With the advent of the Internet and social media, word-of-mouth marketing has come into its own. Word of mouth was always a potent force offline, but online, its force has only amplified. The trouble, I find, is the excess noise. Yes, everybody’s doing it, and your product’s survival is at stake. What can make your product thrive via word of mouth? Baer and Lemin offer some answers with their concept of Talk Triggers.
Talk Triggers are things that cause people to talk freely about a product. Examples include Doubletree’s free cookies and The Cheesecake Factory’s expansive menu. These emblems end up defining a product and sponsor its success. Baer and Lemin talk about what makes an effective Talk Trigger and differentiate it from mere gimmicks. They also provide a couple real-life examples in each chapter of how a business thrives using some element of a Talk Trigger.
The authors also provide a template on how to create (and re-create) a Talk Trigger for the reader’s business. They reference online resources (worksheets) that help the reader put the pen/pencil to the paper and shape their business ventures. Their goal is not simply to introduce a new concept; they aim to enhance business practice.
I find their concept very practical and easy to implement. The work of inspiring the reader is achieved by abundant instances of real-life use. It’s fun and interesting to read about how businesses have been successful via viral word-of-mouth campaigns. It seems that Baer and Lemin are especially aware that they merely highlight an existing practice instead of inventing something new.
It would be nice if the authors extended their work from the study of business practices vis-a-vis word of mouth into the psychology of how to come up with effective Talk Triggers. Obviously, some Triggers are more effective than others. They acknowledge this fact squarely, but they do not delve deeply into the psychology of what makes a particular Talk Trigger more effective than another. If they were to write a follow-up work on this topic, I’d definitely take the time to read it.
Talk Triggers: The Complete Guide to Creating Customers with Word of Mouth
by Jay Baer and Daniel Lemin
Copyright (c) 2018
ISBN13 9780525537274
Page Count: 272
Genre: Marketing, Business
www.amazon.com