Engage - to attract and hold our attention.

All successful products engage. They must attract our attention just to get us to look at it. But to get our cash, they must hold our attention. Two common items that engage are books and music albums (the days before mp3s and iTunes). Book covers would attract my attention at the bookstore, but to hold my attention and induce a purchase, I had to peek inside to read some, check out the table of contents, etc. The only way around this process was past experience with the author or recommendation from a respected friend (but I usually still peeked anyway).

Music was different, the covers definitely attracted, but you could not open it up and sample the music at the record store. The only way it could hold me was from past experience, either from the radio, friend’s music or prior knowledge of artist. Here is a most engaging album cover.

To me it was an engaging album, my parents had introduced me to Herb Alpert which I like and the cover held my young teenage gaze. I wonder how many bought it based on album cover alone that were dissatisfied.

Music and books still engage me, but the digital age has changed the process.

What engages you? Or better still, what do you do to engage customers?

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