Podcast Summary
Podcast: The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström®
Episode: #724: Social commerce and the customer journey with Janna Navarro, Wpromote
Date: August 27, 2025
Guest: Janna Navarro, VP Brand and Media Strategy, Wpromote
Host: Greg Kihlström
Episode Overview
This episode delves into how social commerce and a connected customer journey are reshaping the marketing landscape. Greg Kihlström hosts Janna Navarro, who shares her expertise on breaking down silos, leveraging first-party data, creating seamless social commerce experiences, and staying agile amid rapid technological change. The conversation highlights the shift away from linear funnels to dynamic engagement, and how brands must adapt to maintain genuine relationships with their customers across platforms.
Key Discussion Points and Insights
The Evolving (Non-Linear) Customer Journey
[01:10-05:10]
- The traditional marketing funnel—awareness, consideration, conversion—is now obsolete.
- Consumers' paths to purchase are unpredictable, non-linear, and can start or end anywhere, often on social platforms.
- Brands must “develop a relationship with consumers that extends beyond the last point of purchase.”
“Wouldn’t it be a dream if consumers went through the traditional phase of awareness, consideration, conversion? But that’s just not the truth.”
—Janna Navarro [04:18] - Even highly regular customers (e.g., Amazon shoppers) need continuous engagement and reminders of value.
Social Commerce: Blending Content and Commerce
[05:19-06:25]
- Two critical success factors:
- Authenticity: Content must feel native to the brand and channel.
“Consumers see right through that [inauthentic content].” —Janna Navarro [05:58]
- Seamlessness: Make purchasing as frictionless as possible, with integrated purchase flows (e.g., Amazon + TikTok).
“Making it as easy as possible for our customers to transact.” —Janna Navarro [06:08]
- Authenticity: Content must feel native to the brand and channel.
Building a Connected Brand & Media Ecosystem
[06:28-07:48]
- Importance of first-party data to understand unique consumer flows.
- Not all channels play the same role; strategists must marry data with tailored channel usage.
“Understanding the roles and responsibilities of various media channels... marrying that together is where you’re going to get that connected ecosystem.” —Janna Navarro [07:07]
Measuring More than Just Last-Click or ROAS
[07:49-09:08]
- Brands are moving beyond singular focus on ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) to broader goals: awareness, trust, and new customer acquisition.
- This shift brings hundreds of KPIs, leading to data overwhelm.
- Wpromote introduces the “Care Index”—a unified metric aggregating multiple KPIs to measure actual customer “care” for the brand.
“How do we measure that a consumer actually cares about your brand, and by caring... that is gonna drive revenue growth.” —Janna Navarro [08:08]
Testing & Learning as a Strategic Imperative
[11:02-12:11]
- The pace of change in technology and AI leaves no room for complacency.
- “Testing and learning is a strategic focus... it is part of the strategy.” —Janna Navarro [11:27]
- Cites the speed of AI adoption vs. historical changes like Google, emphasizing constant experimentation as essential.
The CX Paradox: Why Are Brands Still Missing the Mark?
[12:12-14:28]
- Despite a lot of industry talk, Forrester’s CX Index is declining.
- The big mistake: Assuming one purchase equals loyalty, and underestimating the value of maintaining current relationships.
“Maintaining a current customer is hell of a lot cheaper than continuing to find new customers.” —Janna Navarro [12:46]
- Trend towards reintegrating what were siloed practices (brand, performance, product marketing) back into holistic strategies that serve the customer journey cohesively.
“If we’re not all talking together, we’re doing a disservice to the customer.” —Janna Navarro [14:12]
Social Commerce & Influencer Partnerships: Authenticity and Trust
[14:30-17:03]
- Pitfall: Brands are too rigid, “over prescriptive” in influencer briefs, undermining authenticity and trust.
- Necessity for brands to do the foundational work of self-discovery, then trust influencers to carry the message authentically:
“Influencer trust is now going down. Brands need to start getting really comfortable—know who they are enough to trust that influencer to be able to explain who they are.” —Janna Navarro [15:00]
- Janna likens it to personal relationships: “When you can know yourself better and who you are, you show up in relationship with other people and they respond to you differently.” [16:18]
Staying Agile—Brand & Personal Mindset
[17:05-17:59]
- Janna's tip: Stay agile by acting as a consumer first, even in everyday decisions (e.g., grocery shopping), analyzing what influences her own behaviors, and applying those insights to work.
“In every interaction in my life... I always go back to the fact that I’m a consumer first.” —Janna Navarro [17:16]
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- On the myth of linearity:
“Wouldn’t it be a dream if consumers went through the traditional phase... But that’s just not the truth.”
—Janna Navarro [04:18] - On authenticity in social commerce:
“Consumers see right through that.”
—Janna Navarro [05:58] - On testing as strategy:
“Testing and learning is a strategic focus... it is part of the strategy.”
—Janna Navarro [11:27] - On influencer marketing:
“Brands need to start getting really comfortable—know who they are enough to trust that influencer to be able to explain who they are.”
—Janna Navarro [15:00] - On customer retention:
“Maintaining a current customer is hell of a lot cheaper than continuing to find new customers.”
—Janna Navarro [12:46]
Important Timestamps
- [01:10] — The end of the linear funnel; the imperative for agility.
- [05:36-06:25] — Lessons in social commerce: authenticity and seamless transactions.
- [07:07] — Why first-party data and channel roles matter in creating a connected ecosystem.
- [08:08] — Moving past last-click; Wpromote’s unified “Care Index” metric.
- [11:27] — The necessity of perpetual test-and-learn cycles.
- [12:46] — Why retention trumps acquisition in today’s environment.
- [15:00-16:18] — The brand/influencer trust gap and the call for authentic self-definition.
- [17:16] — Janna’s personal approach to staying agile by thinking like a consumer.
Closing Thoughts
This episode emphasizes that today’s customer journey is unpredictable and must be met with agility, authenticity, and data-driven insights. Brands need to break out of functional silos, create seamless experiences across channels (especially social), and measure more meaningful metrics than just sales. Ultimately, knowing your brand and your customer—and maintaining that relationship every step of the way—will define long-term success in the social commerce era.