So, strategically, what does that mean for CMOs? To find out, we turned to our network of top marketers and analysts, as we have done since 2011, and posed this year’s question: Digital transformation and becoming a “customer experience business” is clearly the future for marketing. What is the one thing CMOs must get right in 2017 to make that happen?

Customer experience is just that—what customers actually experience. CMOs must act less like “executives” or “marketers” to design meaningful, shareable, and unforgettable experiences in every moment of truth.
—Brian Solis

According to Brian Solis, not only are most businesses failing at the customer experience, but they are failing by design. As an analyst and anthropologist, he has researched the problem and offers an interesting and credible perspective. His book, X: The Experience When Business Meets Design, not only details why some companies kick ass in the experience department but also explains how the key to their success is understanding their customers on multiple levels. He outlines how customer experience is the new differentiator and how every business can make meaningful changes.

This recent article from Channel Futures spotlights Brian Solis’ thoughts on digital transformation in customer experience (CX). As Solis notes, even cutting-edge cloud businesses must reimagine CX: “We need to re-engineer the customer experience…The question is how do you take the friction out of an aging or outdated process. Everything from the table of contents in books outward has changed. We don’t need to pretend CX has always been the same.”

On today’s show, Brett hosts two renown tech stars- Keith Teare, a founding member of TechCrunch and Archimedes Labs; and Brian Solis, expert in technology and customer behaviors. They discuss AI, IOT, the changing nature of jobs due to technology, and the best ways to approach fake news. This is an episode you really do not want to miss!

My hardline view about the digital transformation was changed when I came across a Forbes article written by Brian Solis called “Who Owns Digital Transformation? According To A New Survey, It’s Not The CIO”. In the article, he mentions the very same skepticism I had, but with an important distinction:

“The reality is though that pretty much every company is investing in digital transformation. The difference between them and companies paving the way forward comes down to whether or not change progresses holistically in a unified manner or through individual groups without the benefit of common vision.”