By Dan CristoLet’s do a quick exercise… I’ll write a word, and you say the fist word that comes to mind. Ready?
- Search
- Social network
- Shopping
Now let’s see if your answers were the same as mine
- Search -> Google
- Social network -> Facebook
- Shopping -> Amazon
The words on the left triggered you to think about the words on the right. This association mechanism is powerful, and is a strong reason why Bing has trouble stealing search marketshare from Google, why Google has trouble stealing social networking market share from Facebook, and why everyone has trouble stealing shopping market share from Amazon.
Building your trigger
The brain works by creating connections between thoughts and memories. The more often a connection is used, the stronger it becomes. The connection between Google and “search” is incredibly strong because we use it several times a day.
To build your trigger, you need to create an connection between what your product does, and a need or desire consumers have. The initial connection can be made through word of mouth, a search, an article they read or an ad, but it’s a very weak connection. It needs to be strengthened before it can be triggered.
Strengthening the trigger
When you read a book, or hear a speaker, you only retain a small % of what you take in. This % can be increased when you combine senses (visual, sound, touch, etc). But the ultimate way to retain knowledge is by experiencing. Imagine the difference between reading about how to ride a bike vs. actually riding a bike.
Don’t waste people’s time by having them read about your product or service, let them try it. Give them a demo, free trial or complimentary item. The experience of using a product or service creates a strong impression of what the product is or does, and by frequently using it you create an associate between the product and what it’s used for.
Choosing your Trigger
With Triberr, I WANT our trigger to be “blogging”. Whenever someone thinks about blogging, I want them to immediately think about Triberr. But sadly, that’s not going to work. Triberr isn’t a blogging platform, and I’m not sure people want us to try and be one. Bloggers have many pain points, but the actual act of blogging isn’t at the top of their list.
Serious bloggers have two predominant pain points: traffic and monetization. Those are the triggers we are focusing on.
When bloggers ask each other, “How do I drive traffic and monetize my blog?”, that’s when Triberr is mentioned (a connection is made). Then it’s followed by, “Do you want to join my tribe?” (an experience strengthens that connection). That’s where our trigger lies – at the intersection of what we do, and what our members need us to do.
Speaking of which, if you’re a blogger looking to experience Triberr you can follow our starter tribe. It’ll give you a feel for how things work without having to read about it.
What’s your trigger?
What does your product or service do, and what does your customer need it to do?
