1. How have shifting business and consumer behaviors changed the way organizations approach events and travel?

In B2B GTM, where I’ve spent the majority of my 20+ year career, the shifts we see are usually in response to external factors. How is our market changing? How do we keep our Events relevant to the audiences we care about? How are economic conditions impacting my attendee’s ability to travel? And more recently, how does the political climate contribute to this uncertainty? All too often Events are among the first things to be cut when the economy softens, and so organizers are in a constant battle to innovate while also maintaining budget (and staff!). Event attendees, whether in a B2B or B2C setting, are still humans first, and would-be attendees are more discerning than ever with their money and their time. No doubt these are challenging times, but it’s certainly no time to wilt under the pressure. We must remind ourselves that Events offer unique value that can’t be replicated in another channel. Recent research on B2B Events budgets shows they are holding firm and tracking to a 10+ year average. So it’s important to acknowledge the power that our attendees hold, and the need to innovate, but also to remain steadfast about the impact that an effective Events program brings to our organizations.

2. What are some common mistakes companies make when designing their meetings and travel programs, and how can they be avoided?

It seems cliche to say that ‘strategy is critical to event success’, but we see it all the time where Event objectives are poorly defined, too generic, or simply not in line with what business stakeholders expect from the program investments. The onus is squarely on event leaders to better align Event objectives for any with core business goals. Most B2B Events have the potential to impact several different objectives simultaneously, sometimes cloudying the picture of what could be the standout objective. To deal with this, I’m an advocate for an ‘Audience first’ approach - starting with a specific Audience segment and building the event experience to optimize around only a handful of essential objectives for that audience. Narrow in focus but deep in impact.

3. How should organizations integrate meetings and events into their broader go-to-market (GTM) strategy? 

The ‘portfolio’ concept has become more mainstream in recent years and I’m an advocate for this approach. A portfolio strategy considers the various types of Events that are possible as a ‘portfolio of experiences’ to cover a spectrum of business objectives - creating brand awareness, launching a new product,  collaborating with partners or suppliers, deepening customer relationships, closing new business, etc. With a range of possibilities, we can be very intentional about how to use each type of experience to do a very specific job with a very concrete objective. As a channel, Events should also be combined with other channels or tactics in the construct of a campaign. So in some ways Events stand alone because of the unique value they deliver, but in most ways they are part of an integrated GTM strategy.

4. How can organizations use data and insights from meetings and events to improve marketing and sales outcomes?

Building on the idea that each type of event experience has a specific job to do with a very concrete objective - every objective should ultimately align with the corresponding metrics and KPIs that best measure each objective (awareness, demand, deal velocity, product adoption, etc.). These are performance measures that are not specific to only Events, but to every channel or tactic in our arsenal. This approach lets us understand the performance of the Events channel relative to other channels, but it also positions Events to contribute to the core outcomes we expect sales and marketing investments to drive. 

5. How can companies leverage events as a demand generation and customer acquisition tool? 

Setting aside the ‘demand gen vs. lead gen’ debate, Events can be an extremely effective means of creating or capturing demand. The notion of ‘Event led growth’ also stems from this - by its very nature, what is so unique about the Events channel, and in particular live Events, is that we create the opportunity for buyer and seller to interact in a very meaningful way, in a very short span of time, and oftentimes at a reasonable scale. In the face of challenging market conditions, economic uncertainty, and political unrest, this should bolster even the faint of heart to trust in the power of events. 

1. How does sustainability in audience data collection and processing impact the broader digital advertising landscape ?

Thanks to research done in 2019 by The Shift Project, we know that the internet is responsible for approximately 3.7% of global Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. And digital marketing is a contributing factor. All the data transfer required to serve a single ad impression is powered by servers, many of which are powered by fossil fuel-based energy sources. As an industry, if we can get smarter and more efficient about how we operate, we can help make the digital advertising ecosystem more environmentally sustainable.

