Experience Where It Actually Happens

Mark Eichler | Chief Product Officer | Cantarus

This session helps leaders understand how experience is increasingly delivered beyond portals and desktop assumptions – through app-based engagement, community and real-world interactions where value is realised.

It focuses on how organisations can meet people in context, creating more relevant, connected, and continuous experiences that reflect the way audiences engage.

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Key takeaways

Key themes explored during the session included:

The pace of change is not slowing down – what felt fast between 2016 and 2026 is the new baseline, not the peak
The website is no longer the only destination – AI sits above search results and summarises your content before anyone arrives; your estate must work without a visit
Personalisation is no longer a nice-to-have – connected data and AI make genuine, timely, behavioural personalisation achievable and expected
Your members are already early AI adopters – just as they were early smartphone adopters; the question is whether your platforms are ready to meet them there
Owned community is even more a strategic necessity – public platforms are compromised; human peer connection is the one thing AI cannot replicate, and members who connect renew
The phone is the primary professional device – 88% of mobile time is in apps; a meaningful app presence offers the opportunity to engage in your members' daily lives
CRM is the foundation, not the afterthought – without connected data across your estate, personalisation, AI, and mobile are all commitments rarely kept
AI personal assistants are coming for your members' attention – in the near term, their AI will be the gatekeeper; your platforms need structured, authenticated, connectable endpoints (MCP) to stay in the loop
The window to act is now, not later – the organisations that build connectable, AI-ready estates in the next 2–3 years will shine; the rest will be a footnote
You don't have to navigate this alone – Cantarus has lived through the CRM pain, built the community platforms, designed the websites, shipped the apps, and is already working on the AI frontier – with you, at your pace

Practical next steps

If the themes discussed during the session resonate with your organisation, there are several ways we can help you turn insight into action.

Perform a mini AI audit

Pick your three most important member questions. Type them into ChatGPT. Is your organisation in the answer? Assess and identify the gaps that emerge.
Map where your member data lives

Write down every system that holds member data – CRM, website, app, community, events platform. Draw a line between any two that share data in real time.
Ask your members

Example: "What would make you open our app every week?" – Send it to 10 members this month or post the question in your online community. The answers will tell you more about your mobile sweet spots.
Talk to Us

We've built the platforms, lived through the CRM projects, and we're already working with clients on AI-ready estates. Book 30 minutes with us. Let's have a conversation about where you are and where you want to get to.