VP, Principal Analyst at Forrester Research serving B2C Marketing Professionals. This is a personal account. Tweets are my own.
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Articles by Rusty Warner
Good luck, have fun, don’t die
If you’ve seen this post’s titular film, you know it portrays a rag-tag group fighting against a dystopian AI-controlled future. I’m not worried about AI cloning our children or mastering teenage mind control via social media doom scrolling (well, maybe a little!). But I’ve already seen brands use AI to accelerate bad marketing and destroy trust with disconnected promotions.
Building The Human Foundation Of The AI-Powered Enterprise
We’ve all done it: We’ve had to repeatedly prove that we are human to access digital services. I’ve personally failed to click on all the boxes that include AI-generated bicycles or bridges, and I’m sure I’m not alone. It’s especially frustrating when you have to prove your humanity just to have an online conversation with a less-than-helpful AI-enabled chatbot. As brands deploy more AI use cases, they’re taking human-in-the-loop, human-on-the-loop, or even human-out-of-the-loop approaches.
Make Better AI-Enabled Customer Decisions With Real-Time Interaction Management Software
In an ideal world, brands would focus on ensuring their customers realize value. But organizations struggle with cross-functional collaboration, conflicting team metrics, and strategies that prioritize revenue growth over total experience (TX). And that’s only the business side; technology infrastructure can be just as problematic. Although there’s no simple solution, investments in real-time interaction management software (RTIMS) can help operationalize your customer obsession vision.
marketing automation Archives
Blog Marketing technology is the backbone of modern customer engagement. It enables businesses to generate customer insights, personalize experiences, and orchestrate campaigns. Blog The multibillion-dollar question I’m often asked is: Will a critical mass of consumers shop and check out on Google’s AI Mode, ChatGPT, and Perplexity? Consumers’ loyalty to convenience makes a “yes” most likely.
EMEA - Forrester
Blog After rejecting lobbying efforts from the tech industry, the EU is moving forward with the next phase of the EU AI Act. Find out what this means for organizations leveraging AI in the EU and beyond. Blog Given the increasingly volatile geopolitical environment, Microsoft customers are requesting more details on the company’s digital sovereignty posture.
Brenntag and e& Are Forrester’s 2025 Customer Obsession Award Winners for EMEA
I’m pleased to announce the winners of Forrester’s 2025 Customer-Obsessed Enterprise Award for EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa). In the past we’ve named a single winner, but our judging panel decided to honor two outstanding organizations this year. The winners have very different approaches to customer experience (CX) excellence – Brenntag focuses on business-to-business (B2B) use cases and e& focuses primarily on business-to-consumer (B2C) use cases.
School’s In Session: Five Lessons Learned from The Forrester Wave™: Customer Experience Strategy Consulting Services, Q4 2024
It’s Autumn here in the US, and school is very much in session. Like my kids, learning has been tops on the agenda for the past several months, as I heard briefings from and interviewed clients of the top CX strategy consulting firms in the world. As with the evaluation in 2022, the field was narrowed to vendors with a breadth of CX strategy-related competencies, a large global footprint, and a high amount of revenue earned from developing CX strategies.
How to Reconcile Your Key CX Metrics: rNPS vs. tNPS
The end of the year is approaching and for many of us, that means holiday preparations. I’ve already seen some houses decorated with lights and trees and I must admit I’m enjoying them. For some of us, this time of year also means year-end reporting of financials and performance metrics. Included in that may be your annual CX relationship study key metrics like NPS or OSat.
Real-Time CX - Forrester
Today’s Leaders Must Heed AI Advice For Future Disruptors How To Reconcile Your Key CX Metrics: rNPS vs.
Meet Forrester’s New Senior Analyst Covering Marketing Measurement: Brad Haag
According to our most recent CMO Pulse Survey, marketing executives plan to prioritize maturing how they measure marketing effectiveness in 2025. Marketing measurement plays a critical role in helping CMOs defend marketing investments, secure resources for future initiatives, and show that marketing is an engine for growth rather than a cost center.
