Eric Stine, Chief Operating Officer at Sitecore shares a few perspectives on the state of AI powered martech and how marketers today have to rethink every marketing fundamental in this interview with MarTechSeries:

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What would you say are the five must-dos when it comes to digital experiences in B2B tech?

As the digital landscape continues to evolve, there are five “must-dos” to remain successful. The first is personalization at scale – generic content and mass marketing is long behind us. Integrating intelligence into search and digital asset management is a great way to personalize your brand, and to integrate content and interactions with commercial offerings. This will increase basket size, decrease cart abandonment and improve customer experience – particularly with complex products.

Brands must also focus on data driven optimization to identify areas for improvement through user feedback, A/B testing and heatmaps. All of this helps lead to frictionless customer journeys, which is essential in creating a loyal customer. It’s important to identify and eliminate any friction points, from website navigation to content discovery, to onboarding and support, only achieved through a user-centric design.

Integrating intelligence to deliver details faster and putting content at users’ fingertips, before they ask for it is also key. When users can focus on their tasks without wrestling with confusing interfaces, they’ll form a positive view of a brand. Marketers should be able to leverage generative AI to simplify marketing workflows and enhance productivity.

Brand-aware AI is baked into Sitecore Stream and ensures that every action, recommendation, and experience aligns with the customer’s brand identity, values, and guidelines, while being governed by enterprise-ready guardrails. With AI-enhanced workflows, Stream automates repetitive tasks to accelerate execution and boost collaboration. Finally, Stream provides generative copilots that help marketers stay true to their brand and brief as they complete their work.

Regularly gather user feedback to ensure your designs keep improving and innovating. This will also help empower communities; by listening and applying user feedback, brands will foster brand loyalty and a thriving community where customers feel heard and supported. When customers connect, share, and learn, everyone can thrive together.

Can you highlight some of the top tier tech companies you feel sport exceptional digital journeys and what takeaways marketers and MarTech-ers can grab from them?

One example is Microsoft which is both a long time Sitecore partner and customer. They have built a seamlessly integrated, end-to-end solution that powers their Microsoft Partner Network (MPN). MPN is one of the world’s largest partner ecosystems with 6.6 million unique visitors and 56 million page views per year across 100+ markets and 11 languages. With the help of Sitecore XP, Content Hub, and Sitecore AI they have truly transformed content management and personalization at scale. Microsoft can deliver personalized content to the right person at the right time. Their teams work faster and smarter and personalization is efficient and simplified. As a result, unknown MPN site visitors were cut to 11%, and 19% of members converted to paying partners. In six months, personalization drove 940 highly qualified leads to tele-sales.

Another company worth mentioning is MECCA, which has been redefining the beauty retail landscape in Australia and New Zealand since 1997. By switching to a composable approach and full cloud stack, they very closely replicated the in-store experience with what customers experienced online.  With its unique decoupled frontend and backend layers, headless commerce empowers MECCA to think beyond the online storefront and experiment with infinite customizations across apps, social media, and new technologies of the future. Sitecore’s solution has allowed MECCA’s teams to react to customer needs, quickly update content and provide consistency across physical and digital touchpoints. A composable architecture also means MECCA can plug in the products or platforms they need –whether that’s a rating and review system or ecommerce functionality.

Finally, IFS is an example of a company that has been able to completely rebuild its website to support an exceptional journey for its customers. The new website powered by Sitecore technology utilizes a wide range of advanced digital marketing tools, such as multivariate testing, personalization, and marketing automation that boosts visitor engagement and strengthens client retention rates​.

All these companies share a focus on relevant content and personalization as key components of their exceptional digital journeys. The ability to personalize at scale is now a must have, and AI will play an even bigger role as brands seek ways to accelerate time to value.

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Take us through some of the MarTech and, of course, AI-powered MarTech that you feel are set to take the industry by storm and why.

The AI space is evolving constantly, and there are several applications that are making waves within the MarTech Industry:

AI-Powered Personalization: AI algorithms are growing in sophistication and will only get better. AI presents great opportunity for marketers, with 60% of organizations already integrating generative AI into their marketing efforts and a forecasted 40% efficiency savings over the next five years. It’s no longer just about making things faster. It’s imperative that AI-driven actions align deeply with an organization’s ethics, brand identity, value and incorporate safe use of AI. From targeted content recommendations to dynamic pricing strategies, AI is going to be a driving force for improvements in customer engagement and conversion rates. For brands, AI also poses major risks if not thoughtfully implemented with a trusted partner.