2. Tell us about Datonics' carbon-neutral initiative and the journey ?

Datonics has taken the same steps and followed the same standards and protocols as other companies in other sectors have been following for many years. We start measuring, because as we all know, you can’t manage what you don’t measure. Datonics has completed 2 GHG inventories, which have been independently verified by Cameron-Cole, an accredited emissions verifying organization.  We made the decision to further our sustainability by offsetting our residual emissions by investing in verified carbon reduction, avoidance and removal projects through Climate Impact Partners, one of the most trusted providers of carbon offset projects. In doing so, Datonics became the first and only audience data platform to be certified as a CarbonNeutral ® company. So brands and agencies that work with Datonics know that the work they do with us will have a much smaller carbon footprint when compared to working with other companies that have not gone through this rigorous process.

3. What future innovations do you see in green data processing and sustainable advertising technology ?

We believe we are at the very beginning of a trend throughout the advertising technology industry where every company will do what Datonics has done, in measuring, reducing and removing the GHG emissions from their business operations. This is not a new trend. Thousands of companies in dozens of other sectors have been taking real corporate climate action for a decade or more. As the advertising industry continues to catch up with the rest of the world, we expect new innovations to be created. We expect more ad tech platforms to migrate away from on premises data centers to cloud platforms like Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud Platform (GCP), which will make a huge impact on our collective efforts to decarbonize. 

4. What are the biggest environmental challenges facing data providers today, and how can they be mitigated ?

We know that there is huge waste in the programmatic ecosystem. The sheer volume of data being transferred between demand and supply side platforms through ad calls and bid requests is staggering. And the vast majority of this data transfer doesn’t even result in a delivered ad impression, let alone an impression that is seen by an actual human. The biggest challenge facing data providers today is that we need to be more efficient in how we conduct business and this starts by taking the first step - measuring the environmental impact of our business operations so we can make smarter decisions about how to start reducing data waste and the carbon emissions that come from it.

5. How can companies ensure that sustainability efforts don’t compromise data accuracy and performance ?

Sustainability is directly linked to efficiency and efficiency is directly linked to performance. If you are reducing waste in your advertising, it typically means you are creating a more direct connection to your target audience through a more efficient buying path. By reducing waste, you’re making your advertising more efficient and as a result lowering its carbon impact.

1. How does agentic AI differ from traditional AI-powered chatbots in terms of user interaction and engagement ?

Traditional AI-powered chatbots operate within predefined scripts that respond based on explicit commands. Agentic AI functions autonomously and leverages generative AI to reason through multistep tasks and self-correction, and it can interact with other AI agents or humans. While traditional chatbots are reactive, agentic AI is more proactive. This enables a more dynamic, adaptive, and personalized interaction. It also humanizes the interactions and improves the customer journey and overall experience through deeper personalization. 

2. How can agentic AI facilitate more meaningful interactions between brands and consumers ? 

The biggest advantage that agentic AI offers is providing a deeper connection and conversation with customers. Brands can better understand, anticipate, and direct consumers to outcomes that align with their overall business and growth goals. This creates more loyalty and higher engagement rates. While AI has proven to be a beneficial tool, agentic AI is really where marketers can create hyper-personalized experiences by structuring and classifying incoming unstructured data, automating decision-making, and integrating with enterprise platforms​. It understands context, sentiment, and past interactions, allowing brands to respond with relevant, human-like engagement. This fosters stronger relationships, as brands can anticipate customer needs, provide proactive solutions, and ensure seamless interactions across different touchpoints.

3. How does agentic AI help event marketers identify and eliminate friction points in the customer journey ? 

Agentic AI has been and will continue to be a game changer for event marketers. Event marketers are faced with various challenges, all laddering up to proving ROI and increasing engagement. The use of agentic AI enables event marketers to analyze attendee behavior in real time, identifying drop-off points, engagement gaps, and logistical pain points​. By leveraging cross-domain automation and data-driven insights, AI can detect where attendees disengage, whether it’s during registration, session selection, or networking. AI has been instrumental for pulling out patterns and analyzing behavioral trends. Agentic AI takes that a step further. Once the technology has detected trends and patterns, AI-powered recommendations can personalize event experiences, ensuring attendees receive relevant content, and can offer real-time guidance to attendees to maximize their time at an event.  AI integrations with platforms like Salesforce and Adobe also help measure engagement and optimize marketing strategies, creating a seamless journey from registration to post-event follow-ups​.

