The Funnel: A Digital Experience Podcast

Have you considered how younger generations like Generation Z and Generation Alpha are changing how we shop for products and services? While older generations may feel less comfortable purchasing large ticket items on their phones, Gen Z has no problem completing the purchase.What is important to Gen Z and Gen Alpha when buying online, and what changes should companies make to attract younger shoppers? On this episode of The Funnel, Blue Acorn iCi's Director of Digital Solutions Consulting, Rebecca Hall, joins the show to share her research on this topic and give organizations tips for building a younger customer base.

This month on The Funnel, hear from Blue Acorn iCi's Ashley Mut on how organizations can benefit from providing a seamless customer experience with the help of a customer engagement team. Listeners will learn: The impact of having customer engagement as a business focusThe potential challenges associated with having a customer engagement teamHow technology changes have impacted customer expectations and experiences Follow Blue Acorn iCi: https://www.linkedin.com/company/blue-acorn-ici/ Follow Ashley Mut: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-mut-3b7481206/

This month on The Funnel, hear from Blue Acorn iCi's Chase Bruch on how organizations are evolving their analytics efforts with applications within Adobe Experience Platform such as Adobe Real-Time CDP, Adobe Customer Journey Analytics, and Adobe Journey Optimizer. Listeners will learn: -More about the applications within Adobe Experience Platform-How companies are evolving their personalization efforts with this technology-How the platform is utilizing AI capabilities Follow Blue Acorn iCi on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/blue-acorn-ici/ Follow Chase Bruch on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chase-bruch-96b17826/

A lot was covered during this year's Adobe Summit, such as: Adobe Firefly Custom Models - Allows design teams to train models so organizations can create fresh on-brand content.Adobe Firefly Services - Allows teams to generate, process, and assemble thousands of on-brand assets in minutes.Adobe GenStudio - This technology enables marketing teams to accelerate the planning, creation, distribution, activation, and measurement of on-brand content.AI Assistant - This can be used to help teams create lists and build journeys.B2B Customer Journeys - B2B marketing teams can use this to manage their accounts to better coordinate with sales and other revenue team members. This month on The Funnel, hear from Blue Acorn iCi's Gary Howell on Adobe Summit's biggest takeaways. Listeners will learn: -The overarching themes of Adobe Summit-How organizations can take their learnings and turn them into action -Sessions and keynotes that made an impact on attendees Follow Blue Acorn iCi: https://www.linkedin.com/company/blue-acorn-ici/ Follow Gary Howell: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garydavidhowell/

Hear from Blue Acorn iCi experts about their most impactful moments during Adobe Summit 2024.

Many businesses are making decisions based on data that isn't real. It is reported that around 20% of website traffic is generated by bots. This month on The Funnel, hear from Blue Acorn iCi's Jim Gordon on how bots are impacting marketing budgets and what organizations should do to arm themselves with the most reliable data. Listeners will learn: -The marketing impacts of bots on advertising budgets-How to approach detecting bots-If there is a healthy website percentage that contains bots Follow Blue Acorn iCi: https://www.linkedin.com/company/blue-acorn-ici/ Follow Jim Gordon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimalytics/ Check out the Jimalytics blog: https://jimalytics.com/

Adobe's Edge Delivery Services is a composable set of services that allows for a high degree of flexibility in authoring content on a website. It takes only a few seconds to go from editing to seeing the content live online.Recently, Blue Acorn iCi migrated its website from WordPress to Edge Delivery Services because of the many pain points the marketing team faced when publishing content. The new Blue Acorn iCi website features a new look, a robust content authoring experience, and a user experience that prioritizes speed. Today, we'll uncover how businesses can optimize website performance and re-imagine their content authoring processes with Adobe's Edge Delivery Services. Our guests, Emily Wilhoit and Tyler Craft join The Funnel to discuss this technology and how Blue Acorn iCi benefits from it. Listeners will learn:-Why Blue Acorn iCi chose to migrate from WordPress to Edge Delivery.-The benefits of this technology from both a developer and marketing perspective. -The recent results Blue Acorn iCi has seen as a direct result of the website launch. Follow Blue Acorn iCi: https://www.linkedin.com/company/blue-acorn-ici/ Follow Emily Wilhoit on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilyallenderwilhoit/ Follow Tyler Craft on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyler-craft-68121566/

