The art and purpose of story telling

As a B2B organization your target audience is, well, businesses, obviously.  But how does a business buy something?  Since a logo can’t get a credit card, there is a big push in marketing to consider ALL businesses P2P or person to person.  As it goes, even in B2B, you (a person) are going to have to convince another person (who represents a business) that yours is the best solution to the business’ issue.

So if we frame it this way, we can borrow an eons old and masterfully successful way to create a connection with someone, story telling.

Andrew Stanton, writer or co-writer of every Pixar movie to date,  said this in a recent TED Talk:  “Story telling is knowing that everything you’re saying from the first sentence to the last is leading to a singular goal…   Stories affirm who we are and similarities between ourselves and others.”

Isn’t that what marketing is all about?  Affirming who we are and how we are like the person we’re trying to convince to be our client?  After all, we all prefer to work with people we like.

So, what does it take to be a good story teller even if we don’t work in the most exciting fields (like Pixar)?  Here are a few of my ideas.  Please share yours as well!

Cut through the clutter.  We are all exposed to an unfathomable number of messages each day.  With the aim of garnering real attention for your story, be sure that all of your communications are high quality.  Your audience will set aside time for quality sources of intelligent information that are relevant and don’t reek of trying to sell something.   Once someone starts to doubt the value of your content, you will lose credibility and open rates will fall.

Focus on the visuals.  Following on #1, the instant your audience sees your message, they need to recognize it as yours so they don’t buzz past it.  We are attracted to and absorb visual information quickly.   This is why consumer product companies spend so much effort and money burning their logos into our brains… when you’re on the highway and you see the “golden arches” billboard or sign it takes your brain only a split second to make a strong association and give you a clear understanding of what product is being offered.  Take a cue from this and be sure that your communications have a strong and consistent visual element.  Bonus points for video and infographics.

Get in and get out.  As Andrew Stanton says above, your story needs to have a singular goal.  If you have a LOT to say on a topic, consider breaking your message into smaller, more manageable pieces.  This can be a series of blog posts or events.

Be a human.  B2B or P2P, we all have a point of view.  Too much marketing text out there is far too formal.  It doesn’t allow the reader to see who you really are or what it’s like to work with you.  Since, you and your team are the “product,” it behooves you to express some personality.  If you get passed over, it’s just not meant to be… but the clients you do get will be clients for life.

Tell a story.  So, how do you express your human side through technical topics?  As Stanton says, it’s all about story telling.  In the world of B2B we would call these “case studies” but really they are stories.  Let’s shed a few layers of “this is how it’s always done” and tell the reader what they really want to know… that you have helped someone else with an issue similar to theirs and it all turned out well in the end.

In the world of B2B we can sometimes struggle with how to differentiate ourselves from our competitors.  Your stories, by their very nature, are unique and your own.  There is no better way to stand apart, and to stand for something, than your story.  Tell it to anyone who will listen.

So, what do you think?   Will you give story telling a try?