4. How does agentic AI improve marketing automation by anticipating customer needs rather than just reacting to them ? 

Unlike traditional AI-powered chatbots that execute predefined workflows, agentic AI continuously learns from customer behaviors using multistep planning, reasoning, and reflection​. By leveraging agentic AI, it predicts future actions and tailors content, offers, and recommendations in real time. This ensures brands engage customers at the right moment with relevant messaging, increasing conversions and satisfaction. Agentic AI helps to make customer needs more personalized and better anticipated. 

5. How can businesses use agentic AI to build stronger emotional connections with their audience ?

Agentic AI is going to be very important for brands looking to change how they interact and build relationships with consumers. The technology enables brands to craft more human-centric interactions by analyzing emotional cues, past engagements, and real-time sentiment. It can personalize communication styles, anticipate customer concerns, and deliver content that resonates emotionally. Agentic AI can also help by creating personalized, context-aware, and more empathetic interactions that traditional AI cannot. It has an advantage because it can learn from preferences, behaviors, and cues and immediately tailor the customer journey and goals by providing recommendations or taking actions on behalf of the customer. 

6. How can agentic AI streamline the customer journey from awareness to conversion ?

Agentic AI enhances the customer journey by removing bottlenecks at each stage, from discovery to decision-making. Through AI-driven personalization, it can adjust messaging, recommend relevant content, and optimize engagement strategies. Agentic AI’s predictive capabilities help marketers anticipate customer needs while eliminating redundant steps in the buyer’s journey. AI-powered event insights can enable real-time adjustments, ensuring attendees and prospects receive the right touchpoints at the right time.

SurveyMonkey, the world’s most popular platform for surveys and forms, recently announced Connect, a library of no-code quick actions to connect survey data with popular business apps. We connected with Liwen Xu, Product Marketing Manager, to discuss how no-code automation facilitates seamless data integration, enabling businesses to enhance customer feedback processes, overcome adoption challenges, and implement agile strategies.

1. How does no-code automation empower businesses to streamline data integration without relying on technical teams ?

No-code automation allows non-technical users to easily set up and configure simple workflows. Called Quick Actions, these workflows support core use cases such as sending a notification in Slack when you get a specific response, like a support request, updating Excel when a new response is received so you can stay up to date on registrations, or sharing feedback across your organization in the tools you use every day.

With Connect, anyone can search through the SurveyMonkey library of business app integrations and automate quick actions based on their survey results before their responses start rolling in. As a natural step of the survey creation flow, Connect allows users to easily automate survey-based actions (such as sending notifications) seamlessly while designing and sending out a survey. It also enables users to set conditions for each Quick Action so they can determine which feedback needs follow-up actions or what outcomes are next. This removes the complexity of multi-tool traditional integrations so that they can quickly and seamlessly get value out of their feedback.

2. What are the key advantages of seamless data integration for improving customer feedback loops ?

Connect is the easiest way to link SurveyMonkey with the business apps you use every day so that you can amplify the impact of survey responses and save time. These new apps make it easy to automatically send the right survey responses to the right people in real time, and you can set them up without leaving SurveyMonkey.

By setting up Quick Actions, you can set conditions so that you can focus different teams/stakeholders on the specific feedback that is most relevant to them and take action immediately. This not only reduces the risk of missing critical feedback that needs to be actioned on, but also keeps teams informed in real time so they can have a full view of the feedback provided. By feeding important feedback to those responsible, users are empowered to close the feedback loop quickly, driving higher satisfaction rates for your customers and employees. 

3. What are the biggest barriers companies face in adopting no-code tools, and how can they overcome them ?

Users are often wary to try an integration as many feel it will be too complicated and technical to set up. They can also be wary that the integration may not do what they expect if they take the time to set it up or are required to upgrade their plans to use it. 

When it comes to organizations, the default is to not allow employees to use an integration due to security concerns or not wanting to add additional burden on IT to support any issues that may arise. Employees could be gated when trying an app or integration even if it offers an opportunity to automate critical business processes, reduce errors, or save employees time.

