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Usually ships in 1-2 business days | | Only 1 left in stock, order soon! | | | | | | “In The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell presents an important idea without any ‘how to.’ Now Bertrand Cesvet provides the ‘how to’ you need to create ‘Tipping Points’ for your business and success. This book is a compelling presentation of a powerful idea. This is how the new world will do business. Highly recommended if you care about your future.” Stewart Emery, coauthor of international best-seller Success Built to Last “Ultimately, magic is unexplainable. Still, Conversational Capital provides the most insightful analysis of what makes our shows ring in the heart of fans.” Guy Laliberte, founder, Cirque du Soleil “Like all great ideas, Conversational Capital is at its core simple: word-of-mouth momentum can be created, harnessed, and used to build consumer passion for a brand better and more cost-effectively than almost any other marketing medium.” Rupert Duchesne,CEO of Aeroplan “Marketing is an art that Conversational Capital turns smartly into science. This book provides the complete prescription for getting consumers excited about your ideas.” Jim Champy, coauthor, Reenginering the Corporation, and author, Outsmart! Embed into Your Products and Experiences the Ingredients that Drive Advocacy: -
Create products and services that consumers find truly significant -
Intensify consumption experiences to transform your brands into market leaders -
Don’t settle for serendipity: manage and control the word-of-mouth around your brand by manipulating eight powerful experience amplifiers For all the books that speak of the value of consumer advocacy, few indicate how to create it to begin with. Armed with a compelling set of examples from their own work in fostering leading brands, the authors reveal the triggers of word-of-mouth and a process to embedding them in your own products, helping you create stuff people love to talk about. From Bertrand Cesvet, chairman of Sid Lee, a leading purveyor of experiential design and communications services that leverages commercial creativity for breakthrough brands including Cirque du Soleil, adidas, and Red Bull. 1% of the proceeds from the royalties earned by the authors will be donated to the One Drop Foundation. The mission of the One DropTM Foundation is to fight poverty around the world by giving everyone access to safe water. | | | |
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| | Product Details | | Author: | Bertrand Cesvet | | Hardcover: | 208 pages | | Publisher: | FT Press | | Publication Date: | August 17, 2008 | | Language: | English | | ISBN: | 0137145500 | | Product Length: | 9.1 inches | | Product Width: | 6.2 inches | | Product Height: | 0.9 inches | | Product Weight: | 1.05 pounds | | Package Length: | 9.1 inches | | Package Width: | 6.4 inches | | Package Height: | 0.9 inches | | Package Weight: | 1.05 pounds | | Average Customer Rating: |  based on 108 reviews |
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| | Customer Reviews | Average Customer Review: ( 108 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 found the following review helpful:
 Good observations but not a 'How-to-build a strong brand" Dec 09, 2008
By L. C Glover
"Varied Interests"
Overall:
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The book is a high-level description of "Conversational Capital" or what makes a consumer into an active advocate for your brand combined with the description and benefits of lifestyle brands. The key concepts are: Rituals, Initiation, Exclusive product offering (EPO), Over-delivery, Myths, Relevant Sensory Oddity (RSO), Icons, Tribalism, Endorsement and Continuity. Each concept is given examples using well-known brands to help you understand the concept. The designing process is defined at a high-level with some useful tips. However, it does not really have anything revolutionary or even barely evolutionary.
If you have taken more than basic marketing classes, you will see the validity in the concepts but will be wishing for more substance on how to make your brands into the described brands.
