DivvyHQ Book Club: Talk Triggers by Jay Baer & Daniel Lemin

How do you get people (customers, prospects, anybody) to talk about your brand? Isn’t that the honey pot all brands seek?

I knew this book was a must-read for me after Jay Baer appeared on season 1 of The BIG Simple, a webinar series we produced last year. Jay’s simple explanation of how word of mouth influences upwards of 83% of purchasing decisions is mind boggling. But more mind boggling is the fact that almost no companies have a word-of-mouth strategy. Well, Talk Triggers authors, Jay Baer and Daniel Lemin, deliver the goods.

“You’re looking for the habitable Goldilocks Zone, where the temperature is just right: a talk trigger that’s remarkable enough to be a conversation catalyst but reasonable enough to be trusted.”

These two marketing craftsmen provide a sturdy framework for creating a key “operational differentiator” to get your customers talking. Why does this matter exactly? Additional studies cited in the book show that word-of-mouth referrals contribute as much as 50% of a business’ revenue stream. That’s a lot of honey, so it certainly behooves any business or brand to be intentional in creating a fantastical talk trigger.

The book is brimming with research, everyday insights, brand stories, and an action plan for executing a talk trigger. One essential truth the authors discussed is what a talk trigger is NOT. It’s not a marketing gimmick. Let me repeat, it’s NOT a one-off gimmick. It is a repeatable business practice that’s unexpectantly different and baked into your entire business process, not just one department.

We know talk triggers are extremely effective, so why aren’t more companies intentional about executing them? Indeed, there’s serious upfront work involved and that can be a buzzkill, but Jay Baer and Daniel Lemin provide the micro-steps to making a talk trigger a living reality for any size brand. So, let’s take a deeper look.

4 Musts to Every Talk Trigger

A great talk trigger must be: Remarkable, Relevant, Reasonable, and Repeatable.

The 4 R’s provide the essential elements to keep your talk trigger away from the gimmick zone. They cultivate a deep company culture around an operational process that is unexpected, believable, do-able and certainly achievable. They engage with people on an emotional level. And great talk triggers make sense to your customer and within the context of your brand.

5 Categories of “Talkable” Talk Triggers

Now, with a full grasp of the essentials of a talk trigger, the authors highlight the types of talk trigger that may be most compelling for your brand. The examples they share throughout the book are awe inspiring, but here are just a few examples.

• Empathy – an oral surgeon calling a patient pre-surgery
• Usefulness – a sky couch on an airline
• Generosity – free drinks at an amusement park
• Speed – pick up and delivery car repair service
• Attitude – clever and unexpected hold music

Sign me up, who doesn’t want to do business and share a story about any one of the above examples?  As a customer success champion for DivvyHQ, I celebrate brands with an emotional hook who deliver a personal touch focused on me – the customer.

With glasses raised, we thank Jay and Daniel for creating a handy, how-to guide to execute a fantastic talk trigger.  If you’re ready to embark on creating yours, grab a copy of the book for a step-by-step plan on mapping the customer journey to mine deeper team insights. Then, go forth and create a wildly “talkable” talk trigger. Same is lame.

Credit to Ann Handley for the new tool discovery: Emoji Mosaic