Sales

Why isn’t marketing’s version of storytelling working?

November 11, 2012

Storytelling, storytelling, and more storytelling.

Seems like every marketing book, blog (including mine if you’ve been reading this week’s posts) and study is talking about how we should be using storytelling as a marketing technique.

I couldn’t agree more.  Unfortunately, I think most attempts fall short.

Earlier this week — I made the point that A) It seems that despite all the hype — we’re doing less real storytelling today and B) storytelling is hardly a new tactic.

Marketers clearly believe that storytelling is a critical component of their marketing efforts.  As you can see (click here to see a larger version of the chart above) by the chart above, according to a 2012 B2B Content Marketing Trends survey conducted for Holger Schulze for Optify, 81% of respondents listed engaging and compelling storytelling as one of the three most important aspects of content marketing.

So — no argument that marketing’s version of storytelling is critical to a business’ communications success. The question is — why are so many companies doing it badly and not experiencing the results they want?

The stories don’t evoke an emotion: There’s not a memorable story around that isn’t seeded in emotions.  For some businesses, especially those in the B2B sector, it’s hard to imagine what emotions their products or services might trigger.  That’s because the marketers are staying at the features level of sales, not delving into the benefits that lie beneath.

It might be as simple as your prospect is afraid if they make a bad decision, it will cost them their job.  Or it could be that what you sell is helping your clients fulfill their reason for existing — which to them is very emotionally motivated.  If you dig deep enough, you’ll find the emotions behind your stories.  Be sure you expose those in your storytelling so that your audience can relate to and empathize with the people in the tale.

The stories don’t use data to lend credibility: As we discussed in my post about the Revolutionary War book — what made those stories so dramatic and grabbing was he facts that were dotted throughout.

As the folks at the Content Marketing Institute points out in this blog post — data can be used in a variety of ways to tell your story.  Think visual data like an infographic or let the data suggest a new angle or insight for both you and your audience.

The story doesn’t take us on a journey: In marketing’s version of storytelling, we often take shortcuts to get to the big reveal.  But in doing that, we rob the audience of the arc of the story. Every story is, in essence, a journey that chronicles the the problem, the fight to solve the problem and how things are better once the challenge is resolved.

But a great story lets the journey also help the audience see the motivations, frustrations and worries of the characters while they try to face the problem. The outcomes are also wrapped in more than just the tangible results.  When the story is rich with details – we also learn more about the intangible results and ultimate value of delivering the right solution.

The story doesn’t include a next step/call to action: Here’s where most marketers really miss the boat.  A well crafted story draws the audience in, helps them connect with the main character and feel their common pain.  As the story evolves, the prospect is pulling for the character — because in reality, the character bears a striking resemblance to them.  They experience the ups and downs within the story and as the story delivers the happy ending — the prospective customer is thinking and feeling relief and a desire to share in that sort of outcome.

So marketing’s version of storytelling is all too often, a big tease.  You led them right to the edge — get them hungry for what you’re selling but don’t give them a clear and defined next step.  Ask yourself — what do I want them to do next and be sure you make it easy and quick to take that next action.

If you don’t include this as a part of your storytelling — the whole point of telling the story in the first place is wasted.  You aren’t a court jester earning your supper.  You’re trying to help someone decide whether or not you hold the answer to their problem. Once you demonstrate that you are the right choice — be sure you give them a chance to tell you so.

What do you think? Can you tweak the way you’re telling your company’s story so that it drives leads and sales?

More

Have we lost the art of storytelling in marketing?

November 5, 2012

As the buzz about content marketing, social media and all things digital continues to rise, one of the catch phrases that gets a lot of attention is storytelling in marketing.  We afford it incredible lip service but do we actually practice it?

As we give way to our USA Today sound byte style of sharing information, are we losing the emotional tug of telling a great story?  Even in our case studies where we’re trying to help the prospects see themselves in relation to someone we’ve already helped  — are we too focused on the facts and too willing to sacrifice that emotional tug?

I worry that we are so focused on making sure we communicate the facts that we don’t trust your audience enough to find them if they’re wrapped in the emotion of the brand. The danger of that is that buying is an emotional response.  We buy based on our emotions and justify the purchase with the facts offered. But we very rarely buy on facts alone. So it we don’t offer up both sides of the equation — we leave our prospects wanting and our cash registers empty. Storytelling in marketing isn’t just to entertain or be memorable.  It is to drive brand loyalty and increased sales.

What made me ponder this on a Sunday morning is a local phenomenon that put the spotlight on the potency of storytelling for me. A Dunkin’ Donuts opened up in my community (we may be one of the few cities in the country that didn’t already have one) and the line on opening day was literally around the block.  Seriously — who stands in line for an hour for a donut?

Well, they did. And when I thought about the brand…I too had a very warm reaction to it. When I hear “Dunkin’ Donuts” my mind immediately goes back to the wonderful story driven TV spots they did back in the early 80s.

