Marketing & CX Leadership: What Matters Now
CMOs and CX leaders don't need more noise. You need signal, systems, and moves you can ship this quarter. Here's a simple brief to help your teams act with clarity.
The most important CX signals happen before the survey
Surveys capture how people feel after something happens. The real story lives earlier: search behaviors, micro-frictions in checkout, bot deflections, and help-center paths. Those are the signals you can fix in days, not quarters.
- Instrument intent data: on-site search terms, scroll depth, rage clicks, and chat handoffs.
- Flag "silent churn" patterns: repeated returns to pricing, cancellations mid-chat, or repeat failed payments.
- Turn pre-survey signals into playbooks: issue detected → owner → fix SLA → impact metric.
Move from AI tools to AI thinking
Tools are features. Thinking is a system. Build loops that connect data, decisions, and delivery - then let tools plug in.
- Define inputs, actions, outputs for every workflow (e.g., ticket routing, ad creative, product recommendations).
- Set guardrails: what the AI can do, what it can't, and when a human steps in.
- Measure throughput and error rates, not just "time saved."
Ecommerce: AI data enrichment that actually moves revenue
Vendors like Lucidworks signal where the market is going: better product data, richer attributes, and smarter synonyms that improve search, PDPs, and recommendations. Translation: fewer zero-result searches and higher AOV.
- Audit top 500 SKUs for missing attributes that affect discovery and filters.
- Expand synonyms from customer language, not brand language (use chat logs and on-site search).
- Track "search → refine → buy" as a core KPI, not just conversion.
McDonald's as an unexpected CX benchmark
Consistency wins. McDonald's has shown that tight menus, clear lanes (drive-thru, kiosk, app), and loyalty mechanics can beat novelty. The lesson for support and marketing: reduce choices, standardize flows, and reward repeat behavior.
- Make your "fast lane" obvious: the quickest path to resolution or reorder should be front and center.
- Apply loyalty thinking to support: proactive credits, skip-the-queue for high-value customers, and "known issues" auto-updates.
DAM governance without the "Department of No"
Governance should accelerate content, not block it. Create patterns that let teams move fast with quality checks baked in.
- Use templated approvals for low-risk assets; reserve deep reviews for high-risk use cases.
- Auto-tag assets with required metadata and ownership on upload.
- Publish "good/better/best" usage rules that fit real campaign timelines.
Agentic AI in customer experience is getting real
Partnerships like Medallia and Ada point to agent-style systems that plan steps, call tools, and confirm outcomes. That's helpful in support and post-purchase flows where context matters.
- Start with one bounded workflow (refund eligibility, warranty checks, plan changes).
- Give the agent tool access and a review loop; log every action for audit and training.
- Track containment with satisfaction, not containment alone.
Brand vs demand for 2026: stop arguing, set ratios
Both matter. Long-term brand creates mental availability; demand gen feeds the pipeline. Set a fixed ratio and review quarterly. Many B2B leaders use a split similar to the 60/40 guidance popularized by effectiveness researchers.
- Define distinct metrics: brand lift and search share for brand; pipeline and CAC for demand.
- Share creative assets across motions; align on a single message architecture.
If you're new to the 60/40 concept, this overview is useful: LinkedIn B2B Institute's growth principles.
7 AI competencies marketers need by 2026
- Data literacy for messy, real-world datasets
- Prompt and instruction design that's testable and reusable
- Automation design across CRM, ads, email, and support
- Model evaluation: accuracy, bias, drift, and cost
- Privacy, consent, and policy compliance basics
- Experimentation and measurement frameworks
- Change management and stakeholder education
Breaking AI paralysis
Stop planning six pilots at once. Pick one high-volume workflow with clear dollars attached. Run a 90-day sprint: baseline, build, measure, decide. Then scale or kill without drama.
- Set a single success metric (e.g., first-contact resolution or cost per qualified lead).
- Publish a weekly ops snapshot to keep execs close to the work.
- Create a "what we learned" library so every pilot compounds.
Quick action plan for support and marketing leaders
- Map pre-survey signals and assign owners this week.
- Choose one agentic workflow and define guardrails.
- Clean product data that affects search and recommendations.
- Set your brand/demand ratio and lock budgets for two quarters.
- Train teams on the 7 competencies with short, hands-on modules.
If you need structured upskilling for your team, explore focused programs here: AI courses by job role and AI certification for marketing specialists.
Keep it simple. Find signals earlier, build systems around them, and let your tools serve the plan - not the other way around.
Your membership also unlocks:
