8. Storytelling in Business : A Guide for CXOs to move from Case Studies to Case Stories

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Storytelling is a much talked about topic in CXO communities.

We are literally immersed in stories of other brands and businesses all around us. But in spite of that when it comes to storytelling for our own brands and business, CXOs struggle a lot.

Let's try to find answers to these struggles in this edition.

Let's understand how YOU can use 'Storytelling' better for your own brands & business.

Why Storytelling is Important in Business :

Businesses are 'by the people', 'for the people'. But we, the people are animals at the core. We don't like data. We don't like features. We like stories.

If someone is telling a lot of product features with a lot of data, we tend to sleep. We look for a direct confirmation whether a particular product is good or not. We look for simple information to do that. That information is nothing but stories.

When you need to convey a lot of information, efficiently and effectively, Stories are your best bet.

For example, a story told by a customer about how they received a refund will stick in your memory far longer than a mundane explanation of the refund policy.

Similarly, a narrative about how a product feature was used in real life will be more memorable than a dry list of features.

Stories are vivid, engaging, and easy to remember. They help people connect emotionally and cognitively with the message you want to convey.

Hence, storytelling is extremely important in businesses. It is not only important in Sales & Marketing, but it is also equally important in other functions as well.

Wherever people are involved, storytelling was, is and will be important.

How to Find Topics for Business Storytelling :

Let's now move on to the next step.

How can you use storytelling for your own brands and business?

The first step is to find the right storytelling topics.

Let's dig deeper to find out how to do this.

1. Refer to the STEPPS Framework

One approach is to refer to the STEPPS Framework from the book 'Contagious: Why Things Catch On' by Jonah Berger. Refer to this article where we have summarized STEPPS Framework while explaining 'How CXOs can make things go viral'.

The STEPPS framework stands for Social Currency, Triggers, Emotions, Public, Practical Value, and Stories.

This framework will help you identify what makes your content shareable and engaging.

For example, if your product or service offers high social currency—meaning it makes people feel special or in the know—you can build a story around that.

In summary, find out your own stories for all the five steps STEPP (Social Currency, Triggers, Emotions, Public, Practical Value) in STEPPS Framework. Your stories can be related to each or all of these five points.

2. Convert Data or Features into a Story

Another method is to convert data or product/service features into a story.

If you have data showing that your feature (X) is better than a competitor's feature (Y), turn that into a story. For instance, you could tell the story of how a client initially used feature Y and faced numerous challenges, but then switched to feature X and saw remarkable success.

This narrative not only demonstrates the superiority of your feature but also makes the data more relatable and memorable.

3. Leverage Customer Testimonials

Customer testimonials are a goldmine for business storytelling. Reach out to your satisfied customers and ask them to share their experiences. These stories can be incredibly powerful, as they provide real-life examples of how your product or service has made a difference.

4. Highlight Internal Successes

Don't overlook the stories within your own company. Highlighting the successes and innovations of your employees can not only boost morale but also provide compelling narratives to share with your audience.

Whether it's a breakthrough in research and development or a creative marketing campaign, these stories can illustrate your company's values and culture and in turn attract customers, partners as well as employees to your brand.

How to Tell Stories :

Once you have identified the topics for your business stories, the next step is to tell those stories effectively.

One golden word to remember is : 'Infotainment (Information + Entertainment)'. Business stories are all about Infotainment.

Another useful framework for this is the StoryBrand framework from the book 'Building a StoryBrand' by Donald Miller.

I have combined my learnings from Donald Miller's StoryBrand Framework with my own experiences and built this framework below to create business stories :

1. Purpose: For the identified story topic, Write down the following in brief : Intro Text/Title/Purpose/End objective of the story
2. Medium: Which medium are you using for telling the story? : Text, Audio, Video, Infographics etc.
3. Suspense at the beginning (what is coming in short)
4. Set the scene (Time, place, atmosphere, conditions etc.)
5. Character: Identify the hero of the story (usually your customer). Introduce the character.
6. Problem: Define the problem that the hero faces.
7. Guide: Introduce your brand as the guide who can help solve the problem.
8. Plan: Lay out a clear plan for the hero to follow.
9. Call to Action: Present a call to action that encourages the hero to take the next step.
10. Avoid Failure: Highlight the negative consequences of not taking action.
11. Success: Show the positive outcomes of taking action.

Follow this simple, yet powerful structure and create engaging stories for your audience be it, customer, partners or employees.

Create stories for whatever point you want to sell to whichever audience you want to sell.

Caution 1 : Balancing (Information and Entertainment)

While it's essential to make your stories engaging, don't forget to include real information.

Idle chatter and gossip might capture attention, but substance is what retains it.

Ensure that your stories are not only captivating but also informative.

For instance, when discussing a product feature, weave in real-world applications and benefits to keep your audience both interested and informed.

Caution 2 : How to add a personal touch in Business Stories

Adding a personal touch to your business stories can make them even more compelling. But as they do in movies/normal stories, avoid focusing on the physical appearance of the protagonist.

Try to highlight the protagonist's professional background or the struggles they faced. You can actually paint a picture of the protagonist whose professional life is very similar to the audience aka your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP).

This human element can help your audience connect with the story on a deeper level.

Conclusion : Transform Case Studies into Case Stories

In the world of business, traditional case studies often fail to captivate their audience. They are typically dry and filled with jargon, making them less engaging and harder to remember. Instead of Case Studies, CXOs should aim to create Case Stories.

Case stories are essentially case studies with a narrative twist. They include all the necessary data and product/service features but are presented in a story format. This approach makes the information more engaging and memorable.

As a CXO, transform all your existing case studies into case stories and leverage storytelling to its fullest.

I hope this is helpful.

Please do share your experiences (rather stories) in comments to make this discussion richer and let everyone learn more from the same.

Regards,

Chanakya Joshi

Founder & CEO,

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