Conversational Marketing: Intelligent chatbots and virtual assistants will become integral parts of the customer journey, offering instant support, personalized recommendations, and even transaction capabilities. Their support will enhance customer experience, improve efficiency, and unlock new revenue streams.

Predictive Analytics: Analyzing vast amounts of data to make predictions is made easy with AI. Businesses can now anticipate customer needs and proactively address them. If used correctly, this ability will lead to more effective marketing campaigns, increased customer satisfaction, and greater brand loyalty.

Data Privacy and Security: Data management and privacy are as important as ever in a rapidly evolving digital landscape. Businesses need to invest in security solutions to protect their customers’ data. New AI-powered tools can also ensure companies stay in compliance while using data to create customized experiences.

When it comes to creating and enhancing modern digital journeys, what do brands often not get right?

From my perspective, there are three aspects that brands need to improve digital journeys.

Starting with customer centricity vs brand-centricity. Brands sometimes err on prioritizing their brand image and features over addressing customer needs and pain points. This can lead to experiences that don’t resonate with customers and therefore fail to convert. There can be an over-reliance on A/B testing, which results in experiences that are brand centric, rather than looking at the end-to-end digital experience and knowing what will serve the customer’s objective.

Also, in today’s world Content is king…and relevance is queen. Relevance must be the new standard for marketers looking to cut through the noise and spur customers to engage and convert. By delivering hyper-personalized, emotionally aware stories across every touchpoint, marketers can optimize performance-to-cost ratios while winning the hearts and minds of their target audiences. Brands must shift from being reactive to predictive, as they start to leverage AI to anticipate their customer’s needs and personalize journeys. They need to re-examine the content lifecycle and better integrate digital assets into a range of experiences. This can provide personalized interactions and activations that reinforce brand identity.

One of the clients we work with – a global airline serving millions of travelers a day – relies on Sitecore to push the boundaries of how digital content is experienced in physical spaces, more efficiently moving people through airports, providing a better personalized passenger experience, and learning how to potentially monetize the audience with digital content. Ads that speak to the moment are sure to become the new standard for marketers. Marketers that tune into this and hone it, will reap rewards in the form of stronger engagement, higher conversion and healthier ROI.

Trust is also big. Customers are more likely to engage, share information and make purchases from brands they trust. It is more crucial than ever for brands to be transparent about what they offer and how they use customer data. When it comes to data privacy, brands need to prioritize the security of personal data and adhere to protection laws. The proliferation of inauthentic content, the need (and expectation) to deliver hyper personalization in a cookie-less opt-out world will drive a shift towards trust-based relationships and zero-party data strategies.  Brands must prioritize zero-party data strategies, where customers willingly share preferences, allowing for deeper, trust-based relationships. As new AI regulations emerge in 2025, the pressure around AI and data privacy will push companies to prioritize AI solutions that help consumers build deeper, trust-based relationships with brands.

Finally, understanding the ROI – Every investment in MarTech should be measurable in terms of whether it produces a positive return on growth (revenue) or profit (EBITDA). If you can’t determine whether the investment is making you money, then it’s simply costing you money.

If you had to share five parting thoughts on the future of MarTech and AI powered MarTech before we wrap up, what would they be?

• AI-Driven (or Real-Time) Personalization is a primary subject to care about. Real time personalization is going to drive the future of MarTech, and AI is going to be an integral force in the process. From start to finish, AI is going to change the way brands personalize each touchpoint in the customer journey.
• AI for Data-Driven Insights will continue to be paramount. AI can empower businesses to collect and analyze data like never before, leading to smarter decisions, optimized marketing strategies, and personalized customer experiences.
• Enhanced Customer Experiences will focus on personalization. Through personalized recommendations, automated tasks, and anticipating customer needs, AI can help create tailored experiences that keep customers coming back.
• New Revenue Opportunities will come to the forefront. AI helps uncover hidden growth opportunities. Targeted ads, personalized offers, and dynamic pricing strategies help businesses realize their full revenue potential.
• Increased Focus on Data Privacy and Ethics will lead to innovation. As MarTech grows, the concern for data privacy grows with it. It’s important to prioritize transparent practices and build trust with customers.

A Bonus: The Importance of Trust. Earning your customers’ trust by communicating clearly and protecting their data will become a competitive advantage.

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