Take-aways from the book:
Rituals -- "Rituals are behaviors or rites we engage in to mark certain activities as exalted. When ritual behavior becomes associated with a consumer experience, it is marked out as more resonant" (pg. 68)
Initiation -- "Initiation is a special subset of ritual. When consumers feel they have worked a little harder to acquire special knowledge of or access to a consumer experience, they feel set apart." (pg. 75)
EPO -- "EPO occurs when a consumer experience offers a notable degree of individualization. When you feel something has been designed just for you, or in a distinclty personal way, you can claim an experience as your own, it becomes more salient. EPO sings in high-end experiences, but we've also observed it in simple products such as Cracker Jack or the Kinder Egg." (pg. 83)
Over-delivery -- "Over-delivery is an aspect of EPO. It's what happens when brands make an experience feel special by going much further than they have to in terms of customer satisfaction. Over-delivery occurs when consumer experiences include features that anticipate needs and desires consumers haven't even thought they would want but end up loving. In the end, it can be understood as an attitude; the desire to be the best and keep improving, just for the sake of it." (pg. 89)
Myth -- "Myth might be the most critical engine of Converstational Capital because it embodies a brand story. Essentially, stories set brands apart because they are so important in the identity-forming and affirmation process. We are the sum of our stories and we look to myth to provide them. If your brand is powered by myth, it might be all you need." (pg. 97)
RSO -- "RSO stands for relevant sensory oddity. IT can be observed when a consumer experience surprises and delights a full range of sense. IT recognizes that human beings see, touch, hear, taste, and feel and communicates with them on that level. However, doing so in a manner tha is relevant, and resonates with the consumer experience in a meaningful way, is key." (pg. 105)
Icons -- "Icons are signs and symbols that are rich in evocative power and associations. Almost anything can take on the shorthand power of an icon: places, buildings, people, logos, labels, and more. The key is that these icons have to evoke a compelling brand story." (pg. 113)
Tribalism -- "In essense, Conversational Capital occurs when brand stories become part of the identity formation and affirmation process. Determining which tribe you belong to is a bedrock component of that process. Tribalism takes place when consumer experiences draw the like-minded together in a quest for mutual discovery." (pg. 121)
Endorsement -- "Endorsement is not a matter of well-known people speaking for your consumer experience. Rather, it is a matter of consumers advocating on your behalf in a free and unsolicited manner. This is the most powerful form of marketing there is. However, endorsement comes with a built-in caveat. If you are endorsed, you need to live up to consumer support. If they recommend you to someone who is disappointed, they look bad, too." (pg. 125)
Continuity -- "Conversational Capital demands continuity. Because it is about creating consistent brand stories, it works best when there is no disconnect between how a product is designed, marketed, and perceived. The best brands are the result of a united, cohesive strategy, and they walk the talk." (pg. 131)
Prose:
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The book was clearly written quickly with marginally editting. The book is a fast read where the text is concept light. So, it is good for getting some key marketing vocabulary with supporting real-world high-level examples.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 It's a starting place, not a recipe book Nov 12, 2009
By Wendi
It's a small book (under 200 pages with a glossary and index), and a quick read. As quickly as the book can be read, it's worth taking it in small chunks so you can think through the concepts and give time to considering how you might apply them to your own business.
The book is divided into three parts, defining conversational capital to begin with- what it is, what it isn't, how it works, why it's important. Businesses used as examples here include Cirque Du Soleil, Ikeo, and Schwartz's.
The second section expands on each of the eight engines of Coversational Capital:
Rituals, Initiation, Exclusive product offering (EPO), Over-delivery, Myths, Relevant Sensory Oddity (RSO), Icons, Tribalism, Endorsement and Continuity
The third, and shortest section, is implementation- here they discuss getting started, designing a solution, implementation, and a chapter called `and two more questions.' This is the weakest section of the book, but then, they can't be too specific, as only the people involved in a particular business are really qualified to think through whether or not there is some element of that business that could legitimately be developed into one of those eight engines listed above.
This is because none of those engines work if they are only facades, they have to be genuine. Businesses most successful at creating this impassioned level of customer connection succeed in one or more of those eight engines not just through marketing and hot air, but through honesty, sincerity, and integrity.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Got my creative juices flowing Dec 06, 2008
By Amy Tiemann
"aka Mojo Mom"
Conversational Capital got me thinking like few business/branding books do (and I read quite a few). I enjoyed the content of the book, but even more importantly, it revved up my own creative thought process. The ideas in Conversational Capital are simple but point you toward profound exploration. You could spend your whole life honing your skills in creating experiences that are intense, enduring, and meaningful--and wouldn't that be a wonderful career! I highly recommend reading Conversational Capital in an applied rather than theoretical way. Think about a specific project that you need to create, and read Conversational Capital with a highlighter, pen and notebook in hand. The ideas and questions you generate about your own work will be the payoff. I am using these principles as I launch a new edition of my own book, Mojo Mom: Nurturing Your Self While Raising a Family, so if you end up hearing about my work, Conversational Captial will have played a role in its success.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Great Spark and Tender for Ideas Nov 19, 2008
By Alain B. Burrese
"Author, Speaker, Mediator, Attorney"
I found "Conversational Capital: How To Create Stuff People Love to Talk About" by Bertrand Cesvet with Tony Babinski and Eric Alper to be an interesting read. I really didn't know what to expect as I started, but the conversational style with many real life examples to illustrate the authors' points kept me interested and made me stop and think of other ideas as I read the text.
