Conversation Agent - Valeria Maltoni

Free is Not a Benefit

It’s a feature. We think it’s a benefit because we know what we offer has value. It benefits from our experience and it’s designed to get someone to act on something. Yet our prospects and users have not discovered any of that yet. You are familiar with the definitions of features -– a product’s or service characteristics, which are you (read: company)-centered –- and that of benefits –- what your client, customer, user gets from using your product and engaging your service. Because we do understand value based on context, perception, including external signal surrounding the product or service, like... Read more →

Dynamic Pricing Online, Getting it Right

In 2011, the Cardinals introduced dynamic pricing to help more accurately price tickets for individual games and provide fans with more price options. This means that the team has the ability to adjust ticket prices upward or downward on a daily basis based on changing factors such as team performance, pitching matchups, and the weather. Tickets to Broadway musicals are being sold this way. The National Hockey League is doing it. Whether you travel for business or pleasure, you know that airlines have been serving up different prices for years. Their model of yield management and dynamic pricing is incredibly... Read more →

The Value of Not Being Average

Every so often I come across an interview where the subject is someone very likeable. In the case of Danny DeVito, someone who also works incredibly hard while remaining good humored. "The way I see it, what you've got to do is think of now, this moment. If you're analyzing the past, or anticipating too far into the future, you don't really concentrate on what you're doing in this moment, and that's the most important thing. Right now!" [Danny DeVito, The Observer] I like the part where he says he likes to connect with people, talk to everyone. That's very... Read more →

What we Achieve Inwardly will Change Outer Reality

[watch on YouTube 20:59] As quoted by JK Rowling in her 2008 Harvard Commencement Speech -- a writing gift to those of us who write to inspire, and a delivery masterpiece to those of us who deliver keynote addresses. This video is on the permanent watch and listen over lunch playlist of my iPad. You can find the transcript of the entire text here. I prefer to have the two combined as a beacon and reference during the most complex projects. The themes Rowlings refers to in her speech are: the benefits of failure -- ultimately, we all have to... Read more →

How Connected Customers Affect Business Culture

The craziest thing about having written more than 1,850 posts is that one often forgets or overlooks ground they already covered. We do take ourselves and what we know for granted. I don't need to look at data to know the most searched terms on this blog. That's because I generate most direct searches here using the Lijit search box. All other blog searches come from Google.com and I can see those in my dashboard. I analyze them by keyword and extrapolate why the searches were conducted by cross referencing trends over time. By far, the most searched post on... Read more →

Connections: Fad or Trend?

What Is The Difference Between A Fad And A Trend from Neil Perkin There are many ways to tackle the conversation on the difference between fads and trends. My first thought when Neil Perkin asked me to participate in a post and deck he produced last month was thinking about it in terms of culture, over time. "A trend is driven by something more macro (than a micro explanation), something running through the whole culture. Ask how will this [insert thing here] change us? With what consequences?" Over time is important, as seen over at his wrap post containing the... Read more →

Brand News: Apple, Facebook, Instagram, and Target

Does personalization appeal to you? Are you spoiled by product choices? Screen and memory size, color, shapes and materials -- the choices afforded by the decline in production costs for objects that feel custom-made. How about marrying your favorite app with your most visited network? Do you view it as an arranged affair or a match made in Heaven? Quality, convenience, value, and in stock? How to make every shopper's dream come true while fending off the competition. Apple, Facebook, Instagram, and Target The brands making headlines this week interest me because they highlight inflections in broader trends and discussion... Read more →

The 12 Habits of Highly Connective People

Understanding the importance and power of networks, combined with new tools is our lifeline. We have the ability to transform businesses and institutions, and a need to undertake that transformation, starting with re-learning how to connect with each other to make things happen. That's what true connections can do. It's never too late to start, and it's not just about social networks. The world does need more people who do great work, and put some teeth behind their writing and thinking. Make it a habit, and you will see how quickly it yields results. The 12 habits of highly connective... Read more →

How Influence Moves Through Relationships

Emphasis and care are put into selecting a team, working with doers, having confidence that you're making a good decision. In an increasingly interdependent world, it is also important to take a closer look at who has influence in your ecosystem. When we think about spheres of influence, we neglect to take into account variances based upon peer network access over time. As we grow, and our influence and access grow so do those of our peers. Rajesh Setty reminds us that every person in a network has their own sphere of influence that grows with their growth, and answers... Read more →

25 Ways To Fail and Come Out on Top

Have you encountered situations where you failed in your career? What have you learned? I'm sure many of you have had multiple opportunities to learn from failing. It may be splitting words, but to me failing as a verb is much more solid than failure as a noun. It implies something active. It reminds me of valor, or daring to do something in the first place. Without failing, I would not know many of the limits I was able to break through. As well, without failing fast, I would not have grown as much as I have -- personally and... Read more →