Talk Triggers by Jay Baer
Word of mouth is directly responsible for 19% of all purchases, and influences as much as 90%. Every human on earth relies on word of mouth to make buying decisions. Yet even today, fewer than 1% of companies have an actual strategy for generating these crucial customer conversations. Talk Triggers provides that strategy in a compelling, relevant, timely book that can be put into practice immediately, by any business.
The key to activating customer chatter is the realization that same is lame. Nobody says “let me tell you about this perfectly adequate experience I had last night.” The strategic, operational differentiator is what gives customers something to tell a story about. Companies (including the 30+ profiled in Talk Triggers) must dare to be different and exceed expectations in one or more palpable ways. That’s when word of mouth becomes involuntary: the customers of these businesses simply MUST tell someone else.
Talk Triggers contains:
* Proprietary research into why and how customers talk
* More than 30 detailed case studies of extraordinary results from Doubletree Hotels by Hilton and their warm cookie upon arrival, The Cheesecake Factory and their giant menu, Five Guys Burgers and their extra fries in the bag, Penn & Teller and their nightly meet and greet sessions, and a host of delightful small businesses
* The 4-5-6 learning system (the 4 requirements for a differentiator to be a talk trigger; the 5 types of talk triggers; and the 6-step process for creating talk triggers)
* Surprises in the text that are (of course) word of mouth propellants
Consumers are wired to discuss what is different, and ignore what is average. Talk Triggers not only dares the reader to differentiate, it includes the precise formula for doing it.
Combining compelling stories, inspirational examples, and practical how-to, Talk Triggers is the first indispensable book about word of mouth. It’s a book that will create conversation about the power of conversation.
While I’ve been making dismal progress on my Goodreads goal, I did manage to finish another book earlier this year that I never reviewed even though it was a good one.
I had the opportunity to see Jay Baer eighteen months ago at Social Media Marketing World. The talk he gave was the best one of the entire event. It was the most mind-blowing thing I’d heard at the time.
The topic?
Talk triggers.
I probably don’t have to tell you guys that I spend a lot of time consuming marketing content and thinking up new strategies and things to try. So it’s rare for me to get so excited about something and have that excitement last.
Talk triggers is that thing.
I picked up this book to read because a) I still hadn’t and b) eighteen months later and I still think Jay’s talk is one of the best marketing presentations I’ve ever seen.
But rather than telling you what Talk Triggers teaches and what you’ll learn from this book (which you can read in the back cover copy up above) let me tell you why I find the concept of talk triggers so unique and cool.
As a marketer, I love word-of-mouth and referral-based marketing. In my opinion, it’s one of the best ways to build a lasting business and it’s also the area I see business owners failing in over and over agin.
A talk trigger is basically something that ignites word-of-mouth marketing. It’s the differentiator your customer can’t stop talking about. It’s the kind of thing that they love to share on social media which translates to free marketing for you. It’s like pouring gasoline on a fire.
The best part? You can strategically create a talk trigger of your own to explode your business and create a lasting impression on every single customer you serve. And it doesn’t have to cost you a lot of money either.
If you’re ready to learn how you add more surprise and delight into every customer interaction, make sure you check out Talk Triggers.