To overcome these barriers, organizations need to reduce the barriers to adoption so their employees can take advantage of all the benefits offered. SurveyMonkey has focused on simplifying the setup, usage, and user flows so that employees will not require reliance on IT for support. We’ve ensured the scopes required for each app are the lowest available so that organizational security concerns are minimized. 

SurveyMonkey has also integrated Connect apps into the survey creation flow, driving awareness and making it easier for users to see opportunities to automate tasks based on feedback. Our goal is to allow more customers from Basic (free) to Teams/SME to have access to Connect apps so they can get value with most common tasks and upgrade for more advanced features.

4. How does SurveyMonkey Connect help organizations bridge the gap between survey data and enterprise systems ?  

Customers are dealing with disparate and disconnected solutions that house a variety of data related to their employees and customers, making it harder to collaborate, drive deeper insights, and "connect the dots" for better employee and customer experiences. Disparate solutions often mean tasks to move data or launch workflows are manual, time-consuming, and error prone - reducing efficiencies and effectiveness. Integrating survey data into frequented business tools by the team brings siloed systems together.

Connect provides users a native, easy-to-use set of Quick Actions that support the most critical use cases and third-party solutions that organizations use most. For example, it can be used to notify users of any feedback that needs to be actioned or shared. This can be done across multiple channels. Users can filter out irrelevant responses and define which response details are included in the message. We also know not all employees are SurveyMonkey users, but there is a need to access and analyze data in the solutions of their choice. Connect offers a flexible solution that allows anyone to determine which data to share so that any security or Personally Identifiable Information (PII) concerns are reduced. 

There are additional features to support marketing/email automation platforms, in addition to CRM platforms such as Klaviyo and Zendesk, that are coming soon. Stay tuned for more! 

5. What industries stand to benefit the most from no-code task automation, and why ? 

Any organization or employee who wants to take action on feedback as it is received or automate a manual process stands to benefit from Connect. From small organizations that may not have the same level of technical skills as a larger organization, to a larger organization that deals with a lot of feedback that needs to take action quickly and easily, any user that wants to collaborate with stakeholders on feedback being received and who are not in SurveyMonkey can no-code task automation. Additionally, any small business that wants a single source of truth for event registration, product feedback, and beyond can also benefit. The opportunities are unlimited!

6. How can businesses leverage real-time survey data to drive more agile marketing and customer experience strategies ?

There are many great examples! Marketers can easily automate sharing survey and form results with internal teams via collaborative notification tools like Slack, from event suggestions to new product ideas and more. With Excel exporting, analysis and detailed data-driven presentations for new launches, campaigns, and events can be leveraged. Connect eliminates the need to do a manual export/import of contact data and ensures survey data immediately enriches marketing efforts.

CX leaders can automate surfacing information so that customer-facing support and employees can be notified instantly on Slack or Teams and take action, whether that’s resolving complaints or walking through product questions. This closed-loop feedback approach empowers users to respond in real-time to customer input, which can dramatically improve customer experience (such as reaching out immediately to unhappy customers to prevent churn), or a positive response might trigger an upsell offer or referral request. Connect can help drive higher levels of customer satisfaction by enabling quick follow-ups to customer concerns via these instant notifications of survey responses. This reduces delays between feedback and action so that negative responses that need to be acted on don’t slip through the cracks. 

1. How does the integration of AI in in-store audio messaging compare to traditional methods in terms of efficiency and effectiveness ? 

Leveraging AI in audio messaging fundamentally transforms a complicated process into something remarkably streamlined. With traditional methods, businesses would spend days coordinating scripts, booking voice talent, and scheduling studio time — all while racing against promotion deadlines.

Our Messaging Copilot cuts this down to minutes through a simple two-step workflow. Organizations select their voice, compose their message, and they're done. The efficiency gains are dramatic, but what's truly compelling is how it democratizes professional messaging. Location managers can now create locally relevant content without specialized technical skills. This content also includes internal communications, where businesses can quickly create professional employee messages for training updates, operational changes, or motivational announcements.

