What makes us (and our customers) buy? | Moments of inspiration
What inspires us to buy?
Well, in last week’s episode of The Loyalty Loop, we talked about moments of inspiration.
There are actually three types of moments of inspiration, three big categories that send people on a journey they never expected to buy something they didn't even know they needed.
If you want R.O.I. you need to understand the M.O.I’s (Moments of Inspiration!) So, let’s break down those three types of moments of inspiration and look at how to take advantage of them to build a better brand, design a better consumer experience and differentiate you from your competition.
What are Moments of Inspiration?
Let’s refresh… Moments of Inspiration are instants in time that send you on a journey you never expected.
So let's break down the three different types of Moments of Inspiration.
Brand Induced M.O.I’s
In the very first video I ever shot for The Loyalty Loop I talk about my journey to buy a brand new car. This video is the perfect example of this first type of moment of inspiration.
I got a letter from the car company inviting me to return my car because my lease was ending. The letter was from Rachel, the leasing maturity manager and in it, she gave me the list of steps I needed to take to return the car.
Here's the thing, she created a moment of inspiration. The car company themselves, created an M.O.I.
They send me on a journey I never expected.
This very first type of moment of inspiration is called the Brand Induced M.O.I.
Every time you send an invoice, an email or you share a link, every time you send out a newsletter, coupon or discount code, every time you ask for a connection request, you may be sparking a brand induced moment of inspiration.
Think about the impact these little moments can have on the people you're reaching, think of them as an opportunity to build a better experience.
Consumer Induced M.O.I’s
Last year in one of my Loyalty Loop videos, we went to Michael's craft store. I’d just moved and I needed some affordable, massive art for the massive walls in our rental home in Florida!
That journey was inspired by a moment in my life, that move into a new rental and it's a perfect example of this second type of Moment of Inspiration, The Consumer Induced M.O.I.
A consumer induced M.O.I. is generated by an instant in the life of your consumer. Maybe they wake up with a rash on their arm, maybe they just bought a new house or they find out they're pregnant or maybe they just had their first child, get a new job, a promotion, maybe their boss gets fired… the list goes on!
These moments might be complicated, but they're unbelievable opportunities to own the consumer journey.
And remember, consumer induced M.O.I.s are not always big things, they could be really small things, like you just ate a tuna salad sandwich and you have tuna salad breath, and maybe you need to buy some gum.
These complicated consumer induced M.O.I.s are waterfalls, people are going to go on a lot of consumer journeys over the next few days, weeks, months or maybe even years and it's our job to be part of that journey.
Media Induced M.O.I’s
Imagine you're scrolling through Instagram and you notice that a friend of yours has posted unbelievable pictures of the dish she just made using her brand new instant pot and you decide you want an instant pot. That’s a moment of inspiration created by the media platform you're on.
Or maybe you're watching the television news ( I live in South Florida, and it just became hurricane season and there's all of this stuff on the news about how to prepare for a hurricane). There are checklists you can download on things you need to do to your house.
This is also coming from a media platform, it is coming from the news, it's sending me on a journey to get that new garage door that we talked about a few weeks ago.
The media has the power to inspire you to go on a journey you never expected and this happens unbelievably often. Even if you're reading an article about something and you see the name of someone, a thought leader who's given a quote in that article, you might Google the thought leader, find out they run a company and next thing you know, three months later, you're buying their product or service. That is a media induced moment of inspiration, it sends that person on a journey they never expected.
The Secret Question
There's a super secret question you can ask the next client or customer that walks in the door that will help you unravel what inspired them to walk in. Remember that supersedes your question, what inspired you to… ?
Well, when you ask that question, you've got to be looking for the type of M.O.I. that they give you.
Maybe they say they moved into a new house, well, that's a consumer induced M.O.I.
Maybe they said they were searching a hashtag about project management on Twitter and they saw that you were participating, that's a media moment of inspiration.
Or maybe they say they got an invoice from their prior vendor and it's too expensive and they were looking for better options and just did a Google search, that’s a brand induced moment of inspiration.
So make sure you ask the next client or customer that you talked to, what inspired you to… ?
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