In today's digital world, customers expect a certain level of personalized experiences when interacting with brands. This month, hear from Adam DiTomasso on how businesses can start implementing hyper personalized experiences with customer data platforms (CDPs) and the benefits in doing so. Listeners will learn: 1. How businesses can start to create personalized experiences.2. More about what hyper personalization is.3. What a CDP is and how organizations can take advantage of this technology. Follow Blue Acorn iCi: https://www.linkedin.com/company/blue-acorn-ici/ Follow Adam DiTomasso on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamditomasso/ Listen to Adam's podcast, DemoJockeys: https://demojockeys.com/

To deliver the right solutions for customers, businesses need the right data and AI tools to track customer preferences and improve continuously. Technology such as ChatGPT has paved the way for companies to start experimenting with generative AI, but what are the negative impacts associated with this adoption, and do customers want to interact with something like an AI chatbot? This month, Anoop Kumar, AVP, Senior Principal Technology Architect, Digital Experience at Infosys, joins the show to talk about the power of emerging AI technology. Listeners will learn: How customers can brace for these technological changes.The security precautions to beware of.The impact AI technology will have on businesses in the coming years. Follow Blue Acorn iCi: https://www.linkedin.com/company/blue-acorn-ici/ Follow Anoop Kumar on LinkedIn and Twitter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anoop-kumar-p-0390146a/https://twitter.com/anoopkumar_p

Did you know that the more companies adopt digital commerce capabilities, the better they perform? Infosys found that a 10% increase in adoption correlates with a 3% increase in performance on customer, financial, and strategic outcomes. When organizations invest in automation and artificial intelligence (AI), they can improve overall performance by 1%. Prabha joins The Funnel to talk more about how companies can start implementing hyper immersive and automated experiences to increase performance. Listeners will learn:The positives and negatives associated with adding these experiencesWhich hyper immersive experiences already exist in the commerce spaceHow leaders can incorporate these experiences into their business Follow Blue Acorn iCi: https://www.linkedin.com/company/blue-acorn-ici/ Follow Prabha on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/Prabha Senthil/

When organizations streamline internal processes and improve their content supply chain, they can ensure the right content reaches the right audience at the right time while maximizing impact and business value. Adobe's Matthew Purdon, Sr. Product Director leading Adobe's Content Supply Chain, joins The Funnel to talk about personalizing content at scale with a content supply chain. Listeners will learn: -The impact an optimized content supply chain has on a business. -The biggest hurdles organizations face when rethinking their content process. -How teams with limited resources can start to streamline their content supply chain. To learn more about content supply chains, visit contentsupplychain.com. Follow Matthew Purdon on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewpurdon/ Follow Blue Acorn iCi on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/blue-acorn-ici/

The term data quality refers to the credibility of data and how an organization trusts recommendations and insights from that data source. Jeremy Linhardt explains how to monitor and measure data quality in this episode of The Funnel: A Digital Experience Podcast. About Jeremy Linhardt: Jeremy is a marketing technology consultant with Blue Acorn iCi's Customer Intelligence Department. With over 20 years of experience, he helps marketing organizations gain insights from user behaviors. For the last 15 years, Jeremy has primarily focused on the industry-leading clickstream analytics tool, Adobe Analytics. Listeners will learn: 1. What causes data quality to degrade. 2. Initial steps to take to improve data quality. 3. Blue Acorn iCi's data-driven approach to monitoring and measuring data quality.Follow Blue Acorn iCi on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/blue-acorn-ici/ Follow Jeremy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremy-linhardt-2112372/

Did you know that according to Invesp Consulting it costs up to 5 times more to acquire a new customer than it costs to retain one? While brands spend millions of dollars on commerce sites, close to 98% of consumer visits do not end in a transaction.On this episode of The Funnel: A Digital Experience Podcast, guest Aimee Sutton uncovers Canopy Commerce Services and the impact it has on customer experiences. About Aimee Sutton:Aimee Sutton is Head of Commerce Services at Blue Acorn iCi. She leads Blue Acorn iCi's full-service department, which supports the customer journey from end-to-end through services like call center and commerce operations. She has 8 years of experience working at Blue Acorn iCi, primarily focused on the client experience and end-to-end commerce capabilities. Listeners will learn:1. Why it's important for leaders to evaluate their tech stack and vendor/agency ecosystem.2. How a major media company used Canopy Commerce Services to grow revenue and increase customer satisfaction. 3. How smaller teams can take advantage of these services for long-term growth. Follow Blue Acorn iCi on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/blue-acorn-ici/ Follow Aimee Sutton on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aimeesutton10/

What do organizations miss if they don't have a delivery team? How are delivery teams instrumental to an organization? During this episode, Divya Kandikatti joins the show to speak more about delivery management and how she engages with potential clients on their transformation journey while helping them make the right decisions. Follow Blue Acorn iCi: https://www.linkedin.com/company/blue-acorn-ici/ Follow Divya Kandikatti: https://www.linkedin.com/in/divya-kandikatti/

