We know the pressure to deliver a seamless experience while the gears of an organization grind in the background. If a customer has to repeat themselves, it’s a sign that your team’s ability to share space is hitting a wall.
At the March 2026 MarTech conference, the session “Connected conversations: Building context-aware customer experiences” dives into this struggle. Moderated by Annette Franz, CEO of CX Journey, Inc., the panel featured Gene De Libero., principal consultant at Digital Mindshare; Shiv Gupta,principal at Quantum Sight; and Haley Trost, director of product marketing at Braze.
Stop blaming the software
It’s a common stumbling block in this role to think that a new platform will fix a fragmented experience. But as De Libero points out, without a clear operating model, even the most expensive digital experience platform is “a very expensive CMS.”
Data is often available; fragmentation occurs because it is not activated in real time. Trost stressed that failure isn’t always about grouping — it’s about turning knowledge into action for a diverse group. This is possible, but it requires leadership to prioritize how people work together over what buttons they push.
The legend of a complete 360-degree view
The panelists understood the fatigue caused by chasing the “perfect” customer profile that remains forever out of reach. The Guptas suggested a more empowering approach: focus on the data needed to resolve conflicts instead of chasing perfection.
- Context over perfection: Trost noted that knowing what the customer is doing right now it is more precious than knowing everything they have ever done.
- Respect the latest signal: De Libero urged the teams to stop waiting for perfection. Choose a reliable source, honor the latest engagement, and move on.
Building bridges with shared KPIs
A common pain point for marketers is the “us versus them” story that arises when sales, service and marketing all have different North stars. Disconnected metrics lead to disconnected customer experience.
To remedy this, the panel suggested using shared outcomes that no single group could achieve on its own. The Guptas proposed lifetime value (LTV) as a prime candidate, while Trost recommended metrics such as time value and value and retention. When everyone is measured against the same customer journey outcome, collaboration happens naturally.
AI needs human vigilance
Let’s tackle the AI aspect. While AI can summarize histories and speed up responses, it can’t fix a lack of product standards or poor data quality. The way forward involves training AI on reliable, up-to-date signals while keeping humans in the loop to maintain governance and trust. As De Libero put it, AI will only amplify the effects of bad data if you’re not careful.
The way forward
The connected experience is not a data storage problem—it is an alignment and accountability problem. You don’t need a perfect track record to start making your customers feel noticed. You just need an operating model that empowers your teams to make the signals that matter most right now.
