Meet Matt Tilling, Head of CRM at Telia Lithuania. After developing data-driven customer strategies and consulting in the UK, Matt ended up in Lithuania, where he's driving digital transformation in a Swedish multinational telecom. We explore the evolution of communication channels, the changing face of customer engagement, the delicate balance between becoming customer-centric and achieving business goals. Tune in for a conversation at the intersection of CRM, digital transformation, and customer-centric strategies. 00:00 - Introduction 01:20 - Matt Tilling's role, background and transition from UK to Lithuania 07:19 - The key differences between being a consultant and working internally 13:23 - The digital maturity of markets, comparing the UK and Lithuania 16:05 - Assessment of different communication channels 21:14 - Why personalization is a silver bullet 25:28 - The importance of personalization in email communication 29:39 - The use of SMS in marketing and its limitations 33:38 - Marketing technologies and the challenge of integrating data 36:30 - Solving the challenge of data and platform implementation 43:06 - Building Customer 360 view 44:10 - Customer Data Platform (CDP) step-by-step 48:18 - Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) and what drives it 52:40 - Balancing customer-centricity with business needs 57:39 - The vision, the measurement, being empirical and starting small 01:02:33 - Starting small and starting with data 01:08:38 - Cultural differences between UK & Lithuania 01:10:41 - Learning from failures 01:12:57 - A book recommendation for those starting out: "Direct and Database Marketing" by Graham McDougal, written in the 90s, provides valuable insights into the principles of data-driven marketing.