Adobe Summit 2023 was back in person this year. Attendees explored topics such as content supply chain, generative AI, personalization at scale, product experience, and so much more! If you couldn't attend the event and want the inside scoop on all things Summit, this episode is for you. Emily Wilhoit, Chief Marketing Officer at Blue Acorn iCi, joins us to discuss the event's themes, takeaways, and learnings. Follow Blue Acorn iCi: https://www.linkedin.com/company/blue-acorn-ici/ Follow Guest: Emily Wilhoit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilyallenderwilhoit/

Web accessibility refers to the practice of making websites usable and accessible to everyone, including individuals with disabilities. By ensuring your website is accessible to everyone, you not only make it usable for individuals with disabilities but also improve the overall user experience for anyone who visits your website. This month Sean Whelan, Accessibility Manager at Blue Acorn iCi, joins us to discuss accessibility guidelines, top accessibility issues overlooked, and how businesses can improve user experiences. Need help optimizing your website's accessibility or unsure where to start? The Blue Acorn iCi team is here to help with your accessibility needs.Follow Blue Acorn iCi: https://www.linkedin.com/company/blue-acorn-ici/ Follow Sean Whelan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-whelan-accessibility/

Adrian Luna from Webscale and Lindsey Murray and Rick Buczynski from Blue Acorn iCi discuss the why, what, and how of peak traffic preparedness for your website infrastructure, customer experience, and marketing initiatives.

Adrian Luna from Webscale and Lindsey Murray and Rick Buczynski from Blue Acorn iCi discuss the why, what, and how of peak traffic preparedness for your website infrastructure, customer experience, and marketing initiatives.

In this interview, Brian Coleman, SEO Specialist at Blue Acorn iCi, discusses how brands can prep their SEO for 2022. He covers:Changes to Google, including Google Core Web VitalsThe role of user intent in SEOHow SEO aligns with the overall marketing strategyHow SEO affects the user experienceWhat outdated SEO tactics brands no longer need to include in their strategy

Navin Kumar, Principal Consultant, Digital Marketing at Infosys, shares what business value customer data platforms (CDPs) provide:What business challenges customer data platforms (CDPs) solveHow a CDP can enhance the customer experienceHow to choose and implement a CDP solution

In this episode of The Funnel, we interview Erica Rooney, VP of Employee Experience at Blue Acorn iCi. We cover how to keep employees engaged while working from home, what the return to work could look like post-pandemic, and tips for enhancing the employee experience.

Customer service representatives have gone from strictly problem solvers to personal shoppers and sales drivers. We interviewed Rachel Fefer, Director of Enterprise Partnerships at Gorgias, for the latest trends shaping customer service, top customer service frustrations, and what a brand can do this month to start enhancing the customer service experience.

Chris Guerra, Co-CEO at Blue Acorn iCi, discusses the pros and cons of accepting cryptocurrency to help brands and retailers decide if it's right for their online store.

Chris Guerra, Co-CEO at Blue Acorn iCi, shares how B2C and B2B brands can deliver effective omnichannel experiences, including real-life examples, what the future of omnichannel will look like, and what a brand can do in the next 30 days to kick-off or enhance their omnichannel experience.

Adam Coyle, CEO at Digital River, shares his top strategies for brands to expand globally and win locally with a direct-to-consumer channel. During the interview, he answers when is the right time to expand globally, what cultural nuances a brand needs to consider before entering a new marketing, and why a DTC channel is the best way to personalize and localize the customer experience. For more information about localizing the customer experience, download Blue Acorn iCi and Digital River's eBook: Localizing the Customer Experience for the Global Anytime, Anywhere Customer.

Starting where we left off last month, Yasir Khan, VP of Digital Strategy at First Citizens Bank, and Mark Kelley, CGO at Blue Acorn iCi, continue their discussion about enhancing the customer experience in financial services. In this episode, they cover how to use data to optimize customer experience and embrace organizational change.

Even if you're not in the financial services industry, this is a must-listen for any company interested in optimizing their customer experience or starting their digital transformation! Yasir Khan, VP of Digital Strategy at First Citizens Bank, and Mark Kelley, CGO at Blue Acorn iCi, share their expert insights into enhancing the customer experience in financial services. Yasir and Mark cover how COVD-19 has affected the industry, what trends are shaping financial services, and what customers expect from their digital customer experiences.