They used a character (Fred the Baker) to tell the audience why Dunkin’ Donuts were better — fresher, more variety and certainly made with more love.  I still crack up when I think of Fred in his dress, covering up his mustache, trying to get some competitive intelligence.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwO4B_pxI7s[/youtube]

That’s great storytelling.  I not only learn that Dunkin’ Donuts bakes their donuts all day so they’re always fresh, but I learn about the variety (5 kinds of jelly donuts) and their commitment to quality. And it was funny to boot.

On the flip side of the emotional scale, there are few brands that tug at the heartstrings with their TV spots like Hallmark and Folgers.  Very different products but the same link to family and special times.  Check out these spots and see how you react to both the story and the brand.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4kNl7cQdcU[/youtube]

 

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37-r7Jtru8E[/youtube]

If you look at the dates on these spots — you’ll see that they’re all more than 20 years old.   I’m hard pressed to think of a company today that takes the time to tell the same sort of story (Budweiser may be the exception) today — in any media.

So here are some questions I’m pondering and wonder what you think:

• Has this sort of storytelling become passé?
• Are their any brands out there today who do this sort of storytelling in any media?
• Does social media and content marketing really lend itself to good storytelling?
• Do we need to go “old school” to really work storytelling into our marketing efforts?
• Are we equating storytelling to factual case studies rather than emotionally triggering customer stories?
• Is there a current brand that is really using storytelling to create an emotional connection with their audience?
• How can we better marry the digital marketing tools with the age old art of telling compelling stories?

Storytelling in marketing is hardly new. But it’s as effective today as it was when David Ogilvy and the other patriarchs of our field wove their compelling tales. The question is — how good are we at marrying the old and the new?

More

Video can make a prospect’s concerns go away

October 8, 2012

Video is a very useful medium that most companies underuse. But when they are used…they’re typically used to sell or teach.  All of that is well and good.

But I think you might be missing the boat on an opportunity to make your prospects concerns go away.

I’m in Arizona for 10 days — a mix of working with clients and speaking at a conference. I didn’t want to pack enough clothes to cover all 10 days so I decided to pack for 5 or 6 and hit a laundromat on my day off, in between meetings.  I know…the glamours of business travel!

So now it’s Saturday and for me, it’s “find a laundromat” day.  I’m in a city I don’t know and I’m heading to a laundromat, which is usually not a high end consumer experience.  So I have some concerns.

• Will it be clean?
• What hours is it open – can I go during daylight?
• What’s the neighborhood like?
• Is it crazy expensive?
• How many machines do they have? Will I have to wait?

So I turn to the digital yellow pages.  Now I am really flying blind. But, on one of the listings — the laundromat had a video. They showed me how clean it was. They showed me the neighborhood.  They demonstrated that there’s always a staff person on-site.  They even showed me how much the detergent etc. would cost.  Their video made my concerns go away.

It wasn’t the closest laundromat. But, because of the video I was happy to pay for a longer cab ride to go to Ginny’s Washhouse. Why? They’d nullified my concerns.

All the laundromats had text in their ads that said they were clean and safe. But only Ginny’s proved it to me by showing me that it was true.

How is this relevant for you? Your potential customers have worries about you too.  They might worry that you’re too far away or hard to find. They might be concerned that you’re too expensive or you don’t understand their industry.  But deep down inside, every prospect has a worry or two about you.

Some of them will show up anyway.  Or pick up the phone and ask about their concern. But many will simply fade away, not ready to proceed with that nagging worry in the back of their head.

The old marketing model would have been to put the spotlight on all that you do right and ignore those worries, hoping they’d go away. Today, we know better.

Attack those buyer concerns and worries.  Pull them out into the light and deal with them.  And a really powerful way to do that is with video. Our brains may believe bullet points and text but our hearts believe what we see.  Video packs a multimedia punch that can use emotions, strong visuals and even music to create a tone of reassurance and confidence.

Keep in mind that sometimes their fears aren’t as easy to visually deal with as whether or not the floors are clean.  You may need to use a testimonial approach where a current client looks into the camera and says, “I thought AB&C was going to be way out of my budget range so I was pleasantly surprised when I found out it only cost $X.”

Get creative — but get to their worries and answer them right up front.

 

More

They’ll buy when they trust

September 27, 2012

Here’s an equation that every business owner needs to understand.

Know + Like + Trust = Buy.

Whether you sell toothbrushes or multi-million dollar medical equipment and everything in between — until a customer:

• Knows who you are
• Likes who you are
• Trusts you

there is no purchase.  The depth of the trust required varies but there must be at least a base level of trust in place before anyone will spend a dime.

One of the things I love about social media/content marketing is that it is hard-wired to help savvy business people maximize this equation.

Know = search.  If I can’t find you, then I can’t know you exist.  Understanding how potential customers are using search when they want what you sell is vital to your business success today. Do you know what key words and phrases you should be mindful of? Are you creating content that will leverage that?

