What makes marketing compelling? Stories. The story a brand tells may be implicit: “Coke Adds Life.” The customer fills in what that means to them. Or a brand’s story may be explicit, like Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty. When brands use storytelling well it can capture customers’ attention, spark their imagination, and build the kind of engagement that leads to advocacy and sales.
But storytelling isn’t a phenomenon for B2C alone. B2B marketers can use storytelling to engage current customers and attract new ones. One of the most persuasive types of storytelling in B2B is customer case studies. Executives are hungry for insight on how to succeed in their job, solve problems, and harness opportunities. B2B brands can use storytelling to share insights with prospects into how customers successfully use their product or services to accomplish those outcomes.
It’s no wonder that content marketing continues to grow in popularity. Content marketing in part is about communicating a brand’s promise through storytelling. Customer success stories are an integral element of that approach. Whether it’s a two-sentence testimonial or a 2,000-word case study, the story of a customer success can motivate prospects to become customers and inspire customers to stay engaged.
Why all this harping on storytelling? An insightful campaign or customer success story can help make the case for marketing investments as surely as they move prospects and customers through their company’s funnel. Learning about and keeping up on strategies and trends is important, but they’re made concrete when exemplified by a related real-life experience—when the “What’s in it for me?” is clear. Storytelling can provide that clarity.
At Direct Marketing News, we’re always looking for compelling customer success stories to share with readers. And we know you have them. So, what’s your story?
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This post was recast from a blog post written by me for Direct Marketing Club of New York.