The effectiveness piece is where things get interesting. Our research shows that 42% of shoppers engage with in-store audio messages, with 37% making purchases directly because of them. Beyond retail, these engagement patterns extend to all industries, especially hospitality, healthcare, and financial services where timely information delivery significantly improves customer experience. By enabling more timely, localized messaging through AI, we're helping organizations capitalize on audiences at the moment they're most receptive to messaging.

2. How does the use of AI in in-store audio messaging align with current trends in personalized marketing strategies ?

AI in audio messaging aligns perfectly with today's personalization trends by bringing the tailored experiences consumers expect online into physical spaces. Businesses can now quickly create location-specific content that addresses regional preferences, seasonal needs, and local events — something traditional mass-produced messaging simply can't achieve.

This technology enables organizations to react in real time to changing conditions, bridging a critical gap in the omnichannel experience. Whether it's a hotel promoting local events, a healthcare facility providing seasonal wellness information, or a retailer highlighting new inventory, background noise is now transformed into a strategic asset within the broader personalized marketing ecosystem.

3. How does the collaboration between AI-generated content and human voice talent enhance the quality of in-store audio messages ?

AI rapidly generates customized scripts for specific campaigns or locations, while professional human voices deliver the authenticity and emotional connection that technology alone can't replicate, creating a powerful synergy in audio messaging. 

This partnership preserves human warmth while solving the speed challenges of traditional audio production. Orgs can match different voice personalities to specific message types (e.g., energetic for promotions, softer for service announcements) and select regional accents or dialects like British English to match local demographics, resulting in audio experiences that deeply resonate with customers while maintaining brand consistency.

4. How can retailers measure the return on investment when implementing AI-driven in-store audio solutions ? 

Retailers can measure ROI using direct and indirect metrics. Direct indicators include tracking promotion-specific sales lifts, measuring conversion rates during targeted messaging campaigns, and comparing performance across locations using different audio strategies. Customer surveys can capture attribution data by asking how shoppers learned about promotions.

Efficiency gains provide another measurable return — calculating time saved in message creation and deployment compared to traditional methods directly translates to labor cost savings. The most forward-thinking retailers are also integrating audio messaging performance into their broader analytics ecosystem, connecting audio campaign timing with foot traffic patterns, dwell time, and purchase data to build a comprehensive view of audio's impact on the customer journey.

5. What advancements in natural language processing have enabled the development of AI tools like Messaging Copilot ? 

Natural language processing has transformed audio through several breakthrough technologies. Modern AI can now understand context and nuance in ways previously impossible, recognizing brand voice patterns and generating messaging that feels authentic rather than robotic. These systems have learned from millions of marketing examples to understand what language resonates with audiences, all without requiring businesses to build complex systems from scratch.

Voice technology has similarly evolved beyond robotic speech to create natural-sounding audio. Messaging Copilot's Voice Lab takes advantage of this progress by letting users adjust specific qualities like pace, emphasis, and emotional tone. Location managers can now make promotions sound enthusiastic or announcements authoritative without recording multiple versions. This technology delivers professional-quality audio in minutes rather than days, enabling timely, targeted messaging that keeps pace with rapidly changing retail environments.

6. In what ways can AI-generated scripts improve the consistency and relevance of brand messaging across multiple locations ?

AI-generated scripts significantly improve multi-location brand consistency by establishing a standardized framework while allowing for local customization. When orgs operate across diverse markets, maintaining a unified brand voice while addressing regional differences has traditionally required extensive coordination between corporate marketing and local managers. AI resolves this issue by generating content from approved brand templates that can be easily adapted for local relevance.

This approach ensures core brand elements — tone, key phrases, and language — remain consistent while enabling location-specific details like local events, regional preferences, or service offerings. Site managers can quickly modify messaging for their unique needs without straying from brand guidelines, eliminating the communication gaps and delayed approvals that often plague multi-location retail operations. The result is more nimble, relevant messaging that speaks directly to local audiences across diverse sectors while maintaining a cohesive brand experience.

