Talk Triggers: The Complete Guide to Creating Customers with Word of Mouth

by Jay Baer

Another way to think about this is by asking the following: Can you explain your talk trigger to a child?

That should be your first step in this stage: Explain the talk trigger to a child, and if the child gets it, then you can explore how to amplify and promote it.

Create Your “Because” Statement

Somewhere in the life cycle of any talk trigger a decision was made: A specific thing is being done for a reason.

It’s vital that you make that story known to people. It’s much, much easier for someone to insert themselves into story, and that’s critical for the success of your talk trigger. The story does not need to be complex or overwrought. In fact, the simpler the better.

Complete this sentence: We do [TALK TRIGGER] because [REASON].

Your brand’s “because” is the link most people need to translate your talk trigger into a story they can become part of and share with their friends, family, and colleagues. Their experience, by extension, becomes part of your talk trigger.

Amplify Your Talk Trigger in Your Marketing Mix

Your marketing mix is the launching point for amplifying your talk trigger. As Holiday World does with its free beverages, you want to look for opportunities to share that element of th...

Media and Influencers

Doing something just for the attention it gets you might land you a reality series—but it won’t win you many long-term fans. Media interest is a side effect of great talk triggers, not a goal.

How should you handle marketing your talk trigger to reporters and other infl...

We’d advocate that you actually don’t do any outreach about it. It’s an effective talking point that differentiates your company and sets it apart from the competition. Use it in your key messaging architecture and as a proof point showing your company’s customer commitment. Beyond th...

Evolving Your Operations

Guidelines for Amplifying

Talk triggers are difficult to get right. But when you do, do yourself a favor: Don’t bury the lead in pursuit of subtlety. Being too subtle about your talk trigger is as detrimental as being too promotional with it.

Secrets are the enemy of word of mouth.

Employees Keep It Going

Amplifying a talk trigger is a virtuous cycle that keeps itself going. It keeps the talk trigger in active conversation and keeps it relevant. What happens when a talk trigger begins to suffer from declining returns?

Create Your Next Talk Trigger

what do you do when your talk trigger isn’t remarkable any longer? Wind it down and create a new one.

Carve a New Path

Add a Talk Trigger

Another approach you may want to explore doesn’t involve killing your talk trigger. It involves adding another one, a sibling, to create an entirely new style of conversation.

Commoditization Is Likely (Although Not Inevitable)

Same Is Lame

You now know the four criteria for a differentiator to be a talk trigger. You’ve discovered the five distinct types of talk triggers. You’ve learned the six-step process for how to create your own word-of-mouth engine. The rest is up to you. Same is lame. Give yourself permission to do something different.