Digital Transformation Success

AI seems to be at the absolute top of everyone’s minds these days. With the news circling back to this topic weekly, if not daily, and updates being released nearly as quickly, we’re all left in a constant state of apprehension about the ethics and impact of generative AI. Scot Pansing, a veteran in the field of creative tech and communications/policy, shares his insights into the promises and perils of generative AI with Little Bird Marketing CEO, Priscilla McKinney. The reality is that while AI has enormous potential to revolutionize industries, there is also a pressing need for ethical considerations and regulations to mitigate its potential negative effects. This episode touches upon several key concerns, such as the risks of bad actors misusing AI for fraudulent or malicious purposes, the challenges of ensuring the responsible use of chatbots, and the implications of AI-generated content for intellectual property and copyright. In addition, the conversation also delved into the potential dangers of AI-generated fake images and the need for awareness and fact-checking systems to prevent their spread. Ultimately, Priscilla and Scot both emphasized the importance of responsible use of AI and the need for a framework to ensure it is being deployed ethically. It is a call to action saying that we are all responsible and it is important to have thoughtful, nuanced conversations about AI’s impact.  For more nuggets of AI facts, listen to Scot Pansing’s podcast, AI Quick Bits and his Substack summary of show content. A Little Experimenting was referenced along with this LinkedIn post he made that was truly terrifying and should not be missed.  Special thanks to this episode’s sponsor Fieldwork. Searching for a research partner to handle the details of your next qualitative project? When we say Fieldwork can handle it all, we mean it. From world-class facilities to low-incident recruitment, their team of experts handles the details so you can stay focused on the research. Say goodbye to traditional focus group rooms and recruitment tactics. As market research has grown from the standard focus group to incorporate other innovative methodologies and technologies, Fieldwork has expanded along with it with facilities nationwide and sophisticated global recruitment services. Their detail-oriented staff partners with you to achieve great insights. Focus on the research Fieldwork will do the rest.  Don’t let the learning stop here. Little Bird Marketing’s 12-week social selling course is a practical hands-on experience designed specifically to help you network effectively and at scale, build rapport with targeted audiences, expand your influence, and become the go-to authority in your area of expertise. So this is not a quick “tips and tricks” for LinkedIn's success flash in the pan. It's a commitment to changing the way you show up online and experience career-shifting breakthroughs. This is expert instruction in small cohorts with personalized one-on-one coaching. If you're interested, learn more here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Disruption. It’s what’s for breakfast. It can be overwhelming, no matter what industry you’re in. It moves so quickly that overwhelm can settle in and temptation to bury your head in the sand gets stronger and stronger. So, how do we face a world that is about to be disrupted, mid-disruption and ripe for disruption in so many different ways? Join Henry Hays, Founder and Managing Partner of Henry Hays Consulting, and Priscilla McKinney, CEO of Little Bird Marketing, as they unravel the art of disruption and innovation. Their conversation is an act of conversational volleyball— they volley confessions, anecdotes, and insight back and forth at breakneck speed. The knowledge they drop here is REAL knowledge, with REAL world examples. They talk about how and why companies like Kodak and BlockBuster failed, and how businesses like Uber and DoorDash took off. Wondering which industries are ripe for disruption? Airlines, health care, the education system, and law just to name a few… Then, they get personal.  It’s time to pop the hood on your business and look at: Market Complacency Customer Frustration Tension Points Henry unpacks the terminology and then explains how you figure this out for your own business and action on what you find— from customer advisory boards to honesty campaigns, to not only treating the problems that you have but also looking at the things that are successful and forecasting how those successes could turn into pitfalls.  Hays is the Founder and Managing Partner at Henry Hays Consulting, where he specializes in working with legacy businesses helping them transform by developing radically different business models. When he’s not consulting, he’s keynoting his talk on Disruptive Innovation. Prior to his work at Henry Hays Consulting, he was the Senior Executive Vice President for MPower Health, a Dallas-based healthcare company focused on delivering innovative value-based care. He also served as National Sales Director for Avanir Pharmaceuticals and was a founding member of their original sales organization. Over the course of 20 years in biotech and pharma he ran sales teams specializing in launching novel drugs. Don’t let the learning stop here. Little Bird Marketing’s 12-week social selling course is a practical hands-on experience designed specifically to help you network effectively and at scale, build rapport with targeted audiences, expand your influence, and become the go-to authority in your area of expertise. It’s