Translating Growth Strategy into Business Success

Technology enables strategy, but strategy must come first. On this episode of Digital Transformation Success, host and Little Bird Marketing CEO Priscilla McKinney talks with Alena Rossini, Head of Business Strategy for Tesco Retail Media, about how digital transformation strategy fails when organizations prioritize tools over foundations, treating technology as the answer rather than an enabler of strong brand principles and clear direction. Rossini explains why digital transformation strategy fails when leadership keeps pivoting direction, chasing technology changes instead of staying true to strategic plans. She finds that many organizations struggle with fragmented channels and rapidly changing technology, which tempts CMOs to shift brand positioning, target audiences, and messaging constantly. This creates the opposite of a strong foundation. She shares how an effective demand generation strategy requires consistency even as the landscape evolves. She explains, "If you build strong foundations, you can build really high, what is very tempting nowadays, especially with the shorter cycle of CMOs in place, is to keep changing what you stand for. And that just creates massive inefficiencies."  She also shares insights on B2B marketing trends, showing a return to brand building and emotional engagement through video content, as well as the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in marketing, distinguishing between productivity gains and creative applications. While AI excels at consistency and scale, true differentiation still requires human intuition, emotion, and boldness in marketing strategy. Music written and performed by Leighton Cordell. Sponsors: Priscilla McKinney here! I am very excited to tell you about my book: Collaboration is the New Competition: Why the Future of Work Rewards A Cross Pollinating Hive Mind and How Not to Get Left Behind The book's chapters are designed to be time-efficient, ensuring busy professionals can easily integrate these transformative ideas into their workflow. From discussing the state of affairs in business to providing fundamental strategies and seven practical anchors for staying on course, this book offers a fresh perspective and a competitive advantage in today's complex business landscape. Visit priscillamckinney.com for more information. Priscilla McKinney is not just a CEO; she is also a LinkedIn Influencer. The reality is that very few people are using LinkedIn efficiently or effectively, and if you’re not careful, social media can become a black hole. When you emerge, you find you wound up in a place you never intended to go and you’re wondering where all the time went. Time is precious, and trying to be everything to everyone means becoming nothing to no one. That's why she's developed a transformative 12-week course that goes beyond basic tips and tricks – teaching you how to build a strategic network and create stellar content that cuts through the LinkedIn noise. Click here to learn more, and sign up for a spot in her social influence course today! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CRM systems fail because we confuse strategy with software. On this episode of Digital Transformation Success, host and Little Bird Marketing CEO Priscilla McKinney talks with guest and CEO of aheadCRM LLC, Thomas Wieberneit, about customer relationship management (CRM) and the customer experience (CX) industry. They discuss how CRM implementation fails when organizations confuse the map with the territory, treating systems as silver bullets rather than strategic tools that require proper planning, change management, and continuous optimization. Wieberneit explains the two most common mistakes in digital transformation consulting related to CRM implementation. The first is failing to include the people who will actually use the customer database in planning discussions. The second is implementing systems to serve management rather than frontline teams. The mistake that management or buyers often make, Wieberneit explains. “Is [thinking that] another system helps me get out of [a failing CRM situation]; It's a silver bullet." By contrast, he shares how successful CRM projects focus on removing administrative burdens from sales and service personnel so they can spend more time building customer relationships. He provides expert advice on how to turn systems of record into true engagement platforms by improving audience segmentation, automating mundane tasks, and prioritizing user adoption over key performance indicators (KPIs) and management reporting. McKinney and Wieberneit also discuss the role of emerging technologies, such as agentic AI and large language models (LLMs) in CRM systems. Wieberneit provides real-world examples of where these technologies create genuine value, versus where they become expensive solutions in search of problems. He shares a valuable use case of how Siemens uses LLM-based helper tools for technical service questions, allowing human service personnel to focus on complex problems that require relationship building. The conversation emphasizes the importance of outcome-oriented implementation that creates a unified customer experience by prioritizing customer needs, thereby generating business value for the organization. Music written and performed by Leighton Cordell. Sponsors: Priscilla McKinney here! I am very excited to tell you about my book: Collaboration is the New