SurveyMonkey, the world’s most popular platform for surveys and forms, recently announced it has updated SurveyMonkey for Salesforce on Salesforce AppExchange, providing customers with new ways to automate beautiful, personalized email surveys with Salesforce. We sat down with Natalie Aghdaey, Manager of Product Marketing, to discuss the key benefits of the enhanced SurveyMonkey for Salesforce integration:

1. What are the key benefits of integrating customer survey data with CRM platforms for personalization and decision-making ?

Integrating survey data with your CRM lets you automatically send personalized surveys at key customer touchpoints, push customer feedback to your CRM in real-time, and better understand customer sentiment at scale.

It’s also a big step toward creating a single source of truth for customer insights. With these Salesforce enhancements in SurveyMonkey, you can combine operational customer data with customer feedback, which paints a more complete picture of their needs and where you can take action. For example, if a customer had to contact your team multiple times to resolve an issue with a recent purchase, you would likely see that experience result in a lower CSAT or NPS score. But, you may not truly understand the drivers of that score without combining feedback data with data from your CRM on factors like where this happened in the customer journey.

2. How can organizations use automation to enhance response rates and extract actionable insights from customer feedback ?

Imagine you receive a survey several weeks after your experience with a brand. You likely don’t remember all the specifics of your interaction and are probably no longer as motivated to engage by providing feedback. Automation allows you to reach out at the right time—when the experience is still at the top of the customer's mind. This helps drive higher response rates.

Automatically bringing survey insights into your source of truth for your business gives your entire company a real-time view of how customers think and feel. It also helps you get more actionable insights by adding context to your survey responses. For example, by marrying data from your CRM with your survey data, you can identify trends in customer segments, like plan type, geography, or tenure.

3. What role does hyper-personalization play in survey engagement, and how can companies implement it effectively ?

Personalization is a main priority for CX professionals, and it’s an area where we see a disconnect between what brands believe they deliver and what consumers actually experience. In recent research from SurveyMonkey, almost 9 out of 10 CX pros say their customers’ experience is personalized, but only about 60% of consumers say they receive personalized services when interacting with companies.

When something is personalized, it becomes more relevant for the customer, which makes them more likely to engage. This extends to survey engagement in a few ways. First, you can personalize a survey by bringing in details about the respondent to streamline the survey-taking experience for them. You can also boost response rates by personalizing your emailed survey invites with information like the customer name and the context of their last interaction with you. Second, you can use data that you’re collecting from your surveys to shape segmented customer experience programs. For example, you might identify your promoters with an NPS survey, and then launch tailored upsell campaigns using that feedback.

4. How can businesses ensure that customer experience metrics like CSAT, NPS, and CES are effectively integrated into their broader customer strategy ?

As you’re setting your CX strategy, it’s important to clearly define the experience that your customers are having today, as well as the experience your brand intends to deliver. To do this, you’ll want to assess the customer experience from a variety of angles, including looking at CX metrics like CSAT, NPS, and CES at key moments. As you’re developing your strategy, get buy-in from leadership early and often. This helps ensure your strategy is aligned with your overall company goals so you’ll have the support to take action based on the feedback you receive.

Another best practice is to start with a customer journey map to understand all the customer touch points and where to ask for feedback. This allows you to holistically assess your survey touchpoints to help minimize survey fatigue by not over-surveying customers. You’ll also want to establish a governance process for measuring progress against your customer strategy, leveraging metrics like CSAT, NPS, and CES.

5. What security and reliability factors should companies consider when selecting third-party survey integrations for their CRM ?

When integrating surveys into your CRM, trust and experience are key. Trust is strengthened with strong encryption, API security, administrator controls, and role-based access. You must ensure that you’re meeting regulations like GDPR or HIPAA to keep your data safe, SOC 2 to stay compliant & following best practices in information security management (e.g., ISO 27001). It’s also critical to comply with location-based regulations and confirm where the survey platform stores data (e.g., EU, US, etc.). The best survey integrations will only enhance your customer insights, without compromising compliance or security.

6. How is the evolution of customer feedback technology shaping business strategies for retention and growth ?

If it’s not already, creating a customer-centric culture should be a major focus area for your business. When that focus is infused across your company strategies, you’ll naturally evaluate new avenues and technologies to improve customer experience.

