A new book by Jay Baer called Talk Trigger focuses on one of the most underutilized marketing strategies – harnessing word of mouth. His research indicates that at least 20% of all purchases occur from word of mouth marketing.
Word of mouth as a marketing discipline isn’t new. There is even an organization called WOMMA or word of mouth marketing association. Acquired by the ANA or association of national advertisers, WOMMA mission is to promoting word of mouth marketing strategies and tactics.
Jay, a brilliant marketing thought-leader and consultant, shines a light on what it takes to turbocharge a brand by building a talk trigger into your product.
He uses several examples like Doubletree Hotel by Hilton’s use of warm cookies for guests upon arrival, the Cheesecake Factory’s extensive menu or the extra fries Five Guy Burgers puts in their bag. In every case, each company has consciously created a talk trigger that is easy for happy customers to share.
Perhaps the best example of a Talk Trigger is the light going on at a Krispy Kreme. Who hasn’t shared the message that “the light is on” at Krispy Kreme to spread the word? When the red light is on and says HOT NOW, it is hard to resist. They even have an app to alert you when you are near a Krispy Kreme, and the red light goes on.
Jay and his co-author’s approach is 4-5-6. Four requirements outlined below, five is the five types of talk triggers, and six is their methodology or steps to creating a talk trigger.
Four Requirements
- Is the product remarkable? (if it has little contrast or difference, no one will care, and a lower price isn’t genuinely different)
- Is it relevant? (without mattering to someone, it will get lost in a sea of sameness. The difference has to be meaningful to someone)
- Is it realistic? (without being believable, you’ll suffer. Overpromising is dangerous so be careful that what you say can be believed)
- Is it repeatable? (If your product is limited, only reserved for special guests, has restrictions, then it isn’t for everyone. Lots of terms and conditions can make your promise feel legal and contractual).
The five is the five types of talk triggers — talkable empathy, talkable usefulness, talkable generosity, talkable speed, and talkable attitude. There are great examples in the book about these concepts.
Six Steps to Find A Talk Trigger
Jay and his co-author Daniel Lemin outline six sets to find a talk trigger for your product:
- Gather Internal Insights: This isn’t the responsibility of any department but everyone engaged and involved in the product launch. It is like an anthropological dig where you try to uncover everything you know about the segment. The insight gathering exercise is the first step for collecting data, ideas on competitive positioning and messaging.
- Get Close to the Customer: This is a critical step because you want to understand how your product will affect their lives and experience. You can’t solely rely on what they say, so you need to probe, listen and watch more closely. Why do customers use your product, when and why do they recommend you to others, how are competitors talked about that might reveal a weakness?
- Create Talk Trigger Candidates: This is the process where you slip on the shoes of your customers and answer the questions as if you were a customer.
- When I buy or use this product, I’m …
- What I don’t expect from this product is …
- What I need from this product is …
- What I want from this product is…
- Test and Measure: The authors write about the idea that you want to pre-test the trigger you believe in and see if it gets at least 10% traction or mention. Over time, you want 25% mention in the conversations.
- Expand and Turn On: This is the step when you want to get buy-in and engagement from what the authors call SEE – Stakeholders, employees and the enterprise. Stakeholders can be external to the organization like vendors, partners, distributors, etc. Employees and the entire enterprise must also buy-in and become engaged and enamored with the trigger. They need to share it regularly and frequently and become advocates in the wild. Imagine how often everyone associated with Krispy Kreme talks about the HOT NOW light. It is almost like a secret code word for those in the know.
- Amplify Your Message: This is the point where you leverage social media, websites, customer service, email, advertising and on and on. Think of the HOT NOW red light at Krispy Kreme and the power of a simple visual that you can find at every single outlet.
Talk Triggers is a terrific book for those who have limited budgets and are need of ways to understand how to get customers to help you market your product. When you are building a product, don’t forget to build into it a talk trigger. There isn’t any better form of marketing than having your product’s talk trigger spread via word of mouth.
What’s your Talk Trigger and how will your red light that says HOT NOW be talked about by customers?
Are you getting as much word of mouth about your products as you’d like? Do you need to find your hot button? You can set up a time to chat with me about your marketing challenges using my calendar. Email me jeffslater@themarketingsage.com Call me. 919 720 0995. The conversation is free, and we can explore if working together makes sense. Try my new chat feature on my site if you have a quick question.
Photos courtesy of Krispy Kreme, all rights reserved and Jay Baer.