the way to face disruption head on in the professional social influence space. So this is not a quick “tips and tricks” for LinkedIn's success flash in the pan. It's a commitment to changing the way you show up online and experience career-shifting breakthroughs. This is expert instruction in small cohorts with personalized one-on-one coaching. If you're interested, learn more at https://littlebirdmarketing.com/social-influence-course/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Putting your brand in the hands of somebody else is scary. Is that person the right person to represent your brand? Could there be any backlash? Have they been vetted properly? While social influencers can help brands reach their audience, which is hopefully also your target audience, there are many challenges that companies face in leveraging influencers effectively. That’s where Dino Delić comes in. Dino Delić, Director of Analytics and Insights at Meltwater, has over a decade of experience consulting communication and marketing professionals working with companies globally to create and improve their marketing strategies. Dino has worked with brands such as H&M, GE, Hyatt, UPS, Fox Sports, Caesars, MARS, Fidelity, LG Electronics, and more. His focus is to help brands optimize their social media marketing efforts, understand their global target audiences, and utilize the data Meltwater provides for strategic insights. In his conversation with Priscilla McKinney, CEO of Little Bird Marketing, on the podcast they discuss: Being data-driven in communications and PR Influencer marketing Micro-influencers and nano-influencers Brand and reputation measurement Marketing and PR measurement Consumer insights and trends Humanizing your brand Don’t do something identical to your competitor. Don’t do something that you’ve already done before. Stop for a minute. There are amazing tools, like the ones Meltwater offers, that can help you create something bigger and better by identifying precisely who has the authority, credibility, and authenticity with your target audience. If you are wondering what the possibilities are in the realm of influencer marketing, this is the conversation for you. Don’t let the learning stop here. Little Bird Marketing’s 12-week social selling course is a practical hands-on experience designed specifically to help you network effectively and at scale, build rapport with targeted audiences, expand your influence, and become the go-to authority in your area of expertise. So this is not a quick “tips and tricks” for LinkedIn's success flash in the pan. It's a commitment to changing the way you show up online and experience career-shifting breakthroughs. This is expert instruction in small cohorts with personalized one-on-one coaching. If you're interested, learn more here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When brands like Google, Starbucks, Shopify and GE want to decode the future, they call Mitch Joel. We called him too. Mitch Joel is the Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that empowers companies with personalized and bite-sized thought leadership from the best thinkers in the world, and His first book, Six Pixels of Separation, named after his successful blog and podcast, is a business bestseller.  Join your host, Priscilla McKinney, CEO of Little Bird Marketing as she shares an impactful and inspiring conversation with Mitch Joel about asking the important questions about digital transformation. As an early adopter of prolific blogging and prolific podcasting, Mitch has been on the forefront of digital transformation for decades. At the center of his professional endeavors is the question, “How do I use technology to connect better to audiences?” paired with his genuine curiosity for humans having the human experience.  They explore the idea of digital transformation as an equalizer for diversity. They consider if there is an “open playing field” of sorts for new ideas and a kind of all-access pathway unfolding. Along with this dreaming, they offer up a few cautionary tales of what the digital world could do to further alienate minorities and more. Mitch offered up some hard truths about what was true, and what is now true-ish. Though, as Mitch says, “It’s always been a snake pit.” But the balance of the conversation comes back to hope - hope for a digitally-enabled world that makes for a better experience for humans.  In terms of the biggest challenge to digital transformation, Mitch Joel named tech stack. Artificial intelligence and blockchain technology, metaverse, virtual reality, and augmented reality are huge hurdles for businesses and brands to understand and effectively figure out how to integrate. They discuss small ways people can make steady progress toward a more digitally transformed work and life experience. At the end of the business day, as Mitch says, “It's not about accomplishing business differently, it's about being willing to look at things differently and being willing to change ourselves.” If you think you need a social media influence course… you do. Our 12-week Social Influence course will more than do the trick! We would also be happy, quite thrilled actually, to discuss what digital transformation could look like for your team!  