What is Storytelling
Storytelling is the art of using words to create a compelling story to generate emotion and thus inspire action from your customers. A compelling story breathes life into a design, a brand, or a product. It injects meaning and fosters emotional connections with an audience.
It is psychologically proven that customers make buying decisions based primarily on emotions; logical reasoning comes second. One study shows that B2B buyers are nearly 50% more likely to purchase when they see personal value in a product.
Why Storytelling?
It is a crucial element in the design and selling process!
A fully developed story can set your business apart from other businesses. This is particularly important where products can seem like a commodity (such as corrugate), as opposed to a unique selling tool, a distinctively designed, digitally printed display, retail-ready packaging, or in-store signage.
Customers can go anywhere and choose from a variety of suppliers. Throughout the design and selling process, you need to tell a captivating story that will elicit positive emotions, connections, and associations, which will encourage customers to convert into buyers.
Storytelling in Design Activation
Design activation is the perfect time to use storytelling. Good storytelling brings ideas to life and can make the difference between a project being awarded or not.
Storytelling is a tool to explain the creative thinking process. It allows the designer to present key design attributes, benefits, features, and insights behind the design solution. Without this, the design is just another pretty picture. The storytelling goal is to create empathy understanding, and value. It shows you understand the needs and challenges of the customer.
Storytelling in Sales
Storytelling is the art of engaging, educating, and getting your customers or prospects excited enough to listen. It is not used to just cut through the noise of the extensive competition, but also to connect to your target audience and evoke a bond of trust. A good storyline weaves together your products and services and why they matter. Appeal to hearts and minds through a mix of statistics, features, and emotional connections.
Better Retention
According to a Stanford study, stories are up to 22 times more memorable than facts and figures alone. Telling a story instead of the basic 1-liners tagline leaves you with a better chance of the customer remembering you. But remember, the human attention span is around 8 to 10 seconds, so keep the story concise and relevant.
Invokes Emotions
A salesperson should be more than a person just selling the great features the product has to offer. He/she should connect to the customer on a personal level and make them feel they understand and relate to their daily problems. The story needs to create an emotional connection.
Builds Trust
The most powerful stories come from having a deep understanding of your customer. Once you create an environment where the customer opens up and begins to trust you, you strengthen that relationship.
Influences Decision
Finally, the main aim of any salesperson is to close. Positioning your product in your stories relevant to their situation can help influence their buying decision to a greater extent. Keep the stories on point, making it about how the product will benefit them.