, and improve your organization’s performance as it relates to CX.

How this helps create better delivery of customer experience

By looking at your customer experience metrics according to a breakdown such as the one I am proposing, you are able to better separate the more explicit metrics, such as the ones you receive directly from customers, with more implicit ones, such as those that exist “behind the scenes” or may be more opaque to customers, yet still impede their overall satisfaction.

Customers don’t always know how to articulate their exact reasons for having a poor experience, and often systems, processes, and platforms don’t give them enough feedback or information to be able to share anything specific even if they wanted to. Approaching your customer experience measurement in this way allows you to look at both the surface interactions as well as what is happening beneath the surface to create either great or lackluster experiences.

The next four articles in this series are going to discuss each of the four subcategories in more detail and provide some ideas on how you can start to think more holistically about your customer experience measurement. You’ll quickly find that many of these measurements are not things you can look at in a silo, either. This is why it is so critical to get cross-departmental buy-in.

This article is based on ideas from my recent book, Meaningful Measurement of the Customer Experience, now available everywhere.

See blog

Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing

Measurement and the Customer Journey
Thinkers360
August 06, 2022

The following is based on ideas from my recent book, Meaningful Measurement of the Customer Experience, now available everywhere. 

I’m sure you’ve run across this phrase at least a few hundred times: “Life’s a journey, not a destination.” It might be on a poster with some mountains, or an empty desert road, written in a script font in front of a sunset. Trust me, it’s been done to death. But that doesn’t make it untrue. You could say something similar about the customer experience—it’s definitely a journey, not a destination.

Because the definition of customer experience is an individual’s perception of their entire experience with a brand, CX itself isn’t defined by any single point within the beginning, middle, or end.

Additionally, from the company side of things, it is very important to not just understand what it takes to get a customer to complete a stage of a journey. It’s just as vital to understand and empathize with a customer at the many individual moments that occur during the journey.

In this article, I’m going to explore measurement and the customer journey so we can better understand how to effectively measure customer experience.

What happens after a sale?

Some would say that the real experience of being a customer begins after the first sale, with everything leading up to that being the equivalent of dating someone before moving in or getting married. Or, as I have often said, the real test of a relationship is when things go wrong, not when things are still in a “honeymoon” phase, whether that’s a real honeymoon or a figurative one.

By the same token, there are a number of moments and opportunities to win over a customer before that first sale, so you need to consider all of it.

All of this adds up to the need to clearly define and understand the process a customer goes through in order to learn about your product or service, choose it above your competitors, purchase it, and buy it again and/or refer it to their colleagues and friends.

This means that you need to map out your customer journey if you haven’t done so already.

Life’s a journey

Every organization I’ve worked with has their own slightly different definitions or delineations for the stages within  a customer journey, but most of them follow the one shown in the figure below (Figure 3.3.1) to some degree.

 

Figure 3.3.1, The Customer Journey

You can see that we’ve split the customer journey into the following stages:

  1. Educate, where the buyer still has fundamental questions as to the exact challenge they need to solve, as well as the potential providers of solutions.

  2. Influence, where the buyer has created a consideration set for brands and solutions, and is considering how each compares from a value perspective.

  3. Acquire, where the buyer begins and eventually completes the process of purchasing the product or service, resulting in a sale for the brand.

  4. Activate, where the buyer starts to use the product or service and has the opportunity to recommend it to others, purchase more products and services from the brand, or in some instances may run into technical difficulties which require customer service.

Now let’s explore some measurement considerations at each of the four stages in the journey.

Measurement considerations at each stage in the customer journey

You may have an overall metric you use to judge relative performance of customer experience from year to year, such as NPS, CSAT, CES, or all or some of the above. Regardless of that baseline metric, it is extremely important to be continually measuring, analyzing, and improving interactions with customers at each stage of the journey.

Let’s take a look at some of the considerations that should be made during the stages of the customer journey we defined earlier.

EDUCATE

As a customer is learning both about the problem they are trying to solve, as well as about your product, it is important to lead with information that educates (as the name of this stage suggests) more than sells. There will be plenty of time to make the sale and roll out all of your best marketing copy and offers. For the time being, however, you need to make sure that the customer knows what they need to buy in the first place, and positioning your brand as a helpful guide enables you to have a prime place once they are considering their options.

Metrics at this stage can include interactions with your thought leadership or educational materials, as well as inquiries at a high level about your product or service offerings. A well-educated buyer might reach out through some of these channels, but quickly identify themselves as belonging in the next stage.

INFLUENCE

At this next stage, you have an educated customer that needs to make a sometimes tough decision between several options, including your brand. This is the stage where you get more “marketing” heavy by providing personalized offers, and work more aggressively towards pushing to the next stage, which involves a purchase.

Make sure you find ways to identify if this buyer really belongs in this stage, or if they still need more education on their fundamental challenges. If you are able to do this, you will save a considerable amount of time and resources, and when you are able to educate the buyer, you’ll have a much easier sale on your hands. This process can be made much easier through customer journey orchestration tools, particularly if you are dealing with a large volume of customers.

ACQUIRE

You made the sale! Hold on, not so fast. This stage includes the entire sales process, and ends with the sale being made. Whether you are a B2B provider with a months-long sales process, or an e-commerce brand whose goal is the quickest checkout possible, it always takes a little more effort than you think it should to make the sale.

It is important to have metrics associated with buyers starting this process, and measuring how long it takes, what issues were encountered, and more. Again, regardless of the amount of time it takes and the people, processes, and technology involved in making the sale, there is a wealth of information to be gained.

While there are plenty of customer-facing metrics, both quantitative and qualitative, to capture during this stage, this is also one where the internal aspects, or product and process, are incredibly important. The last thing you want is for a small but critical point to be missed, take too long, or malfunction when a buyer is ready to buy!

ACTIVATE

Wait, aren’t we done after that last stage? Of course not. The sale can really be thought of as the beginning of a new relationship. A prospect now becomes a customer and many opportunities await. The customer experience measurement at this stage includes their behaviors using your product or service, their referral and word of mouth behavior, as well as whether they choose to purchase from your organization again.

This means that you have several teams working in parallel paths. For instance, in a B2B setting, you might have a customer success team working with a customer to ensure they are getting onboarded and extracting as much value as possible from your product in the first 30 days. Then, you have a marketing team that wants to cross-sell, up-sell, or get the customer to spread the word to their colleagues to increase the overall customer value. Finally, you might have a customer service or technical support team that addresses issues or questions when there is a real or perceived problem. This doesn’t even take into account any other potential teams, such as technical integration, or third parties that may be involved.

Suffice to say, there is a lot going on across many teams in your organization at this stage. It is critical that you have both an overall measure of success, as well as individual measures and goals for each of those teams. Your processes and governance of CX will unite these teams in their actions.

As you can see, there are so many opportunities throughout the customer journey in order to influence CX for the better, and just as many opportunities to measure the effectiveness at each of these stages. Through strategic planning and prioritization, you can make the most of this potential wealth of information.

This article is based on ideas from my recent book, Meaningful Measurement of the Customer Experience, now available everywhere.

See blog

Tags: Analytics, Customer Experience, Digital Transformation

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