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February 18, 2025 15 mins

Unlock the potential of storytelling to revolutionize your brand's customer experience. Imagine creating not just a transaction but a true emotional bond with your audience. Join us as we dissect how storytelling transcends raw data and features, transforming them into authentic, relatable narratives. You'll discover how campaigns like Dove's Real Beauty can serve as a powerful blueprint for forming genuine connections. We promise you'll walk away with actionable insights on how to make your brand's story resonate deeply, encouraging customers to see themselves in your journey and inspiring them to take their next step with you.

But storytelling isn’t just for customers—it's a dynamic tool for engaging leaders and teams within your organization as well. This episode offers a glimpse into how storytelling can dismantle silos and foster a culture of connection and success at every level. We'll discuss strategies for using stories to bridge the emotional gap in B2B settings and illustrate potential outcomes that lead to smarter decision-making.

Resources Mentioned:
Sign up for the Weekly Win -- experienceinvestigators.com/newsletter/
Get our Customer Journey Storyboarding Template -- bit.ly/journey-storyboard
Take the CXI® Compass assessment -- cxicompass.com
Experience Investigators Website -- experienceinvestigators.com

Want to ask a question? Visit askjeannie.vip to leave Jeannie a voicemail! (And don't forget to follow Jeannie on LinkedIn! www.linkedin.com/in/jeanniewalters/)

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Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
MC (00:00):
Experience Action.
Let's stop just talking aboutcustomer experience, employee
experience and the experience ofleaders.
Let's turn ideas into action.
Your host, Jeannie Walters, isan award-winning customer
experience expert, internationalkeynote speaker and founder of
Experience Investigators, astrategic consulting firm

(00:20):
helping companies increase salesand customer retention through
elevated customer experiences.
Ready set action.
One, two, three four.

Jeannie Walters (00:31):
We got another fabulous question from one of
you, our listeners, so it's timeto go ahead and dive into the
answer on the Experience ActionPodcast.
Listen in.

Listener Question (00:45):
Hi, Jeannie, can you explain how storytelling
can be used to connect withcustomers on a more personal
level and also how to enhancetheir experience?
Thanks.

Jeannie Walters (00:54):
Storytelling is such a powerful tool and we
probably don't give it enoughattention or recognition.
So today I'm gonna be talkingabout how to use storytelling
with your customers, but I alsowant to mention that it's a
really great tool within yourorganization.
It's something that can be verypowerful in getting leaders and

(01:15):
other team members to reallyunderstand the impact that
you're having with customerexperience.
So today let's dive into how touse storytelling with customers
to really engage and connectwith them.
So when we talk aboutstorytelling, let's back up a
little bit.
Storytelling can be thought ofas this vague skill, something

(01:36):
that some people have and othersdon't, but I tend to disagree
with that.
It's something that anyone canreally build their own skills
and aptitude around.
So if you feel like, well, I'mnot really a storyteller, you
are.
Maybe you just don't have theright tools yet.
So think about what is thestory you want to tell.

(01:58):
Now, when we talk aboutstorytelling, one of the reasons
it's so important is becausewe're just wired to hear stories
.
We like narratives, we like toreally understand things through
story.
This has been forever as far asI know, and when we only
present data points, when weonly talk about things like

(02:20):
solutions and features to ourcustomers, we're missing an
opportunity to really connectwith them on a very human level.
In fact, some Stanford BusinessSchool research showed that
people are 22 times more likelyto be remembered when they share
a story.
So if you apply that to yourbrand, to what you're doing with

(02:45):
customers, you absolutely wantto be memorable.
You want people to think aboutthat opportunity that you
presented to them, and one ofthe best ways you can do that is
with story.
Now we have to make sure thatwe are balancing, of course, the
needs of what do we want totell and what do we want to
share with being authentic.

(03:06):
People can see through whenwe're telling stories that
aren't true, frankly, and so wewant to make sure that we are
being authentic in ourstorytelling as well.
So think about authenticnarratives, and how can you tell
that story that really willconnect to something memorable
for your customer, because we dowant to build emotional

(03:27):
connection and trust along everystep of the journey.
So as you build your customerjourney, as you check in and
realize, wow, there's somethingstopping them from taking that
next step, storytelling can be agreat way to approach that.
What is the story they arehearing or believing versus what
is the story that you want themto really understand?

