Ep 81: Afif Khoury is the Founder and CEO of SOCi; the first CoMarketing Platform for Multi-Location Brands

Jan 10

Shifting the relationship their customers have with AI software from a tool to a partner in the business is the main focus of our guest, and his company, today. We are excited to have with us on the show, Afif Khoury, the Founder and CEO of SOCi, the first CoMarketing Platform for Multi-Location Brands. Join the conversation as we learn more about the SOCi marketing platform, what makes their AI unique, and the crawl, walk, and run options of their model. We discuss the point solution versus the platform conundrum, how brands have responded to their platform, and thoughts on how AI will impact the local listings product area and open up new innovations around it. If you’re intrigued by the idea of AI-powered data scientists, train marketers, and force multipliers for corporate marketing teams and local representatives, then you are going to love this episode!

Key Points From This Episode:

A fun fact about a marketer with an undergrad in neuroscience and genetics; Afif Khoury.
The connection that led him from the human genome to marketing founder.
Afif shares a refresher on what SOCi does.
He highlights milestones they’ve achieved since our interview with their CMO, Monica Ho.
Being at the fabled “Unicorn Status” and how they’re investing that capital.
He unpacks what makes SOCi’s AI unique (and not synonymous with ChatGPT).
The crawl, walk, and run stages of use for SOCi’s platform
We discuss the point solution versus the platform conundrum.
He explains more about the concept of the data scientist and train marketer at every location, powered by AI.
Why their system doesn’t replace employees’ ingenuity, creativity, or execution but extends it.
How brands have responded to their platform.
Afif’s thoughts on how AI will impact the local listings product area and open up new innovations around it.
We wrap up with a discussion of the digital transformation versus the AI transformation comparison.