Like = social networks/blogs. When I hang out with you, in person or online, I get a sense of who you are and whether or not I like who you are.  When I read your blog, I begin to learn who you are and what you believe.  Are you out there, creating conversations and relationships?  If not — when are you going to start?

Trust = consistency online and off.  It’s easy to fake being nice, smart or helpful once or twice. But that’s tough to pull off on a consistent basis. We know that when it comes to our offline world.  And we’re learning it’s just as true online as well.  One of the greatest elements of having a digital presence is that it can quickly provide someone with a long term view of who/how you are.  That builds trust.

That equation lines up perfectly with how content marketing/social media is supposed to work.  When you create great, helpful content that aligns with how people search — you create that long tail effect that drives people to you. When you share it through your social networks and it’s done without being pushy or sleazy, people will come to like and respect you. Like and respect evolves into trust when you behave consistently in the same way.

Whether you actually sell online or you have a brick and mortar presence – using content marketing and your social media presence to move prospects along the spectrum of know, like, trust is just good business.

I’m curious — how are you building trust with what you do online?

More

What clear signals do you suppose you’re missing?

August 8, 2012

I had a few little electrical projects that needed to be done around the house. So I turned to my Angie’s List favorites.

Once I found the right business, I had an array of choices in terms of how I wanted to connect with them.  I clicked on the email icon and jotted a quick note, describing exactly what I needed to have fixed.

Within a few hours the electrician emailed me back with this message: “Sounds good Drew, give me a call to discuss.”

Um, no.  I didn’t accidentally click on the email icon.  I made a conscious choice.  It’s not that I am anti-phone.  Heck…ask AT&T how pro-phone I am.  But, during business hours, I just don’t have time to talk to him.  I’m in meetings, on the phone with clients and on the run.  Which is why I emailed him to begin with.

What could have been an easy sale is now tangled up because he didn’t pay attention to the very clear signal I sent.  I don’t have time to call him…so odds are, the work just won’t get done for a little while.  A lost sale.

What clear signals do you suppose you’re missing?

More

Funny doesn’t sell well

July 25, 2012

Apparently, other people were pondering the same question I was last week when I asserted that advertising can’t just be funny.

Now — a recent study is showing that funny doesn’t really sell well. One in five TV ads are funny, and Super Bowl ads are three times funnier than the rest.

But none of this makes much difference in selling stuff, according to new research by syndicated ad-testing firm Ace Metrix.

Funny ads do get more attention and are better liked. But Ace Metrix found funniness had little correlation with effectiveness in a scoring system that incorporates watchability, likability and persuasion among other factors.

In fact, funny ads were slightly less likely to increase desire or purchase intent than unfunny ones. Those same commercials were less likely to increase desire or intent to purchase than commercials that played it straight. In other words, funny ads are useful for entertaining viewers, but are not the most effective way for advertisers to convince those viewers to buy the product.

This study takes the first-ever large-scale, scientific look at the role of humor in video advertising. According to the study, entitled ‘Is Funny Enough?’, consumers found 20 percent of more than 6,500 TV ads that aired between January 1, 2011 and March 31, 2012, to be funny.

Consumers found ads from Doritos to be funnier than any other brand (6.4 times funnier than average), and Target to have more consistently funny ads than any other brand, with 85 ads above the Funny Index average.

So before you go for funny, ask yourself what your ultimate goal is. If it’s sales — perhaps you should consider a different avenue.

 

Photo courtesy of BigStockPhoto

More

Does your funnel need fixing?

July 23, 2012

People come to your website every day.  They pop in and pop out.  Some spend a few seconds while others read page after to page, lingering for many minutes.

Wouldn’t it be incredible to not only know who those anonymous visitors are but what links, pages and information they clicked on?

Well, now it’s possible.  And you can have it for the bargain price of nothing. LeadLife Solutions is now offering a free tool called Funnel Fixer.

The free tool captures critical information about website visitors browsing your site, including detailed information on pages viewed, providing you with powerful sales and marketing insights.

“Many businesses are still struggling with lead and opportunity visibility – their websites are great marketing tools, but they’re also something of a black hole that doesn’t reveal who is visiting and why,” said Lisa Cramer, President and Co-founder of LeadLife. “Funnel Fixer not only identifies who is coming to your site, it also tracks their digital behavior so you know what products, services and demos have their attention and for how long.”

Funnel Fixer’s highlights include:
Visitor Insights™ – Companies will know who’s browsing their sites, even if visitors don’t fill out a form. Detailed page tracking includes time spent on pages, search words used, referring URLs, company information and auto-links to Jigsaw and LinkedIn. Daily emails with visitor detail are pushed to company users’ inboxes.

Prospect Interests™ – Links all previous anonymous digital behavior to a prospect once they fill out a form on your website. This sales intelligence is sent to your company’s inboxes on a daily basis. As a result, it is possible to tailor sales and marketing messages to the unique needs of each qualified prospect.

Buying Signs™ Outlook Add-in – