AI Knows Your Customers Better Than You Think (w/ Russ Evans, ZS)

In this episode of Inside Marketing with MarketSurge, Reed Hansen sits down with Russ Evans, Partner at ZS, to explore how AI is fundamentally changing consumer insights, brand strategy, and customer experience.

Russ leads ZS’s B2C practice, working with Fortune 100 brands to turn massive amounts of data into actionable insight — and insight into real business growth. This conversation goes beyond AI hype and into how brands can actually use AI to uncover hidden truths, map better customer journeys, and connect brand health to revenue.

If you’re a marketing leader, strategist, or founder trying to make sense of AI’s real impact on customers, this episode is required listening.

💡 What You’ll Learn:

• The biggest misconceptions brands still have about AI-driven insights
• How AI fits into the modern insights workflow (and where humans still matter)
• Why unstructured data is a goldmine most brands ignore
• Real examples of “unknown unknowns” uncovered through AI analysis
• Common mistakes brands make when mapping customer journeys
• Why most journey maps fail — and how to fix them
• How to actually measure brand health in a way that connects to revenue
• What agentic AI means for the future of marketing and insights

👉 Key Highlights:

✅ AI as an Insight Engine – How brands are using AI to ask better questions, not just analyze data
✅ Hidden Customer Behavior – Why observation beats surveys in uncovering new opportunities
✅ Journey Mapping Done Right – How to turn journey maps into living, operational tools
✅ Brand Health Metrics – Why too many KPIs kill clarity (and what to focus on instead)
✅ The Next Wave of AI – What autonomous AI agents mean for insights teams

📈 At MarketSurge, we help you turn data, tools, and ideas into systems that drive real growth.
If you want marketing that’s smarter, more connected, and built to scale — you’re in the right place.

🧠 Want to talk strategy or see it in action?
🎯 Book your 15-minute Value or Free Coffee Call:
👉 https://link.marketsurge.io/widget/bookings/15minutevalueorfreecoffee

🔗 Guest & Resource Links

🌐 ZS Consulting: https://www.zs.com

🔗 MarketSurge Links

🌐 Website: https://marketsurge.io
📘 Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100035121171654
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/marketsurgeio
🐦 X / Twitter: https://x.com/marketsurging
🎙️ Podcast: https://marketsurge.transistor.fm/