Meet Forrester’s New Principal Analyst Covering Loyalty Marketing: John Pedini
In 2025, we expect consumer usage of loyalty programs to grow amid declines in overall brand loyalty. Though loyalty programs offer the rewards that price-conscious consumers crave, companies struggle to inspire emotional loyalty across various tactics aimed at improving retention. Marketers need a loyalty strategy that appropriately balances transactional incentives with an understanding of what drives and impacts brand loyalty.
Choose A Cross-Channel Marketing Hub That Amplifies Your Customer Obsession Strategy
An effective cross-channel marketing hub (CCMH) can position marketing as an indispensable component of an organization’s customer-obsessed growth engine. Think of your CCMH as much more than a campaign management platform. Instead, leverage it for next-gen customer engagement based on compelling, contextually relevant experiences.
“AI Responsibly” With GenAI In Martech
Decades ago, the alcohol industry launched its ubiquitous “Drink responsibly” marketing campaign. In 2024, it’s time to “AI responsibly” in marketing technology (martech). There are parallels between drinking and using generative AI: people often start because others are trying it, it might make things look more appealing, and you could embarrass yourself if you’ve had too much. Now is the perfect time to be methodical with genAI.
Pega Named a Leader in Real-Time Interaction Management by Independent Research Firm 10:13 AM EST 2/28/2024 - Comtex Pega Customer Decision Hub earned top scores in 'current offering' and 'strategy' categories CAMBRIDGE, Mass., February 28, 2024 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Pegasystems Inc.
Invisible Experiences: Anticipate Customer Needs with Real-Time Interaction Management
Imagine having a butler who anticipates and serves your needs. In Gotham City, Alfred ensures Batman’s utility belt is always stocked. Just as Alfred faithfully supports Batman, your personal assistant earns your trust through silent understanding. Now think of this relationship in terms of your experiences with brands. Do those experiences feel invisible and immersive?
Empowered Customers Define Today's Market
Blog Leading banks are leveraging mature and emerging technologies, customer insights, and data to enhance customer experience, increase customer engagement, and drive business growth. Blog Healthcare organizations (HCOs) are navigating turbulent waters as they confront long-standing industry challenges and broad economic currents. Learn how how HCOs can weather the storm and overcome these challenges. Blog Imagine having a butler who anticipates and serves your needs.
A TikTok Ban? It’s America First, Taking Aim on Short-Form Video.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee today amidst rare bipartisan agreement that the app poses a national security threat to the US and should be banned. A TikTok Ban Is Preemptive Based On Suspicion, Not Substantiation The statements made and questions asked by members of Congress today is indicative that the ship has sailed on TikTok’s fate. Nothing Chew could have said in his testimony would have changed the pre-judgments of the committee.
For US Consumers, The Pandemic Is Going, But Not Gone
All signs point to Covid-19 Pandemic being fully behind us: the Biden Administration’s intention of Covid-19 national and public health emergencies are set to end on May 11th 2023, consumers’ comfort in pre-Pandemic activities, like going to a concert or a museum, are increasing over time, and while travel is recovering, the lack of full rebound maybe more an economic factor than a Pandemic factor.
Generative AI Gets An Upgrade To Business Class With Adobe Firefly
You might have had a feeling of déjà vu today when Adobe announced its Firefly generative AI service that lets you produce sets of new images by typing a description of what you have in mind, since that’s something tools like DALL-E 2 have been doing for a while now. So what’s new? A lot, actually, because Firefly: Is trained on legal-to-use, high-quality content.
Generative AI Gets An Upgrade To Business Class With Adobe Firefly
You might have had a feeling of déjà vu today when Adobe announced its Firefly generative AI service that lets you produce sets of new images by typing a description of what you have in mind, since that’s something tools such as DALL·E 2 have been doing for a while now. So what’s new? A lot, actually, because Firefly: Is trained on legal-to-use, high-quality content.