On the hunt for powerful content marketing and strategy resources? Come under our wing. Resources, people, and books mentioned: Harley Finkelstein, President of Shopify Mike Evans, Founder of GrubHub and Author of Hangry Seth Godin Charlene Lee Stolen Focus by Johann Hari Keepsake ChatGPT Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When we’re talking about digital success, it’s not about the bee-boo-boo pressing of buttons. We still need a team of amazing humans who know how to build relationships leveraging the digital tools. There is inner work that has to be done. Sales professionals need to know and understand how to bring themselves to the table in the right way, and it’s all about building a culture of communication and trust. Join CEO and Little Bird Momma, Priscilla McKinney, and owner of Trustpoint, a Sandler Training center, Brett Baker, as they discuss how to get sales training right to set a company up for digital success. Brett Baker and Priscilla McKinney go way back. This episode feels like sitting in on a cup-of-coffee-on-the-couch kind of conversation. The undercurrent is how to get another person to “self-discover truth” as they unpack how to build relationships and trust digitally. So, if you’re work culture is allergic to self awareness you will not like this episode at all.  They cover these pressing questions sales leaders are facing:   What are the basic needs a salesperson has to understand and embrace to start building relationships on cold calls or with clients that are meaningful— built on trust and mutual respect?  How can I make sure we don’t lose the human element when moving our sales efforts to digital tools?  What is holding my team back? There are more than one thing sales leaders need to be working on with their teams, namely, start asking questions and keep asking questions to the prospect. In a world where most sales people default to doing all of the talking, this is tuned out when face to face and even more easily ignored when the sales pitch moves online. The importance of asking questions also underscores the truth that the prospect’s first answer will never reveal their real problem. Lastly, teams need to remove the pressure to get the “yes” and build more comfort around the prospect saying “no.” As Brett says, “when a sales professional starts to become okay with no, their world opens up to a level of trust with people they’ve never dreamed of.” As customers know the close is coming and the salesperson is hankering for the “yes,” the comfortability around the “no” breaks down barriers, surprises people, at puts them more at ease. This conversation is positively brimming with impactful and actionable information that will spotlight exactly what mindset shifts and sales tactics you need to implement for true, real, game-changing sales success both online and offline.  Shout to our sponsor CFR!  For business professionals, mastering social media is no longer a “nice to have” set of skills, but a fundamental need in order to advance your career. You need an effective and proven system to move from social selling all the way to digital dominance. Learn more at littlebirdmarketing.com/social Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Digital dominance sounds mighty impressive. Whether or not you’re looking to dominate the digital world or ramp up your social selling skills, you are in the right place. One thing we can promise you— this isn’t fluff. There’s not even a single piece of fuzz floating around.  Zero fluff. Only the actionable stuff. Since when could we ever resist a rhyme? Get ready for CEO and Little Bird Momma, Priscilla McKinney, and Co-Founder and CEO of Digital Leadership Associates, Timothy Hughes, to take a deep dive into the practice steps to take you from social selling to digital dominance with social media. They talk about what people need to know, what they need to stop doing, and what they immediately need to start doing in order to transform digitally. Most notably, they also unpack the direct connection between social media and revenue.  When someone successfully positions themself as a digital business it’s when people find you online and know they want to come buy from you, they want to work for you, and they want to invest in your business.  As Timothy Hughes says, “Digital dominance is when you take the processes and the skills that you've implemented in the sales team and roll that out across the business.” What is discussed in the podcast? How to get the C-Suite involved The importance of a clear strategy and top-down approach A major mindset shift Commitment to the entire process by everybody on the team Stop justifying 1990s sales and marketing techniques The value of having a third-party external person come in to help with digital transformation How to hire the right person for digital marketing roles Posting isn’t the point— conversation is the point Well, our bulleted list could have kept going and going and going… but we realized that eight bullet points were probably already a few too many! This podcast episode truly is jam-packed with valuable insight and expertise.  Tune in and get ready to soak up some serious knowledge.  Shoutout to our sponsor Ag Access! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thought leadership is a big buzzword, but what does it really even mean? Where and how does thought leadership happen? How does it align with a personal brand? You have questions. We’ve got some answers. And more than a few tips and tricks up our sleeves.  CEO and Momma Bird, Priscilla McKinney, and VP of sales at Forbes Books, Natasha Walstra, dig deep into what thought leadership is, means, and how it is forged in the fire of social media. There’s a huge need to build a personal brand, not just a company brand because at the end of the day, people want to buy from people. With distrust of big corporations and brands growing, it’s important to position yourself, as Natasha says, as a “mission-driven thought leader with something to teach versus a business operative with something to sell.”    