Competition: Why the Future of Work Rewards A Cross Pollinating Hive Mind and How Not to Get Left Behind The book's chapters are designed to be time-efficient, ensuring busy professionals can easily integrate these transformative ideas into their workflow. From discussing the state of affairs in business to providing fundamental strategies and seven practical anchors for staying on course, this book offers a fresh perspective and a competitive advantage in today's complex business landscape. Visit priscillamckinney.com for more information. Priscilla McKinney is not just a CEO; she is also a LinkedIn Influencer. The reality is that very few people are using LinkedIn efficiently or effectively, and if you’re not careful, social media can become a black hole. When you emerge, you find you wound up in a place you never intended to go and you’re wondering where all the time went. Time is precious, and trying to be everything to everyone means becoming nothing to no one. That's why she's developed a transformative 12-week course that goes beyond basic tips and tricks – teaching you how to build a strategic network and create stellar content that cuts through the LinkedIn noise. Click here to learn more, and sign up for a spot in her social influence course today! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every company today operates as a technology company, whether they realize it or not. On this episode of Digital Transformation Success, host and Little Bird Marketing CEO Priscilla McKinney talks with Dr. Tracy Tuten, VP of qualitative research at Illuminas, a Radius company, where she leads the qualitative practice. They discuss how companies across all sectors must recognize they're operating in a technology-driven marketplace and adapt their digital transformation strategy accordingly through strategic brand positioning. Tuten shares her expertise on emergent positioning dangers and grand flag concepts, explaining how businesses can navigate competitive landscapes through strategic research and positioning. She demonstrates through real-world digital transformation case studies like ONTIC versus Resolver and Stripe versus Audion how companies can understand the B2B customer journey and uncover the right positioning strategy using market research to differentiate themselves in crowded markets and even redefine entire industry categories. The conversation addresses the high-stakes nature of product launches and market positioning in today's competitive landscape, where companies have limited budgets and marketing automation resources. Tuten emphasizes how understanding buyer psychology and strategic research provides the foundation for confident decision-making in these critical business moments. "Research is the antidote to risk," Tuten explains. "We have a limited budget. We need to see success from it. Research is the investment that you make to have that antidote to risk." McKinney and Tuten also discuss practical frameworks for avoiding common positioning pitfalls, such as kitchen sink messaging, parity positioning, and attempting to win where competitors already dominate. They emphasize how engineered positioning strategies enable companies to establish a foothold on competitive ground they can actually hold and defend. Sponsors: Tired of generic marketing firms that don't get market research? Say hello to Little Bird Marketing, the revenue generation company of choice for the market research industry. Our "peeps" understand market research inside and out. We know your buyers, craft meaningful messages that move them to buy, understand the competitive landscape and where you fit in the market. We get the industry - from qual/quant to emerging technologies. Why settle for getting the job done when you can soar with marketing that drives real revenue? Click here to get started. Priscilla McKinney is not just a CEO; she is also a LinkedIn Influencer. The reality is that very few people are using LinkedIn efficiently or effectively, and if you’re not careful, social media can become a black hole. When you emerge, you find you wound up in a place you never intended to go and you’re wondering where all the time went. Time is precious, and trying to be everything to everyone means becoming nothing to no one. That's why she's developed a transformative 12-week course that goes beyond basic tips and tricks – teaching you how to build a strategic network and create stellar content that cuts through the LinkedIn noise. Click here to learn more, and sign up for a spot in her social influence course today! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What if the difference between business success and stagnation lies in distinguishing flashy metrics from insights that beat your competition? On this episode of Digital Transformation Success, host and Little Bird Marketing CEO Priscilla McKinney talks with Andrew Elder, SVP for Advanced Analytics at Illuminas, a Radius Insights company, about the critical shift happening in quantitative research and competitive analysis. They explore how AI tools are transforming the baseline of what clients can accomplish independently, forcing research professionals to evolve beyond traditional metrics like Net Promoter Score toward more sophisticated competitive positioning strategies. Elder also explains how B2B decision-making complexity creates unique challenges that AI cannot fully address, particularly when dealing with collaborative organizational decisions involving