Invest In A Cross-Channel Marketing Hub To Elevate Your Campaign Strategy
Empowered customers expect seamless cross-channel experiences. B2C marketers must understand customers and create value exchanges in their individual moments of need. That’s a tough job if your martech ecosystem is overly complex or badly integrated – or both. A cross-channel marketing hub (CCMH) can help marketers overcome data and channel integration complexity to consistently engage with their customers.
Customer Service In 2023: CX Front And Center
It’s news to no one that the past few years have been tough. Having only just found some stability post-pandemic, companies are now thrust into a new economic crisis. In times like these, customer service teams are often pressured to cut costs – at all costs. While we don’t expect that to change entirely, we are seeing a shift in this narrative.
New Forrester Wave Examines Customer Feedback Management Technology
Fully 69% of global voice-of-the-customer (VoC) and CX measurement leaders use a customer feedback management (CFM) tool, according Forrester’s 2022 global study of these leaders. That’s about the same number as the 70% who told us that their organization believes that the VoC/CX program is vital to its continued success. And yet, VoC and CX measurement programs continue to struggle.
When Profits And Principles Collide, Everyone Loses
Sadly, the world of AI has moved from ethics washing to ethics squashing. Microsoft recently laid off its entire ethics and society team. The team was responsible for transforming the principles created by Microsoft’s Office of Responsible AI into consistent rules and practices. It was also tasked with anticipating the risks AI could pose to people and society, and most recently they had been evaluating Microsoft’s adoption of OpenAI’s technology.
Don't Rely On The Butterfly Effect To Measure Business Value
Marketing and CX pros intrinsically believe that their initiatives create value for both customers and the business. But many only assume downstream impact based on the of disconnected activities and metrics.
CX Leaders, Prove Us Wrong: Defy 2023’s Troubling Trends
Each year, Forrester analysts come together to develop our predictions for the new year — to help our clients see around the corner and prepare for potential pitfalls and opportunities. Our customer experience (CX) analysts collaborate on a set of global predictions, based on trends that we expect to see in the coming year. We use those predictions to set the context necessary to create a burning platform for action.
Elon Musk’s Twitter Acquisition Has Become Part Of The US Culture War Original
We’re still several months away from the anticipated close date of Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition – Whether it’s on again or off again depends on the day. A lot has happened in just the 5 weeks since the deal was announced and we anticipate more will happen between now and October. But rest assured: We can count on the drama about Twitter to continue to publicly play out on Twitter. Amidst all this, where do consumers stand?
Invest In Real-Time Interaction Management To Elevate Your Long-Term Customer Experience Strategy Original
It’s easy to conflate real-time interaction management (RTIM) with personalization tactics, but it goes far deeper. Forrester defines RTIM as: Enterprise marketing technology that delivers contextually relevant experiences, value, and utility at the appropriate moment in the customer life cycle via preferred customer touchpoints. RTIM enables next best experience (NBX) decision-making in the face of changing customer needs and behaviors.
Customer Journey Orchestration Platforms Are The Catch Of The Day
Customer feedback management vendor Medallia’s announcement of its intention to acquire customer journey orchestration (CJO) vendor Thunderhead is the fourth acquisition in the customer journey orchestration space in six months. First, CSG acquired Kitewheel, followed less than a week later by Qualtrics’ acquisition of both Usermind and Clarabridge. And in October, Genesys announced its acquisition of Pointillist and Exceed.ai.
Medallia + Thunderhead a Boost to Brands on Voice of Customer Maturity Journey
Customer Feedback Management (CFM) vendor Medallia’s announcement of its intention to acquire customer journey orchestration (CJO) vendor Thunderhead is an expected response to the Qualtrics acquisition of Usermind last year. As my colleague Joanna de Quintanilha writes in her blog, customer journey orchestration platforms have been hot commodities of late.
Marketers Must Mind The Customer Journey Orchestration Gap
Marketers — and especially martech vendors — talk a lot about customer journeys and experiences, but they usually mean just the purchase journey as opposed to the entire customer lifecycle. Customer journey orchestration (CJO) platforms enable a more holistic view, and marketers should pay more attention to these adjacent capabilities.