Even if you’re considering writing a book, or have written a book— your book is one piece of a bigger end goal. According to Priscilla, a book is your Thanksgiving day turkey. It’s a fantastic piece of juicy, big content that you can slice and dice up for social media to build your digital presence and social influence.    As it’s Natasha’s job to empower industry experts and elevate their thought leadership, she has more than a few golden eggs to give out on this podcast. She brings together people, brands, and organizations in the spirit of growth and interpersonal learning. She also builds strong sales teams that work together and succeed together. Is thought leadership something you’re working on or working towards? Tune in and learn what really helps with building an audience and how you can use thought leadership to drive sales, humanize your brand, and increase your social influence.   Shoutout to our sponsor: CFR INC.    Figure out how to elevate your online presence, find your audience, and generate leads all while getting invited to a wonderful cocktail party? Yes, please! Click here.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Industry events - whether in-person or virtual - are inherently social affairs. Still, many people and businesses have trouble harnessing social media to maximize the digital transformation element of conferences. This is especially true around virtual conferences. On this episode of Digital Transformation Success, host and Little Bird Marketing CEO Priscilla McKinney and Little Bird Marketing Vice President Ashley Le Blanc share powerful mindset shifts for utilizing social media around events. From shout-outs to Twitter lists, Priscilla and Ashley break down the importance of building an interactive and dynamic social media presence to reach your ideal audience and build new relationships. More than any single action or tip, the information shared in this conversation centers around a mindset shift that can help maximize results EVERY TIME. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The future of digital transformation hinges around human interaction and human input. In companies, it's the voice of the consumer. In tech, it's the voice of the user. In healthcare, it's the voice of the patient. Products, policies, features and laws are developed based on input from humans - and often through online sources. This is why data quality is so extremely important, and also why it's shocking that cyberfraud is so widespread.  This episode of Digital Transformation Success is special for a couple reasons:  1. It features 3 special guests, each of whom are data quality experts 2. It is centered around a brilliant collaboration between two groundbreaking companies 3. It has stories about people who pretended to be missing limbs and people who pretended to drink bleach! Host Priscilla McKinney leads a discussion centered around data quality with Lisa Wilding Brown, CEO of InnovateMR, Sarah Adkins, VP of Quality and Research at InnovateMR, and Leib Litman, Ph.D., Co-CEO of CloudResearch. You'll learn about the underlying problems and shortcomings of conventional fraud solutions, which can be categorized as experience-based and device-based. According to Lisa, "It was sort of this thing that people were all quietly struggling with and not really talking about. And I thought, 'let's turn this up on its head and start having an open dialogue, because I can't even come close to solving this on my own!'"  Sarah's background in client-side work lent a depth of perspective into the industry mindset, ("They know it's there, but they don't want to look behind the curtain.") but also an urgency to the solution: "Let's get it out there and in the open, because it's a problem that's out there and it's not going away."  Leib provides several real-world examples of how problematic fraudulent data can be, which drives to a stunning point: "If you can't rely on the data that you collected about specific populations, it's those populations that are going to be hurt the most by that."  CloudResearch has developed a new solution centered around behavioral verification called Sentry, and a recent partnership with InnovateMR is breaking new ground and showcasing the power of industry collaboration.  Leib says, "It's very clear that data quality is at the forefront of what's important to InnovateMR, and that's part of why we get along so well and why this is such a great partnership."  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

Career development creates competitive advantages through effective talent management strategies. On this episode of Digital Transformation Success, host and Little Bird Marketing CEO Priscilla McKinney talks with Abhijit Bhaduri, an authoritative voice on talent management and social media influencer with nearly one million followers. They discuss how organizations that invest in career development gain a tangible edge in today's rapidly evolving business landscape, with findings from LinkedIn's 2025 workplace learning report highlighting this connection. Bhaduri, former General Manager of Global Leadership and Development for Microsoft, shares insights on how proper talent management impacts the sales team structure and organizational success. The conversation explores how career development is a retention tool, particularly for sales development professionals who build critical tacit