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7 Triggers to Persuasion and Captivation

The origins of the word fascination are rooted in Latin, in the word “fascinare”, which literally translates as “to bewitch”. Historically speaking, in the past people saw fascination as a curse and danger, which compelled people to think and act irrationally. Even Freud has written about fascination, comparing it to hypnosis.

Who Should Read “Fascinate”? And Why?

Branding is important. Creating a distinctive reputation for your products may be the thing you need to stand out from the crowd. 

Marketing and branding professionals will find this book fascinating and inspiring. After reading it, they will surely want to reexamine the products they work on and assess the situation they are in. But the real work comes only after reading these pages.

These steps are nothing until someone puts them to practice on concrete companies and products.

About Sally Hogshead

Sally Hogshead is an award-winning writer and a brand expert. The New York Times, the Today show and various other media have interviewed her on several occasions. Starting off as an advertising writer, she ended up being a brand consultant for world-class companies.

“Fascinate Summary”

All things in this world can become fascinating: people, places, things. Why is this important? Because knowing this can help you build the brand that will fascinate and hook people.

The world’s economy was goods-based in the past, and then it evolved to a service-based one, an information-based one, to finally end becoming the economy we know today. The fascination-based one. It is no longer critical, or even possible, to be different.

It is no longer important to just offer products of high quality and value. More important than that is to add fascination to the equation. You have to find a way to make your ordinary products seem unique. You have to captivate buyers and stand out from the crowd.

How do you do that? By creating fascinating ads that provoke emotion and bond you with customers.

Seven triggers can create fascination when customers are concerned. They are:

• • Lust, or sparking a craving for a specific experience. Lust is a passionate desire for your products. This can be done by creating unusual experiences

• • Mystique, or provoking curiosity by presenting unanswered questions

• • Alarm, or creating urgency by introducing the threat of adverse experiences

• • Prestige, or creating the sense of respect within a particular group

• • Power, or using authority to control

• • Vice, or encouraging rebellion against some rules or a creative approach to something

• Trust, or building loyalty and a sense of predictability and stability

Using these triggers can help companies influence the behaviors of customers and create the feeling of need and fascination.

Customers cannot control it, so it affects their decision making, and it limits their freedom of choice. Using alarms in the adverts such as “buy it before it’s gone” can also create a sense of hurriedness in people. Making your brand valuable and prestigious can push people to buy.

Believing they will be seen a certain way if they have a particular product, can increase the product’s perceived value. Businesses can use fascination to alter customers’ perceptions and create a feeling that they must have the products the business offers.

On top of all of that, promising dependability and establishing trust with can also affect clients. To do that, you should be not only authentic but also predictable in what you communicate. You should promise stability. All that, along with the fascination effect, can bring you more customers than you ever dreamed of.

Key Lessons from “Fascinate”:

1.      Evaluate consumers’ current degree of fascination
2.      Develop new messages to attract consumers
3.      Execute a marketing program to build fascination

Evaluate consumers’ current degree of fascination

Ask yourself: what do consumers think of your company? Do your ads provoke reactions? You should find the balance between being bold and being bland. Boldness can indeed offend some market segments, but dull ads never kindle any emotions.

And that is the worst thing that can happen: customers that don’t care about what you offer. Think about the seven touchstones and evaluate them accordingly. Strengthen the ones that are weak and focus more on the criteria that work for you. Try to differentiate.

Try to pack what you offer in a way that no one has before.

Develop new messages to attract consumers

Once you evaluate where you stand on the fascination scale, reposition yourself higher.

Each company is in possession of seven fascination badges that you can work with to create more significant fascination and become more appealing.

These badges include products, benefits, culture, heritage, core beliefs, purpose, and actions.

Execute a marketing program to build fascination

After assessing the current fascination status and the ways you can go about increasing it, it is time to create and implement your plan. There is not a universal approach, but there are a few universal principles. To start with you should build internal support.

Changes have to start from the inside. So, before being ready to fascinate customers, you have to ensure that there is a culture of fascination among the employees.

Next, pen down all the marketing actions you plan to take. Be concrete. Outline using dates, figures, costs, etc. Writing down your marketing plan will get rid of all abstractions and will help you visualize where you want to be.

By doing so, the steps in this plan will become goals and not just mere wishes. And lastly, before taking any action, do your research. Evaluate every step that you came up with.

Compare it with data you gather about the customers you target and similar marketing moves that some companies may have taken in the past. Learn from your customers and from others’ mistakes. Listen to what the market says.

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“Fascinate” Quotes

Our Critical Review

In “Fascinate“, the author by using clear examples shows the power of fascination. He details the seven triggers and shows you how you can use them to increase your product’s’ potential.

Emir Zecovic

Emir is the Head of Marketing at 12min. In his spare time, he loves to meditate and play soccer.