multiple influencers across different timeframes and contexts. The conversation reveals why understanding your competitive position requires moving beyond simple recommendation scores to capture the nuanced reality of how brands elevate within their specific market categories. "The competitive context is absolutely crucial," Elder explains. “The reality is that companies need buyers to not only think positively about [their] brand, but also think about how that fits [their] needs relative to other options.” The discussion also covers Illuminas' "Science of Winning" methodology, which builds on over 10 years of research demonstrating that relative brand position predicts future outcomes far better than absolute scores. This approach helps technology companies understand that becoming the most recommended brand within their competitive set matters more than achieving high scores in isolation, whether they're competing at the platform level or within specialized technology stacks. Sponsors: Priscilla McKinney here! I am very excited to tell you about my book:  Collaboration is the New Competition: Why the Future of Work Rewards A Cross Pollinating Hive Mind and How Not to Get Left Behind The book's chapters are designed to be time-efficient, ensuring busy professionals can easily integrate these transformative ideas into their workflow. From discussing the state of affairs in business to providing fundamental strategies and seven practical anchors for staying on course, this book offers a fresh perspective and a competitive advantage in today's complex business landscape. Visit priscillamckinney.com for more information. Tired of generic marketing firms that don't get market research? Say hello to Little Bird Marketing, the revenue generation company of choice for the market research industry. Our "peeps" understand market research inside and out. We know your buyers, craft meaningful messages that move them to buy, understand the competitive landscape and where you fit in the market. We get the industry - from qual/quant to emerging technologies. Why settle for getting the job done when you can soar with marketing that drives real revenue? Click here to get started. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Technology buyers can't make decisions based solely on immediate needs. On this episode of Digital Transformation Success, host and Little Bird Marketing CEO Priscilla McKinney talks with Jay Shutter, CEO of Illuminas, who has spent three decades interviewing CIOs and senior IT leaders across every major technology transition. How do you use tech products when you’re studying tech products? Interesting question and a good place to start when talking to an expert on market research in the tech space. McKinney takes the opportunity to get a finger on the pulse on how tech companies are struggling to understand enterprise buyers and how they gain a competitive advantage. Shutter gives an informed explanation of how technology purchasing decisions have evolved as systems become more integrated, requiring buyers to consider three to five-year implications because technology stacks create vendor dependencies. He shares insights from launching Radius Tech, which combines decades of technology research experience with AI-powered tools like Radius IQ for real-time qualitative probing within quantitative surveys. "Technology buyers today can't just think about what they're buying for today," Shutter explains. "Because technology changes so fast, you as a buyer have to think about today and the future." They go a bit deeper, examining how marketing automation platforms have reshaped partner ecosystems. This part of the conversation reveals how market research can identify and address common positioning mistakes when companies try to reach skeptical enterprise buyers. In the end,  digital transformation consulting approaches must evolve beyond traditional methodologies, and while AI levels the competitive playing field technologically, customer service excellence and human relationships are the standout differentiator for technology companies. Sponsor: Priscilla McKinney here! I am very excited to tell you about my book:  Collaboration is the New Competition: Why the Future of Work Rewards A Cross Pollinating Hive Mind and How Not to Get Left Behind The book's chapters are designed to be time-efficient, ensuring busy professionals can easily integrate these transformative ideas into their workflow. From discussing the state of affairs in business to providing fundamental strategies and seven practical anchors for staying on course, this book offers a fresh perspective and a competitive advantage in today's complex business landscape. Visit priscillamckinney.com for more information. Priscilla McKinney is not just a CEO; she is also a LinkedIn Influencer. The reality is that very few people are using LinkedIn efficiently or effectively, and if you’re not careful, social media can become a black hole. When you emerge, you find you wound up in a place you never intended to go and you’re wondering where all the time went. Time is precious, and trying to be everything to everyone means becoming nothing to no one. That's why she's developed a transformative 12-week course that goes beyond basic tips and tricks – teaching you how to build a strategic network and create stellar content that cuts through the LinkedIn noise. Click here to learn more, and sign up for a spot in her social influence course today! