Conversation Agent - Valeria Maltoni

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“People don’t know what they want, because they haven’t seen it yet. It’s my job to show them something they haven’t seen… not just another version of something already done.” [Robert Altman] This quote made me smile. Being a trend setter is a bit lonely, if exciting. You see things differently, sometimes a few years ahead of the market. If you manage to experiment and do your ideas, you even find ways to integrate what you learn in your day work. Which is how you get to be a bit different in tone, voice, and personality, on behalf of a... Read more →

Has Your Brand Hit Parity with Customers?

How many brand managers realize they've hit parity with their customers? A research paper from the Center for Corporate Change that questions loyalty programs finds that (emphasis mine): customer loyalty programs which (i) directly enhance the product/service value proposition, or (ii) broaden the availability of the product/service, or (iii) neutralize a competitor’s program, may be worthwhile. But they also suggest that (iv) it is probably a mistake to introduce a frequent-buyer program if you are selling a parity brand in a competitive market. To understand the implications of this statement, the findings are non customer-centric. The paper highlights the reasons... Read more →

3 Reasons Why "What" is More Important than "Who"

Stevie is an independent jewelry artist who works and lives in Chicago. On May 25, she discovered that Urban Outfitters was selling a necklace that resembled her “I Heart NY” and by the very same name. Stevie posted the article on her Tumblr account. The article was picked up Gayla Trail who posted a link to her Facebook page and was discovered by Amber Karnes, who tweeted about the story. The rest, as they say, is history repeating itself -- soon, the topic started trending on Twitter all over the world. Few did the research to find out more before... Read more →

Why are Digital Story-Tellers Still Thinking in Terms of Paper?

I was discussing infographics with Joe Chernov at Eloqua for an upcoming post he was working on and wanted to bring that conversation here. What makes a good infographic? A good infographic starts with a good "why" question. Even if you're trying to prove a theory, it's important to keep an open mind to the data you find. And please do keep in mind where you're going with the answer. Looking into an issue credibly means using data sets and information from reliable sources and expressing the resulting point of view in a compelling visual story that carries the meaning... Read more →

How do You (or can you) Measure Online Influence?

Mesh Conference on Influence from Valeria Maltoni I prepared this very short deck as visual support for my conversation on measuring online influence at Mesh Conference with David Armano. In it, I summarized some very top level points for some of the tools we discussed here, and a couple of posts David has written recently. See also my post last week on influence, context, and triggers. A couple of key questions I often hear are: how do you get people to do "xyz"? David and I will address my favorite question: why? do you need scale? Is there higher influence... Read more →

Deciding "When"

"By what right would you call someone and ask them to work for nothing?" [Harlan Ellison] [YouTube, 3:25] The Internet and the world wide web have given those with access and even the most rudimentary technology the ability to express their creative talent. Thus giving rise to many a profession and option that were not available just a few short years ago. One could argue -- and they have -- that the lines between amateurs and professionals have blurred in many areas and industries. Digital technology has driven the cost of producing many things to zero and the availability of... Read more →

The Value Equation: Curators and Aggregators

More data and information are available to more people today. Yet, the science and art of seeing patterns, zooming on what matters, connecting the dots, and betting on the right futures that can make or break a business still depend on the ability to filter, sort, interpret, and make decisions. All characteristics of human intervention. In a business, you look closely at the profit and loss (P&L), the actual representation of what is happening, not just at what is possible. It's the same conversation with people. While we know that at the time of birth each human being has the... Read more →

When is it a Good Idea to Upsell?

It's a trick question. When was the last time you felt reciprocity with a company? And I'm not talking just about messaging, either. Are we there yet? Because as Don Schultz says in his seminal book on Integrated Marketing Communications, “…when both the value of the of the customer to the brand and the value of the brand to the customer are high, the relationship will be strong and ongoing.” Beth Harte said: if there were more reciprocity, upselling (or cross-selling) wouldn’t be a concern of “when is it okay?” because one could assume the trigger would be inherent in... Read more →

Do we Need to Revisit our Settings for Trust and Transparency?

In a post I wrote about two years ago, I observed that the concept of private and confidential was taking a beating online. On more than one occasion, I noticed how people seem to still confuse the concept of transparency with trust. Even as we make the case for publicness, disclosing private information shared in confidence betrays the very trust someone has placed in you. Trust takes time to build. It takes a moment to destroy. I'm not talking about whistle blowing on scams of which unfortunately we've had our fill in the last several years. And the best years,... Read more →

One of the Best Conversion Tools

It's you. Showing up. Many opportunities come from attending events, talking with people, participating actively, taking the time to talk with people about their projects. There is no social network that can replace the touch of a human hand. The best sales professionals know that. I have learned watching some of the best at work. They are not selling at all. They are listening -- present, professional, connective. Which is one of the reasons why connections happen in real life. Is events attendance one of your networking habits? It should be. For years, I attended every single event happening in... Read more →