Because technology is evolving (and improving) at a rapid pace, you need to be flexible in adapting not only to new technology but also to customer needs.

As you consider new feedback technologies, first ask yourself two simple questions:

How would this help us attract new customers?

How would this help us keep existing customers?

Starting with those two questions in mind will help you simplify your approach in deciding whether to spend time and resources on adopting that technology and if it will give you measurable ROI.

1. What is one tool you’ve found indispensable in your total experience ?

HubSpot immediately comes to mind. As someone who’s worked in B2B and SaaS for nearly two decades, having a centralized system for managing customer relationships, marketing automation, and sales pipelines is incredibly helpful. I prefer to have my reporting also in the operational everyday tools that I’m using, so this fits the bill. HubSpot is built for growth and integrates seamlessly with platforms like Shopify, QuickBooks, and even Katana Cloud Inventory, which is great.

2. How does it help streamline your work, from managing inventory to aligning marketing and operations ?

The platform brings together marketing, sales, and customer service in one ecosystem, which makes it valuable both to our team as well as Katana’s leadership. It helps us track leads and revenue, measure campaign effectiveness, and ensure that our messaging aligns with actual customer needs. For SMBs, visibility into the entire customer journey—from first touchpoint to conversion—is important. HubSpot also collaborates closely with our team at Katana  and so we know them well.

3. What sets this tool apart compared to others you’ve tried in the past ?

The flexibility. Many CRM and marketing platforms can feel clunky or require heavy customization to be useful. An SMB like Katana needs a tool designed for SMB, not enterprise software. HubSpot is built for growth and it’s intuitive. Many of our customers are thrilled by the fact that Katana can connect to their HubSpot Sales Hub in minutes with no coding required.

4. What were your expectations when you first implemented it, and how has it performed ?

Great question. I expected a solid CRM and automation tool, but what surprised me was how much more it could do. HubSpot’s reporting and segmentation capabilities make it easy to refine strategies in real-time, which I’ve found really useful, and I know a lot of Katana Cloud Inventory customers feel similarly about it.

5. Have there been any challenges or surprises, and how did you overcome them ?

The challenge with any tool is always adoption. Getting teams to actually use it to its full potential takes time. And you need to plan the process together to get buy-in. I always think it’s best for teams to start with the essentials and gradually introduce more advanced features as they get comfortable.

6. What advice would you give to other decision-makers considering this tool ?

Don’t just set it up and then forget about it. Regularly review your workflows, automation, and reporting to make sure you’re getting the most out of the system and optimize what you’re doing to meet your team’s goals. Having a full time FTE for this is an investment that pays off many times over.

7. For leaders scaling SMBs, how do you evaluate if a tool is worth the investment ?

I think it comes down to two things: saving time and driving growth. If a tool eliminates manual work, improves decision-making, or helps acquire and retain customers, it’s worth the cost and should be explored.

1. Why is LinkedIn emerging as a key platform for influencer marketing, and how can brands leverage it effectively ?

In the past 12-18 months, LinkedIn has evolved into one of the hottest video platforms for influencer marketing, especially for B2B. It really started taking hold after LinkedIn – drawing from the playbooks of apps like TikTok and Instagram – rolled out a dedicated video feed that serves up bite-sized videos that people can browse through. It also modified its algorithm to prioritize creator content, introduced new creator tools and improved analytics, making it a more appealing and effective platform for influencers, agencies and brands.

It's not hard to understand its growing appeal. LinkedIn users are professionals who are highly engaged and influential. Plus, in the throes of the pandemic, they became even more active and innovative on the platform.

With LinkedIn influencer marketing on the rise, we’re now seeing specialized agencies emerge, like Creator Authority, that focus specifically on LinkedIn campaigns. This trend is only going to grow, meaning brands that don’t get in the game risk falling behind. Marketers should start experimenting now by testing influencer partnerships, short-form video and organic engagement strategies to see what resonates. By figuring out what works and what doesn’t, brands will at least have baseline data to help them future campaigns for LinkedIn.