knowledge and customer relationships. They examine the connection between b2b networking capability, personal branding, and career advancement in the AI economy. "Great organizations are built on great careers," Bhaduri explains. "The businesses which are winning in the marketplace are also the ones which have invested heavily in career development." McKinney and Bhaduri also discuss his book, Career 3.0, which outlines six essential skills for thriving in today's economy: learning, teaching, brand-building, storytelling, network navigation, and managing one's career like a venture capitalist. The discussion emphasizes how organizations can foster deeper expertise through what Bhaduri calls the "three E's": education, exposure, and experience - creating mutually beneficial growth for companies and professionals interested in how to move beyond simply improving their social selling index on LinkedIn and instead trulty experience digital transformation with postitive career implications. Sponsors: 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! 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Data quality transforms business decisions from guesswork to strategic success. On this episode of Digital Transformation Success, host and Little Bird Marketing CEO Priscilla McKinney talks with Guy Solomon, Dooblo's CEO, about data quality's fundamental role in digital transformation strategy. They explore how the quality of data collection directly impacts decision-making across global organizations, from major corporations to aid organizations working in emerging markets. With over 20 years of experience, Solomon shares his digital transformation journey, explaining how the traditional market research pyramid builds from data collection through reporting and insights to final decisions. Through this digital transformation case study, they examine the challenges of digital surveys in emerging markets, including infrastructure limitations, internet literacy barriers, and the critical importance of maintaining methodological rigor across different data collection modes. "If I'm basing all of my insights and reporting on data, half of it is true," Solomon explains. "What's the probability of my decision at the top to be successful?"  McKinney and Solomon discuss how digital transformation trends in survey methodology must balance efficiency with accuracy, exploring how AI and multimode survey capabilities can enhance data quality while maintaining the human element in data collection. Their conversation highlights real-world examples of how proper data collection transforms decision-making across industries, emphasizing the importance of choosing the right tools and methodologies for different global contexts. One of these tools is Dooblo’s SurveyToGo and you can learn more about how it is an invaluable tool for multimode surveys in market research. To learn more, simply book a demo.  Sponsors: Priscilla McKinney here! I am very excited to announce the release of my much-anticipated 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

Master the art of strategic LinkedIn engagement beyond viral moments. On this episode of Digital Transformation Success, host and Little Bird Marketing CEO Priscilla McKinney shares powerful insights about effective B2B social selling and thought leadership on LinkedIn. Drawing from LinkedIn's Thought Leadership Impact Study of 3,600 management-level professionals, she examines six key practices that drive meaningful engagement and business growth, starting with understanding your LinkedIn social selling index (SSI). McKinney explores critical findings from the study, including how 71% of professionals find most thought leadership content lacks value, while 65% say quality content significantly improves company perception. She also breaks down essential strategies like the Rule of 15 for content balance, emphasizing value-driven posts over sales messaging. She explains the importance of creating audience-centric content, addressing industry blind spots, and the importance of challenging conventional wisdom. "Your audience isn't just looking for information," McKinney explains. "They're looking for insights that help them make better decisions." While most B2B professionals focus on reaching massive audiences, McKinney demonstrates how strategic thought leadership targets the right 100-500 connections who truly matter for business growth. These proven frameworks, along with tools for networking, help leaders build trust, showcase expertise, and develop authentic professional relationships that drive measurable results. Sponsors: Ever feel like your company is sitting on a goldmine of opportunities, but somehow they keep slipping through the cracks? Here's the thing - most companies already have their next big win hiding in their database. They just need a systematic way to turn those contacts into revenue. They need a way to reactivate dormant connections and give them a reason to engage and even buy. Little Bird Marketing's Revenue Sprint is a proven system that works backward from your revenue goals to create a plan that is focused on building a sales pipeline and ultimately, predictable growth. We focus your sales and marketing efforts on one goal only and employ strategies for real wins that are measurable and replicable. And the best part? You don't need a massive budget to make it happen. Ready to turn those missed opportunities into new wins? Click here to learn how we build predictable pipelines for sustainable growth.  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