(03:49):
Now, one of the things that canhappen is that when we have a
void of information, when we arenot hearing from people or when
we don't really know what thenext step is, we have this funny
thing as humans that we dowhere we assume the worst.
We think, well, if I'm nothearing from that friend, it

(04:10):
means that they don't want to bemy friend anymore.
If I am not sure of the nextstep, I'm not going to go ahead
and risk taking that next stepbecause it's too scary, I don't
understand what's there.
So we have to make sure that,as part of storytelling
throughout the journey, we'rereally guiding the customer
along with that narrative so wecan reassure them, we can give

(04:32):
them confidence.
That's what builds thatemotional connection and trust.
The other thing thatstorytelling can really do that
helps customers is it helps themsee themselves in what you're
offering.
So one of my favorite examplesof this is the Real Beauty
Campaign by Dove.
Now, you might remember this.

(04:53):
It started many, many years ago, but what they did was they
realized, you know, if we'reonly showing these aspirational,
unattainable beauty standardsby using models who are not
really the average of what mostwomen look like or feel like,
then maybe we're not reallyshowing the customer within this

(05:17):
story.
They can't see themselves withour products.
So the Real Beauty campaignreally focused on let's, you
know, show women their otherreal women so that they can see
themselves in what we do.
That actually has become alittle bit of a movement with a
lot of different campaigns,marketing and advertising

(05:38):
campaigns.
For that reason, they know thatwhile you might want to achieve
certain goals, sometimes we'reall different.
We all have different startingplaces, we all have different
limitations and restrictions, weall have different
opportunities, and so it'sunfair to say this is the
aspiration all the time.

(06:00):
But it really is about buildingthat trust of oh, you see me in
this and I see myself, and sonow we can start that
conversation.
So, as you think about your owncustomer journey and sometimes I
hear people say, yeah, butwe're in B2B Great Business to
business needs this, too,because we are still dealing

(06:22):
with human beings and maybe thatperson who you want to go ahead
and sign that contract, maybethey just can't bring themselves
to that next step because theydon't see themselves in what's
being presented.
Yeah, it checks all the boxes,the data sounds right, it all
sounds good, it looks good onpaper, but there's something
that isn't connecting with thememotionally.

(06:44):
We make decisions as humans,with our emotions, so the more
we can emotionally connect withsomebody and show them this is
what it will feel like to useour product, this is what you'll
be able to achieve.
And let me tell you a story ofanother customer who was able to
do that.
That's why case studies can beso powerful in B2B sales,

(07:06):
because people want to seethemselves.
They know that every scenariois different.
There is nuance and differenttypes of challenges in every
organization or in every life,really.
So the more you can showsomebody themselves through
story and using storytellingtechniques, even better.

(07:27):
So when we talk aboutstorytelling, it's really one of
the tools that helps us move acustomer through the journey in
a way that is comfortable andengaged and connected and honest
for them.
It's really about personalizingthe customer journey so that we
can recognize where somebody isin their journey and help them

(07:47):
take that next step.
So think about how you caninject stories and storytelling
at the right time throughout thecustomer journey.
How can you personalize that?
Where are those points ofreassurance or hesitation that
somebody might have that you canuse as a jumping off point and
say you know what?
We've heard from othercustomers like you.
Let's share a little bit aboutwhat they did or how they

(08:10):
handled that challenge.
Stories like that will helppeople more than just looking at
a grid of features oropportunities.
Data is wonderful.
We absolutely need data butstories are data too, and so
let's make sure we're not overindexing on just sharing data
points and things that you knoware more objective and really

(08:34):
helping people subjectivelyunderstand.
How do I fit in here?
How will this help me, not justwhy am I going to buy the
product, but how will this helpmy life?
If I take this next step, if Irenew the contract, how will
that make me feel?
Will it make me feel like ahero or will I have a lot of

(08:55):
buyer's remorse?
When we are telling stories, wehave to be honest about this is
what it's like, and we want youto come along.
Sometimes stories are reallyhelpful, when we are actually
apologizing to a customer whenwe have done something
incorrectly and we want to moveforward in a way that is again

(09:17):
honest and transparent.
Now, if you follow ournewsletter, we recently sent one
that has an example of this,where a vitamin supplement
company made some changes totheir formula because they
believed that people were askingfor it.
They wanted new flavors anddifferent ways of taking the

(09:38):
supplement.
Well, they got intense feedbackfrom their customers saying
what did you do?
We didn't want flavor.
Bring back the unflavoredcaplets.
Those were easy for us.
And so they sent this beautifulemail saying, you know what, we
heard you and we're sorry, andwe got a little adventurous and
that's on us, and so here's whatwe're doing for you.