2. What metrics are most commonly used to measure the success of influencer campaigns, and how should brands refine their approach ?

The influencer marketing industry has come a long way in just the last few years. When we started Group RFZ in 2018, influencers were measured almost entirely by traditional digital advertising metrics, such as reach, engagement and click-through rates. Now we see marketers demanding measurement better suited to the channel and researchers have been adapting. While those standard metrics still have a place, the industry is beginning to evolve and look at more goal-aligned metrics. While these aren’t as easy to come by, I believe it’s the right way forward. We should measure what truly matters and leave little doubt as to whether a campaign achieved its specific objectives.

The first step is identifying what the campaign is trying to achieve. If the focus is around awareness, brand building or shifting perceptions, sentiment analysis and a brand lift study may be warranted. If there is a distinct call to action and the focus is e-commerce sales, creating discount codes, affiliate or custom links can close the loop. If the goal is to generate sales for a  popular product available both online and off, a sales lift study may be a good fit. Better ways to measure are out there and the space continues to evolve. But if measurement isn’t an integral part of the planning process, much like influencer selection, brands and agencies won’t be able to take advantage of them.

3. How is AI transforming influencer marketing, and what limitations still exist in its application ?

AI is revolutionizing all industries, and influencer marketing is certainly not immune to its charm. Marketers are still in the navigation process, but I’ve already seen clients successfully tapping into it to find the right influencers, develop more compelling creative briefs, and refine their strategies to improve their future campaigns.

But, while AI is doing all of these wonderful things on the brand side, I don’t see influencers using it as much for content creation, and there’s a good reason for that. Creators take pride in their originality and are concerned about plagiarism risks. More importantly, AI detracts from their authenticity and, at the end of the day, that’s what they have to hang their hat on. Without authenticity, the influencer-follower relationship becomes artificial and eventually dissolves. Despite AI making influencer marketing more efficient, scalable and measurable, it won’t be an easy-button for influencers because it simply can’t replace the personal touch and human creativity.   

4. What are the long-term sustainability concerns for virtual influencers, and how can brands mitigate potential pitfalls ?

Virtual influencers – computer-generated personalities that exist solely on social media – have gotten so advanced that they can now mimic human influencers by sharing content, engaging with followers and endorsing products. They’re a dream for brands and agencies because they give them complete brand control. There’s no risk of off-message content, public influencer controversies or countless other unpredictable instances that come with real influencers. They also bring a ton of additional advantages – they can scale infinitely, be active 24/7, and engage with different audiences across multiple platforms, time zones and languages.

Despite these benefits, virtual influencers have a major flaw that makes them unsustainable: they lack the human connection, authenticity and trust that make influencer marketing so impactful. In an industry built on relationships, an AI-generated persona simply can’t replace a genuine and relatable voice.

If brands do opt to use virtual influencers, I recommend pairing them with real influencers to maintain an element of authenticity and to complement their human storytelling. This helps address another issue, which is that followers may take exception to the fact that a brand is replacing real influencers with virtual ones and potentially threatening their livelihoods. That balance of innovation and authenticity will help ensure credibility and longer-term success.

5. What innovations in influencer marketing measurement are brands and agencies eager to see in the near future ?

From a measurement perspective, brands and agencies often ask for the Holy Grail - flawless, direct attribution and clear ROI. And while most of them understand that there is no magic wand or one-size-fits-all attribution model, they keep pushing the measurement community to get as close as possible through innovation, partnerships and experimentation. That push is something researchers should embrace, not scoff at, as it will continue to drive us forward.

One thing we have been hearing a lot of lately is that clients are eager for measurement solutions that can be reliably deployed across different channels and platforms. Brands and agencies aren’t typically putting all of their eggs in one social basket anymore, so they need something that cuts across different channels and allows them to compare and contrast performance. Finally, we see a deep curiosity from many of our clients around the influencer content itself. They are taking more of a creative back seat than they are used to, and they want to know what about the content worked, what didn’t, what messages resonated and more. They want these insights not only to pinpoint which pieces were well received, but to create more effective creative briefs and guide content strategies.