{"id":53951,"date":"2021-09-09T09:50:09","date_gmt":"2021-09-09T04:20:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tothenew.com\/blog\/?p=53951"},"modified":"2022-01-19T15:57:07","modified_gmt":"2022-01-19T10:27:07","slug":"b2b-storytelling-survival-guide-telling-compelling-stories-that-stick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tothenew.com\/blog\/b2b-storytelling-survival-guide-telling-compelling-stories-that-stick\/","title":{"rendered":"B2B Storytelling Survival Guide: Telling Compelling Stories That Stick!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Behind every business are real people, and B2B brands must connect with the human on the other side to stay relevant. B2B websites that lack an emotional narrative and present mere numbers, data, products, and features fail to connect with their customers. Research shows that numbers are forgettable, and most people do not easily remember data or statistics in the long term.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Harrison Monarth, an executive coach and New York Times bestselling author, <\/span>\u201cData can persuade people, but it doesn\u2019t inspire them to act. But a story can go where quantitative analysis is denied admission: our hearts.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

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\nStorytelling has been a crucial part of B2C marketing for a long time, but now it\u2019s an indispensable element to creating engaging B2B content. An increasing number of B2B brands are moving away from hard-selling, product pitching, or self-promotion approaches to focus on grabbing and retaining customers\u2019 attention through an engaging story. Storytelling becomes all the more important in the B2B context as it helps brands in conveying value more effectively by presenting complex technical products and services in a simpler and more engaging way.<\/span><\/p>\n

From creating a captivating story to go-to-market (GTM) to creating emotional connect through key lead magnets such as whitepapers, blogs, or microsites, B2B companies across industries now turn to authentic stories to make their products and services stand out by striking the right tone that resonates with customers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why Storytelling is a Win-Win Strategy for B2B Marketers<\/b><\/h4>\n

Storytelling is the art of narrating good stories that captivate audiences. B2B marketers need to create stories around customer personas using conflicts that reflect their user journeys and empathetically chronicles how specific products and services solve their problems and help them achieve their goals.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To craft stories that build an emotional connection between the brand and the target audience, B2B marketers need to look beyond showcasing the product features or service capabilities. To create a connection, marketers must understand the product or service’s end-users, industry dynamics and trends, and how their solution can help solve the end-user problems. Storytelling is a crucial element of B2B marketing strategy that enables businesses to build engaging content for every stage of the marketing funnel that appeals to buyers’ emotions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s understand why storytelling is becoming a pivotal part of B2B marketing strategy.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Humanize Brands for Effective B2B Differentiation<\/b><\/h4>\n

Storytelling helps B2B companies identify their brand’s “Why” aspect\u2014why it exists or what it stands for. Stories give brands a face and voice and bring out what the people behind the brand aspire to achieve for customers, employees, and society. For instance, Google has been sharing <\/span>customer success stories of local businesses that use Google Ads<\/span><\/a> to grow their business. Using real-life stories, they’ve been able to describe a complicated offering without using technical jargon that very few customers in the SME domain would understand.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Create Memorable Moments that Stick and Drive Actions<\/b><\/h4>\n

Weaving unforgettable stories can have a long-term impact. Moving beyond data and statistics and telling engaging stories is a perfect recipe that makes a brand memorable. According to Cognitive psychologist Jerome Bruner,<\/span> people are 22 times more likely to remember a fact when presented in context to a story.<\/i><\/b> Stories help connect with the audience emotionally and give them a sense of purpose worth remembering. A <\/span>study by Google, Motista, and CEB<\/span><\/a> suggests that <\/span>50% of B2B buyers are more likely to make a buying decision if they connect emotionally with a brand.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

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Foster Trust to Expand Loyal Brand Advocates<\/b><\/h4>\n

Brands that tell consistent and effective stories over time to engage with their customers tend to build brand loyalists that buy their products and services and also promote the brand. In the long-term, delightful experiences with the brand convert into trust resulting in a continuously growing community. For example, <\/span>Salesforce IdeaExchange<\/span><\/a>, an initiative from Salesforce, allows customers to engage with the brand and share ideas with the Salesforce product managers and user groups (formally known as Trailblazer Community) worldwide. With IdeaExchange, Salesforce ensures its customers that their voices are heard, and they can seamlessly collaborate, suggest, and vote on ideas that matter to them.<\/span><\/p>\n

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How to tell Memorable Stories: Frameworks & Techniques<\/b><\/h4>\n

B2B marketers must ensure that their brand narratives align with buyer\u2019s pain points. Adopting the right storytelling framework and implementing relevant techniques help them tell stories with the fitting narrative that suits target personas who influence B2B buying decisions at different levels.<\/span><\/p>\n

Three-Act Structure: Fundamental Storytelling Framework
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The most common framework for storytelling, the <\/span>Three-Act Structure<\/b>, helps structure stories through three stages: Setup, Struggle (Conflict), and Finale (Resolution).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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