(10:00):
And it was really about sharing, kind of behind the scenes,
that level of storytelling tosay here's why we did it, but
we're not making any excuses,we're not saying that you were
wrong.
We're saying you know what?
Sometimes you just try thingsand they don't work.
So we can use storytelling inall of these really powerful
ways.
And then, of course, whenyou're on the other side of the

(10:24):
coin, when you are inside yourorganization and you are
presenting information to maybeyour leadership team or trying
to get other people to reallyunderstand the customer journey.
There are some really powerfulstorytelling techniques.
One that I love is journeystoryboarding.
That's where you literally havepeople draw it out like a comic

(10:45):
strip and by doing that you'retapping into a different part of
the brain.
You're helping people kind ofslow down in the moment so they
don't make assumptions about oh,that's when somebody checks
into the hotel.
No, no, you want to get intothe detail.
So what is that like for thatperson?
What happens when they walk inthe door?

(11:05):
How are they greeted?
What are they seeing?
What are they experiencing withtheir senses?
It's a different way ofapproaching the customer journey
and it's a different lens thatyou can use to get people to
really understand.
The other thing I love aboutstorytelling within your
organization is if you have acustomer experience dashboard or
a voice of the customer report.

(11:26):
A lot of times those end upbeing nothing but pie graphs and
arrows and numbers and after awhile it's hard for somebody to
really internalize that and westart disconnecting with the
fact that those numbersrepresent people.
So storytelling can be a verypowerful way to really get
people to understand and connectwith the idea of that data.

(11:48):
So maybe you have all the piegraphs and the arrows and
everything else, but you alsohave a recording from your
contact center of a customertelling their story.
That can be very powerful andconnect with the emotions of the
people looking at this data sothat they make the right choice
about where to invest and whataction they absolutely need to

(12:12):
take next.
So I hope that you consider howto weave in storytelling both
with your customers like thisgreat question we got, as well
as how do you, as a leader, leaninto storytelling as well?
This could create deeperloyalty with your customers.
It helps them feel seen andunderstood in ways that maybe

(12:35):
your traditional communicationdoesn't.
We want those repeat buyers, wewant advocates, we want higher
customer lifetime value.
So lean into storytelling as away to achieve those outcomes
and then also think about howcan you bring those stories,
those customer stories that youknow, inside your organization,

(12:55):
leveraging those techniques aswell.
If you're looking for moreresources here, first of all if
you have not yet subscribed tothe Weekly Win, our newsletter,
where we share lots of differentinformation, including upcoming
events.
Please go ahead and do that.
Use the siteexperienceinvestigatorscom to go
ahead and sign up for thatnewsletter.
And then we also have lots ofresources around customer

(13:19):
journey and customer journeystoryboarding you can find in
our Learning Center as well.
Now, for those of you who arelooking for even more, I'm
excited to say that we haverelaunched our CXI Compass.
This is a tool that allows youto figure out where do you need
to pay attention as a CX leader.
It's based on our CXINavigational Framework.

(13:41):
Now, this framework has foursections: intentional success,
customer collaboration, culturalcommitment and experiential
innovation.
Take the compass over I thinkit takes about three minutes or
less usually and we'll give youan idea of hey, you're doing
great on customer collaboration,but it's time to start focusing

(14:03):
on cultural commitment.
If you go ahead and do that, wewill send you your results
right away and give you someoptions for what to do next.
We would love to have you takethe CXI Compass and then tell us
how it went for you.
So with that, I wish you so muchsuccess leading storytelling in
your organization, not only foryour leaders and your teammates

(14:26):
, but also to really engage withyour customers, because you
know what.
That's what this is all about,right?
So thank you to our listenerfor providing this great
question.
Keep them coming, don't forgetyou can send me any question at
askjeannievip.
You can record on your phone oryour desktop.
It's super easy and we lovehearing from you.

(14:48):
And, of course, you can alwaysfeel free to leave your name and
where you are, or you can sendus those questions anonymously.
Thank you so much for beinghere with the Experience Action
Podcast and I can't wait to seeyou and hear you again next week
.
To learn more about ourstrategic approach to experience
.
Check out free resources atexperienceinvestigatorscom,

(15:13):
where you can sign up for ournewsletter, our Year of CX
program and more, and pleasefollow me, Jeannie Walters, on
LinkedIn.
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