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Time is the only commodity nobody gives us back, and data scientists spend 70% of their time on manual tasks instead of meaningful analysis. On this episode of Digital Transformation Success, host and Little Bird Marketing CEO Priscilla McKinney talks with Naira Musallam, co-founder of SightX, about addressing the fundamental challenge of data collection, cleaning, and analysis processes that have plagued the market research industry. Before starting SightX, an all-in-one consumer insights platform, Musallam was on faculty at Columbia University and taught graduate-level courses in research and statistics at NYU while leading R&D for a consulting firm that served Fortune 500 companies.  They discuss how the research industry transforms through automation of manual statistical processes while maintaining the transparency and accuracy that enterprise clients demand. Musallam explains how her team recognized that the industry was broken across multiple touchpoints - from data collection to cleaning, formatting, analytics, and visualization - and built SiteX to solve this problem. The conversation explores how digital innovation enables the platform to incorporate both traditional automated statistical libraries and modern AI capabilities for text-based analysis while avoiding the "black box" problem that can lead to hallucinations in quantitative research. "The only commodity in life that nobody gives us back is time," Musallam explains. "Given choices, people want to spend it doing meaningful things and fun things." McKinney and Musallam also discuss career advice for the next generation of data scientists, emphasizing the importance of soft skills over technical skills. (Dear Reader, this harkens back to a great episode where Abhijit Bhaduri said the same thing!) They explore how curiosity, flexibility, and genuine relationship-building matter more than learning specific programming languages or prompt writing, especially as technology continues to evolve rapidly. The conversation covers the evolution of technology trends in market research, from big data to machine learning to artificial intelligence, and how Musallam differentiates between AI automation and synthetic data. The episode highlights how inclusive design principles help democratize sophisticated research methodologies for users at every level of experience. Sponsors:Priscilla McKinney here! I am very excited to tell you about my book:  Collaboration is the New Competition: Why the Future of Work Rewards A Cross Pollinating Hive Mind and How Not to Get Left Behind The book's chapters are designed to be time-efficient, ensuring busy professionals can easily integrate these transformative ideas into their workflow. From discussing the state of affairs in business to providing fundamental strategies and seven practical anchors for staying on course, this book offers a fresh perspective and a competitive advantage in today's complex business landscape. Visit priscillamckinney.com for more information. Priscilla McKinney is not just a CEO; she is also a LinkedIn Influencer. The reality is that very few people are using LinkedIn efficiently or effectively, and if you’re not careful, social media can become a black hole. When you emerge, you find you wound up in a place you never intended to go and you’re wondering where all the time went. Time is precious, and trying to be everything to everyone means becoming nothing to no one. That's why she's developed a transformative 12-week course that goes beyond basic tips and tricks – teaching you how to build a strategic network and create stellar content that cuts through the LinkedIn noise. Click here to learn more, and sign up for a spot in her social influence course today! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Can an innovative and collaborative AI initiative transform market research from exclusive Fortune 500 privilege to accessible business intelligence? On this episode of Digital Transformation Success, host and Little Bird Marketing CEO Priscilla McKinney talks with Nichola Quail, Global Insights Strategist and CEO of Insights Exchange, about democratizing market research through digital transformation. They explore how AI integration revolutionizes traditional research methods while maintaining the critical human element that drives meaningful insights. Quail outlines her comprehensive digital transformation strategy for building research agents and connecting businesses with independent research specialists through her global platform. The conversation explores Quail's hands-on experience implementing digital transformation tools, from early AI applications to custom research agents that synthesize reports across multiple timeframes. She describes how human researchers capture subtle cues and contextual insights that drive innovation rather than relying solely on large language models (LLMs). "The human computers in our brains are extremely adept at capturing that [nuanced insight]," Quail explains. "If we keep training the LLMs and use the same output, we never talk to a human." McKinney and Quail also discuss findings from their upcoming US Consumer Trends Report, revealing that nearly half of Americans use generative AI regularly, with younger demographics leading to adoption at 78%. They explore the professional implications for the 35-49 age group, who must integrate AI into their toolkit to remain competitive. The discussion highlights