Storytelling Isn't Just for Telling Stories

Storytelling for business isn’t anything new. It’s been an on-again, off-again buzzword for a long time. At face value, the word “storytelling” seems a little fluffy and certainly everything that is being called a story is not a story. Reality is that companies that have embraced a storytelling approach to communications are finding benefits in all areas of their business, not just marketing. They have found that storytelling isn’t just for telling stories.

Your Business Becomes More Strategic

The most important story that we need to hear in business is our client’s. When you make it a habit to have open-ended conversations with your new and long-standing clients, you can become more strategic and more competitive because you don’t have to guess what they value. They tell you. You don’t have to speculate on their real customer experience. They tell you. You don’t have to make costly mistakes when introducing new products and services. They tell you what they need.
 
You Speak Your Client’s Language

We all have jargon in our industries, and we don’t remember that some of the words we use don’t mean anything to our audience. This matters for marketing but it also matters for any client or prospect-facing communication that you have, whether it’s a phone call, an email or a meeting. When you listen to your client’s story and start to use the same language that they use to describe their problems and the solutions they want, you increase their understanding and demonstrate respect.

Your Organization Becomes More Client-Focused

Storytelling really can’t stay in marketing. It takes everyone in your organization to help find the stories that need to be told. As people hear more and more stories of how their colleagues worked to make customers happy, they are getting models of how to behave. When these stories follow the dramatic arc, employees become inspired and motivated to better serve customers, too.
 
Become a Storytelling Organization

​Start asking for stories of great customer experiences at your next staff meeting and see what happens. Ready to make your marketing more strategic with storytelling? Contact me to start a conversation.

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