Is direct-to-consumer on your roadmap? Taylor Boucher, VP of Digital Commerce at Blue Acorn iCi, discusses why now's the time to go DTC, why Shopify Plus is a good option for brands that need to quickly build a DTC store, and what other factors to consider when going DTC.

From marketing and promotion tips to technical tactics, Aimee and Clare from Blue Acorn iCi share their expert advice to help brands and retailers prepare their digital channels for the holiday season.

What do consumers expect from the mobile customer experience and how has COVID-19 affected those expectations? What can brands do to optimize the mobile customer experience? Chase Bruch from Blue Acorn iCi has all the answers plus three key takeaways at the end of the episode.

Acquiring and retaining customers in today's fast-changing economy takes more than a great product. Experts from Clutch and Magento share how to create an omnichannel loyalty program that delights customers and forms long-lasting relationships.

Today more than ever, brands have unprecedented access to customer data and insights. Find out how Data Science can help you tap into those insights and enhance the customer experience.

SEO expert, Brian Coleman, shares his tips for voice search optimization, how to use voice search to capture new customers, and what steps brands can take this month to prepare for voice search.

What's keeping brands up at night? Fraud. Vid Sukumar from Signifyd shares how brands can protect themselves from fraudulent shoppers while optimizing their revenue.

In this episode, Emily and Shawn from Blue Acorn iCi share how brands, both digitally native and legacy, can deliver experience drive commerce and personalize each step of the customer journey.

Unlike brand agencies, performance marketing agencies focus on KPIs that matter most to ecommerce businesses, such as conversion rate, retention, and average order value. Lindsey Murray, VP of Performance Marketing at Blue Acorn iCi, shares her tips for working with a performance marketing agency and how she collaborates with brand agencies.

Jackie and Luke from Deck Commerce share their insights into what steps brands need to take to ensure they can scale their business—from common challenges brands run into and how to future-proof your brand to signs your brand needs an OMS.

What does ADA web compliance mean for ecommerce? What steps can brands take to be ADA compliant? Meg O'Connell, CEO & founder of Global Disability Inclusion, and Sheridan Walker, IT consultant, share their insights and tips.

Joachim Klein, President & COO at Threekit, discusses the visual economy and shares his tips for ecommerce imagery, 3D visualization, and leveraging augmented reality.

We chat with experts from Klaviyo about Owned Marketing in ecommerce. Find out how Owned Marketing helps brands with customer retention and loyalty, as well as what questions to ask vendors when vetting marketing technologies.

Everyone has to pay taxes, right? In this episode of The Funnel, Avalara covers everything from tax compliance and sales tax automation to the latest tax legislation that could be affecting your ecommerce site.

You've converted the customer, now you need to retain them. In this episode, we cover how to enhance the post-purchase experience—from email communications and the unboxing experience to returns and logistics.

What's the current state of AI in ecommerce and how are brands applying AI to their ecommerce sites? Jan Soerensen, North American GM at Nosto, shares his insights into AI in ecommerce and what steps brands should take to implement an AI program.

Replatforming an ecommerce site is a journey that requires the right team members and resources. Chris Guerra, Chief Growth Officer at Blue Acorn iCi, shares his tips for preparing for an ecommerce replatform from which common traps to avoid to evaluating the success of a replatform post-launch.

Dynamic Yield's Sr. Director of Channels & Alliances, Charles Brun, shares his insights, best practices, and predictions for ecommerce personalization.

What's the best way to build an internal optimization team? Jared Hellman, Director of UX & Insights at Blue Acorn iCi, has the answers. (Hint: most people underestimate the resources they need.)

Why is omnichannel so hard? How do you track and reward your loyal customers across all your sales channels? Andy O'Dell, Co-Founder & Chief Strategy Officer at Clutch and Travis Eiland, Head of Commerce Strategy & Growth, Partnerships have all the answers.

Are you attending Magento Imagine? In this episode, Kevin Eichelberger, founder and co-CEO of Blue Acorn iCi, covers everything you need to know before packing your bag and your swag and hitting the road. From making the most of your time and predictions on buzzy topics to quirky stories from years past—you'll be covered.

Josh Brinson, Blue Acorn iCi's own Magento fan boy, chats with us about what to expect from Magento 2.3 - from PWAs and multi-source inventory to GraphQL.

We chat with Ben Kadory, Head of US Partnerships at Yotpo. We discuss the role UGC plays in a brand's ecommerce and marketing strategy, how to motivate shoppers to leave comments and share images, and UGC success stories.

We chat with Greg Harvell, Principal Front-End Architect at Blue Acorn iCi. They discuss all things mobile payments: why consumers prefer, how they boost conversion rates, the ideal user interface, and future trends.