Sue, the marketing director, pops into Jerry’s office. “Hey, Jerry!”
“Sue, what, is, up?” replies Jerry, writing on his whiteboard.
“I’m looking to beef up our library of customer success stories. Can you help me identify some clients I can contact?”
“Hell ya! We have a ton of great customer stories,” replies Jerry. “I’ll send you over some names.”
“Do they align with our sales strategy for next quarter?”
Jerry threw Sue a “duh” look. “Ah, yeah, any story does.”
“Well, not really. I’m looking for those that specifically align with our sales strategy.”
“OK, but any story is about a ‘sale’, so therefore, any story is a good story. Here…” Jerry hops into his chair and begins to type feverishly on his keyboard. “I’ll just email you a list of customers. I’m sure they’d love to talk about the great work we’ve done for them.”
“I appreciate that, but I would rather target the ones that align with what we are focused on selling for the upcoming quarter. Plus, I want to make sure the stories connect with the types of buyers we are looking to work with.”
“Sue, a story is just a story. What does it matter? As long as we have a customer willing to do a case study, video, or whatever, we’re good!” With an enthusiastic push of the 'enter' button, he added, “Done and sent. Those should do it. Anything else?”
Sadly, this type of conversation occurs often across countless companies—perhaps it’s happening right now in your company.
Customer success stories are powerful. They offer the buyer a glimpse into what it will be like to work with your company through the experience of someone who already has. It makes what you’re selling feel “real”. It’s tough enough to develop, edit, approve, design, publish, and promote stories. So, why waste your time (and your client’s) on stories that don’t support a bigger purpose?
Do your stories line up with your sales strategy?
Note: My storytelling framework guides you through going after the right stories at the right time with the right clients. This part of the Framework is called the “Go-Get Stories Strategy” stage. To learn more, reach out to me.