how digital transformation in market research encompasses fundamental changes in how businesses access insights and how researchers deliver value through flexible, high-quality service delivery. Sponsors: Priscilla McKinney here! I am very excited to tell you about my book:  Collaboration is the New Competition: Why the Future of Work Rewards A Cross Pollinating Hive Mind and How Not to Get Left Behind The book's chapters are designed to be time-efficient, ensuring busy professionals can easily integrate these transformative ideas into their workflow. From discussing the state of affairs in business to providing fundamental strategies and seven practical anchors for staying on course, this book offers a fresh perspective and a competitive advantage in today's complex business landscape. Visit priscillamckinney.com for more information. Priscilla McKinney is not just a CEO; she is also a LinkedIn Influencer. The reality is that very few people are using LinkedIn efficiently or effectively, and if you’re not careful, social media can become a black hole. When you emerge, you find you wound up in a place you never intended to go and you’re wondering where all the time went. Time is precious, and trying to be everything to everyone means becoming nothing to no one. That's why she's developed a transformative 12-week course that goes beyond basic tips and tricks – teaching you how to build a strategic network and create stellar content that cuts through the LinkedIn noise. Click here to learn more, and sign up for a spot in her social influence course today! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AI adoption requires assessment beyond efficiency to unlock true business growth. On this episode of Digital Transformation Success, host and Little Bird Marketing CEO Priscilla McKinney talks with Steve Mast, Co-founder and Partner at Twenty44, an advisory firm helping businesses navigate and adopt AI. They discuss how organizations can assess their AI readiness through four key areas: knowledge levels, understanding limitations, selecting appropriate applications, and establishing ethical guidelines. Mast shares his digital transformation strategy for implementing AI solutions, explaining how many organizations are stuck in what he calls the "wait-wow" cycle—where they experiment with AI but fail to gain traction. Through this digital transformation journey, they explore why many businesses, especially large enterprises, struggle with adoption rates hovering around 25% in the US and even lower in Canada, despite the technology's transformative potential for digital innovation. "The real potential of AI is you start to unlock growth and that's where we start to grow and create productivity inside of organizations," Mast explains. "But we're stuck in this idea of efficiency—doing my dishes, right? Those are very important things, but really the unlock or the real opportunity is when we meet this growth opportunity." McKinney and Mast also discuss the leadership requirements for successful AI implementation, examining how individual initiative is often more important than top-down directives. The conversation showcases Mast as a digital transformation leader who emphasizes why marketers and HR professionals should take ownership in AI adoption rather than leaving it solely to IT departments. Mast highlights the importance of involving teams in identifying AI opportunities within existing workflows while maintaining ethical standards. Sponsors: Priscilla McKinney here! I am very excited to tell you about my book:  Collaboration is the New Competition: Why the Future of Work Rewards A Cross Pollinating Hive Mind and How Not to Get Left Behind The book's chapters are designed to be time-efficient, ensuring busy professionals can easily integrate these transformative ideas into their workflow. From discussing the state of affairs in business to providing fundamental strategies and seven practical anchors for staying on course, this book offers a fresh perspective and a competitive advantage in today's complex business landscape. Visit priscillamckinney.com for more information. Priscilla McKinney is not just a CEO; she is also a LinkedIn Influencer. The reality is that very few people are using LinkedIn efficiently or effectively, and if you’re not careful, social media can become a black hole. When you emerge, you find you wound up in a place you never intended to go and you’re wondering where all the time went. Time is precious, and trying to be everything to everyone means becoming nothing to no one. That's why she's developed a transformative 12-week course that goes beyond basic tips and tricks – teaching you how to build a strategic network and create stellar content that cuts through the LinkedIn noise. Click here to learn more, and sign up for a spot in her social influence course today! