#808: Resident Expert: Bill Staikos on the market activity in 2025 MarTech & CX platforms and what 2026 will bring

As a marketing leader, you often spend so much time on the strategies and tactics that keep your brand growing that it’s difficult to keep up with what’s going on in the background with the platforms and the companies behind them. While agility requires a flexible technology stack, it also requires a leadership mindset that can distinguish market noise from genuine strategic opportunity, and filter out the hype to understand the shifts that can impact customers and the bottom line. The ability to pivot your people, processes, and platforms in response to major market shifts is no longer a nice to have, but rather a competitive advantage. Today, I’m excited to talk with our 2026 Resident Expert on the CX and MarTech platform landscape. We’re going to focus on the business and business opportunities that mergers, acquisitions, and big moves in the market provide to these platforms’ customers. Our focus today is going to be a recap of market activity in 2025 with an eye towards what to expect in 2026. To help me discuss this topic, I'd like to welcome, Bill Staikos, Founder at Be Customer Led.About Bill Staikos Bill Staikos on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billstaikos/ Resources Be Customer Led: https://becustomerled.com/ Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code AGILE at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: https://incogni.com/agile  The Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems. Learn more here: https://www.teksystems.com/versionnextnow Catch the future of e-commerce at eTail Palm Springs, Feb 23-26 in Palm Springs, CA. Go here for more details: https://etailwest.wbresearch.com/ Drive your customers to new horizons at the premier retail event of the year for Retail and Brand marketers. Learn more at CRMC 2026, June 1-3. https://www.thecrmc.com/ Enjoyed the show? Tell us more at and give us a rating so others can find the show at: https://advertalize.com/r/faaed112fc9887f3 Connect with Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkihlstrom Don't miss a thing: get the latest episodes, sign up for our newsletter and more: https://www.theagilebrand.show Check out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.com The Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.company