Micro-Interactions 2.0

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Tomorrow, I'm giving a talk to a global group of executives from Citi, one of our clients.  I've revised "Micro-Interactions" and really feel good about the direction it's moving in.  Inspired by Randy Pausch (The Last Lecture) which I've talked about, I'm taking this concept down to it's core.  Much of our discussions in the industry (and outside) are focused on the social phenomena.  There's good reason for that—but we have to remember that the real power in "social" is the quality of interactions we have with companies and brands. 

The quality of these interactions is more important than ever, because the changes allow everyone to have a voice.  Randy Pausch wrote about his positive experience in his book.  Millions of people will be be influenced by that story in the years to come.  But social networks empower everyday people to be our own "authors".  We may not influence millions, but we can influence dozens and maybe even hundreds.

I've talked about this concept in influence ripples.  But what's worth noting is that the little things matter.  Perhaps now, more than ever.  Randy's $100,000 salt and pepper shaker may just be the poster child for why companies need to start putting the people they serve first.  If they do, we'll here about it.  If they don't, we'll hear about it.  Time to treat everyone like an influencer.

Comments

[Tim Brunelle]

David - Wow. That's a thoughtful presentation. I hope you'll blog as much as you can about Citi's reactions. - Tim.

[Robert Ducky]

Treat this as a grammatical influencer:

(slide 42 /80): Your brand is the sum of IT'S interaction.

Would look smarter with the possessive pronoun, ITS.

[David Armano]

Robert, thanks!

Tim, will let you know how it goes.

[REG CROWDER]

Gosh, even I SQUIRMED at the question about what would happen to a child sent into a store to replace a broken item. (I knew what the answer would be -- and I didn't like it.)

Your premise is very easy to accept. It is perfectly consistent with some scientific studies of personal, one-on-one selling. One study filmed (before video tape machines were cheap and small) very successful salesmen (yes, they were all men -- big mistake -- but that's how it was then; and maybe now, too) in the very process of selling.

The most successful salesmen listened very closely to the customer. Several of the most successful salesman -- it was discovered upon studying the films -- actually, unconsciously synchronised their breathing with the breathing of the customer. THEY WERE THAT INTENTLY ATTUNED TO THE CUSTOMER/PROSPECTIVE CUSTOMER.

So, uh, you know. It works.

REG CROWDER
[Freelance Financial and Investment Writer]
http://www.journalistdirectory.com/journalist/TgTQ/REG-CROWDER

[david cushman]

loving the interaction thang.
Have you looked at Herdmeister's work (Herd)? We are the greatest influencers of each other. (remember my 'marketing happens in their minds, not yours' schtick from NYC?)

[Chris Kieff]

David,

Perhaps there is a place in your conversation with Citi about my blog post last week where I said this:

Last week I attended the Digital Publishing & Advertising Conference and during the Keynote Panel, a man proudly introduced himself from the stage in this way; “My job is to make loans online, by any means necessary,” he is a VP at CitiGroup. Hearing him describe himself in that fashion sent chills down my spine.

The point here is that CitiGroup, Aquent, and too many others in the service industry feel that fraudulent or misleading advertising is fine. Advertising non-existent products simply to gather information on qualified prospects is accepted as the norm.

Here's the post: http://www.1goodreason.com/blog/2008/07/10/truth-in-advertising/

Citi and MediaBistro haven't commented on my blog post yet. Aquent has to their credit.

Thanks,
Chris

[Felipe Spina]

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