In The Future, Will You Really Need A CRM?
CRMs are expensive. They cost companies between $1,200 to $3,600 per seller per year. Despite the cost, there is widespread agreement that companies require CRM technology for their sales organization. I conducted a snap poll on LinkedIn, and 82% of respondents said CRM will continue to be important in the years to come.
Values-Motivated Consumers Make Up 18% Of The US Buying Population
Social Values Permeate The Consumer-Brand Conversation, But They Do Not Always Shape Consumer Action Today, like never before, a new social consciousness permeates commerce. Consumers are vocal about their social positions, and they pledge to stand firmly behind companies that do the right thing while threatening to chastise those that do not.
Pandemic-Induced Collaboration: Adobe’s Billion-Dollar Acquisition
The pandemic ripped off the Band-Aid for collaboration. Hybrid and completely remote environments drove businesses to adopt new ways of working. Videoconferencing, virtual events, and collaboration capabilities surged. One by-product is the red-hot acquisition market for these technologies. Most recently, we saw Adobe’s intent to acquire Frame.io, a company that makes video collaboration software.
Unlock Marketing's Value
CMOs face an inflection point, with a dramatically shifted landscape forcing them to reinvent their roles or risk irrelevance. To create value and win the trust of their CEO and other C-suite partners, CMOs must deliver on three fronts. My first job after business school was in a prominent general management strategy consulting firm, where I focused on marketing strategy.
Forecasting In Uncertainty: We Are Raising Our 2020 And 2021 US Tech Market Growth Forecast
Two weeks ago, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis released its Q2 2021 data on US GDP on July 29, 2021: “Gross Domestic Product, Second Quarter 2021 (Advance Estimate) and Annual Update.” The headline stories focused on continued strong 6.5% growth in real GDP in Q2 and the surge in inflation to a 5.7% annualized rate. But for tech executives and tech vendors, the real news was in the data on business investment in computer equipment, communications equipment.
Cross-Channel Campaign Management: A Mature Market Reinvents Itself
I’m pleased to announce the publication of The Forrester Wave™: Cross-Channel Campaign Management (Independent Platforms), Q3 2021. In our 30-criterion evaluation, we identified the 13 most significant independent cross-channel campaign management (CCCM) players — Acquia, Algonomy, Bloomreach, Bluecore, Braze, dotdigital, Insider, Iterable, Mapp Digital, MoEngage, Optimove, Sailthru, and Selligent Marketing Cloud — and researched, analyzed, and scored them.
You Need A Martech Reference Model - Here’s Why
A question I often get from Forrester clients is: “Do you have a martech reference architecture that I can use to build my martech stack?” The short answer is no; but it’s not that simple. First of all, marketers should think in terms of an interoperable martech ecosystem, not stacks or platforms. And secondly, no two marketing organizations are alike, so a detailed martech reference architecture will be unique to each organization.
Reboot Your Marketing Strategy With Cross-Channel Campaign Management
I’m pleased to announce the The Forrester Wave™: Cross-Channel Campaign Management (EMSS Modules), Q2 2021. Forrester published its first evaluation of CCCM vendors in 2008, and this critical martech category continues to evolve. Today’s CCCM solutions extend beyond outbound campaigns to power insights-driven marketing strategies and automate personalized customer experiences across digital and offline channels.
A Brand’s Values Must Withstand The Pressure Of Politics
When MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred announced the league’s decision to relocate the All-Star Game out of Georgia, it triggered a partisan firestorm — there was support and there was opposition. While some government leaders in the US are advising CEOs to stay out of politics, 68% of US adults believe that CEOs are best positioned to drive real change in America. The reality today is that human issues are political issues.
Catch The Enterprise Marketing Technology Wave
I am pleased to announce TWO new Forrester Wave™ reports for B2C marketers. Today we published the Forrester Wave™: Cross-Channel Campaign Management, Q2 2016 and the Forrester Wave™: Enterprise Marketing Software Suites, Q2 2016. The former will help you compare the 15 leading campaign management vendors, while the latter will help you evaluate 9 vendors that have assembled broader enterprise marketing technology portfolios.