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Unlocking authentic frontline worker feedback drives effective digital transformation and risk prevention in manufacturing industries. On this episode of Digital Transformation Success, host and Little Bird Marketing CEO Priscilla McKinney talks with Vivek Kumar, CEO and Co-Founder of TeamForce AI, and Cecil Puvathingal, Vice President of Sales and Operations at QuestionPro. They discuss how creating psychologically safe environments for frontline workers can transform safety outcomes while addressing the challenge of gathering honest feedback from the 80% of the global workforce who don't sit behind computers. Both Puvathingal and Kumar share their digital transformation strategies for implementing frontline feedback solutions through automation integration and cross-team collaboration. "The number one problem for us is never the employees using our system," Kumar explains. "The challenge is sometimes employer readiness around saying, wait, why do I want that?" They explore the partnership between TeamForce AI and QuestionPro, highlighting a powerful digital transformation case study where a manufacturing company reduced safety incidents to zero by implementing a worker-suggested solution—filming family members discussing the importance of their loved ones returning home safely. The conversation demonstrates how digital innovation breaks down silos between management and frontline workers, offering practical frameworks for leaders to capture critical insights without disrupting workflow while driving improved safety outcomes. Sponsors: Little Bird Marketing proudly supports the Marketing Research Education Foundation's 2025 Race Around the World for Education. This virtual event in May 2025 promotes STEAM education in underserved communities. Participants log miles to circle the globe three times and aim to raise $90,000. Form a company team to compete with other market research firms! Become a sponsor to help provide quality STEAM education to children who need access. For registration and more information, visit: https://www.mrgivesback.org/ Priscilla McKinney here! I am very excited to tell you about my book:  Collaboration is the New Competition: Why the Future of Work Rewards A Cross Pollinating Hive Mind and How Not to Get Left Behind The book's chapters are designed to be time-efficient, ensuring busy professionals can easily integrate these transformative ideas into their workflow. From discussing the state of affairs in business to providing fundamental strategies and seven practical anchors for staying on course, this book offers a fresh perspective and a competitive advantage in today's complex business landscape. Visit priscillamckinney.com for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transform your market research into visuals that drive action. On this episode of Digital Transformation Success, host and Little Bird Marketing CEO Priscilla McKinney talks with Vashte Brilliant, founder of Slidedesignr, about transforming analytical insights into visually compelling presentations. They discuss how researchers frequently focus on meeting deadlines and checking boxes rather than conveying actionable insights that address the fundamental business questions that prompted the research. Brilliant shares her journey from mechanical engineer to market research professional to presentation design expert by identifying a critical gap in the research process. Through her work with hundreds of insights professionals across organizations of all sizes, she outlines her five-step framework for creating powerful presentations: adopting an expert mindset, understanding the audience, creating a clear big picture from multiple data sources, visual writing that chunks information strategically, and finally implementing a beautiful design that underscores the strategic thinking. "The deliverable is that artifact. It's the thing that lives on and captures all of your smart thinking [and] all of your hard work," Brilliant explains. "People are going to be looking at that thing months later, even hopefully years later, and it's the thing that everyone leaves until last." McKinney and Brilliant explore how poorly designed presentations can undermine a research firm's credibility and sales process, while thoughtful, clear visual communication reinforces authority and differentiates the brand in a crowded marketplace. The conversation highlights how the shift to digital delivery has raised the stakes for creating memorable, impactful deliverables that stand out amid increasing digital noise, revealing that following a b2b marketing strategy framework for creating these deliverables actually reduces work and stress compared to last-minute approaches. Sponsors: Ever feel like your marketing plan is just... meh? You've got the pieces, but are they really working together? We often find that even when companies are doing the right things, they may not be doing them in the right order. The results are, well, no results. Curious how you can effectively evaluate your marketing efforts? Want clarity on your next best strategic move? Take our Marketing Assessment Quiz and in just minutes, discover exactly where you stand – and where you could be going. Click here and take the quiz today and don’t leave success to chance. Priscilla McKinney is not just a CEO; she is also a LinkedIn Influencer. The reality is that very few people are using LinkedIn efficiently or effectively, and if you’re not careful, social media can become a black hole. When you emerge, you find you wound up in a place you never intended to go and you’re wondering where all the time went. Time is precious, and trying to be everything to everyone means becoming nothing to no one. That's why she's developed a transformative 12-week course that goes beyond basic tips and tricks – teaching you how to build a strategic network and create stellar content that cuts through the LinkedIn noise. Click here to learn more, and sign up for a spot in her social influence course today! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices