Francesca Roche sits down with Zach Barney, CEO and Co‑Founder at Mobly, to explore why in‑person customer experiences have lagged behind digital channels, and what it will take to finally close that gap.
While digital marketing has spent years refining attribution, automation, and measurement, Barney argues that events and field marketing have been left operating in silos. In the interview, he points to a familiar frustration for CX and marketing leaders: valuable face‑to‑face interactions are still too often reduced to business cards, one‑off badge scanners, and delayed follow‑ups that drain momentum from promising conversations.
Barney explains how Mobly’s AI‑native platform is designed to change that dynamic by connecting event planning, lead capture, follow‑up, and ROI tracking into a single system. The aim is not just efficiency, but accountability, giving in‑person engagement the same level of visibility and credibility as digital demand generation.
One of the most striking themes is speed. Barney highlights how long it typically takes organisations to follow up after an event, often more than a week, and why that delay undermines customer experience at a critical moment of intent. He shares how capturing the context of a live conversation, rather than just contact details, can dramatically change the quality and relevance of post‑event engagement.
The discussion also digs into why in‑person marketing has remained fragmented for so long. Barney suggests the issue isn’t a lack of technology, but who that technology has been built for. Many tools prioritise event hosts rather than the marketers and sales teams on the ground, leaving individuals without systems that reflect their ICPs, sales motions, or CRM requirements.
Alignment between marketing and sales is another key focus. Barney challenges traditional event success metrics, arguing that lead volume alone creates the wrong incentives. Instead, he outlines why pipeline and revenue should be the shared language, and how clearer expectations before an event can help CMOs better justify spend to both CFOs and boards.
Looking ahead, Barney paints a picture of a future where in‑person marketing is no longer defended as a “brand play” or justified on gut feel. With the right data in place, events become measurable, optimisable, and far harder to dismiss.