Modern Marketers Must Manage Measurement
Measuring marketing performance is not just a tongue twister; it’s hard work. Channel-specific metrics cause headaches, and reporting is a hodgepodge of data sources and dashboards from multiple martech and measurement tools. It’s even harder to align marketing performance metrics with customer-focused business objectives, but marketers can no longer pat themselves on the back for achieving vanity metrics like “likes,” impressions, clicks, or opens.
The Martech Roundtable: The Past, Present, And Future Of Marketing Technology For Business And Consumer Marketers, Part 3
In December, B2C marketing analysts Joe Stanhope and Rusty Warner and B2B marketing analyst Lori Wizdo hosted the second annual martech roundtable to help marketers make informed decisions against the backdrop of these exciting and disruptive trends in marketing technology. In the third and final installment of our martech roundtable webinar recap, we’ll discuss important recent events and trends in the martech industry.
The Martech Roundtable: The Past, Present, And Future Of Marketing Technology For Business And Consumer Marketers, Part 2
In December, B2C marketing analysts Joe Stanhope and Rusty Warner and B2B marketing analyst Lori Wizdo hosted the second annual martech roundtable to help marketers make informed decisions against the backdrop of these exciting and disruptive trends in marketing technology. In part two of our martech roundtable webinar recap, we’ll delve into high-level marketing trends and marketing technology strategy.
Yes, Really! Two Cross-Channel Campaign Management Forrester Wave™ Evaluations
Don’t let the name fool you. Even though the category is cross-channel campaign management, CCCM is more than just campaigns. CCCM technology is evolving to address contextually relevant customer interactions, and marketers are turning to CCCM solutions to support their moments-based marketing capabilities. See our “The Future Of Enterprise Marketing Technology” report for more details on moments-based marketing.
Enable Marketing’s CX Ambitions With Real-Time Interaction Management
One of our 2019 B2C marketing predictions is that enterprise marketing technology will meld with customer experience (CX) investments to deliver the relevancy and consistency that consumers crave from brands. Real-time interaction management (RTIM) provides critical capabilities that enable marketers to realize their CX ambitions.
Align Martech Investments With Your Digital Transformation Strategy
Customers demand that marketing coordinate with sales, service, and commerce to deliver better experiences. That’s why enterprise marketing technology (martech) is melding with customer experience (CX) to deliver consistency and relevance (see Forrester’s Predictions 2019: B2C Marketing). Martech is a direct line to consumer touchpoints, and marketers should embrace and leverage it to drive digital transformation. But easier said than done.
Making Sense of Enterprise Marketing Technology (EMT)
Making sense of the enterprise marketing technology (EMT) landscape can easily overwhelm even the most dedicated martech aficionado. 2018’s “Martech 5000” is astonishingly closer to 7,000 vendors, rendering vendor differentiation difficult and vendor selection a nightmare. Forrester recommends starting this process by categorizing vendors in terms of systems of insight (SOI) and systems of engagement (SOE). But that’s just the beginning of your task.
Adobe Changes Its Marketing Cloud Trajectory with Marketo Acquisition
I am still catching my breath. Adobe has agreed to acquire Marketo for USD 4.75 billion. The deal is the biggest in Adobe’s history, and a massive encore to the acquisition of Magento for a mere USD 1.7 billion in May. On the one hand, I find myself proud to be a B2B marketer — to think that helping folks like me be more successful is worth USD 4.75 billion. On the other hand, you’ve just gotta wonder about that number.
Announcing Forrester's Inaugural MRM Evaluation
We are delighted to announce The Forrester Wave™: Marketing Resource Management, Q3 2018. Our 35-criteria evaluation includes the eight most significant MRM vendors – Aprimo, BrandMaker, IBM, Percolate, SAP, SAS, Stylelabs, and Workfront. MRM is not a new space, but marketers need to take a fresh look at available solutions. Today’s tools provide agile alternatives to traditional, monolithic platforms.
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