The book focuses on why certain brands outperform others. It is a study on market leaders and their products and services. Rather than just sell a product or service, the authors note that these leaders create experiences that provide fuel for conversations about the products and services being sold. The authors contend that creating such experiences is a process that can be influenced. This book will get you thinking about how you can do just that.
This is a book about creating word-of-mouth about your product or service. Word-of-mouth can be built, and can be an asset to increase the value of your brand. And as the authors point out, ignore it and it could become a liability. By studying different leading brands, the authors came up with a series of observations that help generate and spread positive word-of-mouth. They call these observations Conversational Capital. This is different from creating "buzz" about a project.
In the text, the authors describe and explain what they call the eight engines of Conversational Capital. These include Rituals, Exclusive Product Offering, Myths, Relevant Sensory Oddity, Icons, Tribalism, Endorsement, and Continuity. And while sometimes one not familiar with marketing jargon or the terms used by the authors might have to read something twice, I found the actual examples of products and services I was familiar with to be refreshing and relevant to grasping the concepts the authors were explaining.
I would agree with the authors that positive word-of-mouth results in timely, measurable results. I have seen the effect of positive word-of-mouth in my business. I also think the authors are correct when they say "people will talk." If you read this book and implement the suggestions and strategies discussed, you can make sure they are talking about you by creating experiences that are more meaningful and more likely to be talked about.
If you are selling a product or service, this book just might be the ticket to help you create something people will talk about. I would have liked to have seen a little more depth into the topic, and maybe a guide for implementing the Conversational Capital strategies, or engines, to one's business. But it does get one thinking about how to create better experiences, and this thinking should lead to implementing strategies, therefore I like the book not as a guide, but as a spark and tender to get the fire started.
Reviewed by Alain Burrese, author of Hard-Won Wisdom From the School of Hard Knocks.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Practical, More Than Magical Nov 18, 2008
By Benjamin Devey
"LearningLove.com"
Conversational Capital happens when your customers talk about you or your product. It's more than reputation or word-of-mouth. It's an aura of unique feelings that combined set you apart from the competition. The authors explain that it is more valuable than the money most companies pump into advertising. Conversational Capital makes loyal advocates of the people you do business with. Using examples such as Cirque du Soleil, IKEA, Apple, and Schwartz's deli, the authors lay out the points that create Conversational Capital. Much of the book explains the mechanics in straightforward prose that doesn't stray from the points.
When you fan through the short chapters (163 pages of text plus glossary and index), it looks like a light read. But it is abundant in information that doesn't skim over the details. It feels as if many of the points are rehearsed over several times as they're first introduced, and next shown in the context of the companies who use Conversational Capital, then finally explained in chapter detail. I was hoping for some kind of magic--perhaps in the descriptions of the aura of myth with which companies like Cirque develop a mystique, or how tribalism creates an almost-religious devotion among followers, but most of the points were explained like a classroom practicum without so much wand-waving. At the end of each chapter, prior to each summary and discussion questions, the authors include a comment box, where they put goofy remarks intended to show how they would individualize the book to create a unique experience for you, the reader. The asides come off self-indulgent rather than reader-insightful. I tested how the book would feel without the white boxes, and admittedly, the text would have seemed drier. I think I would rather have the magic spell woven throughout the narrative with colorful descriptions of the mystique each of the companies achieve, and the way customers respond to the stimuli.
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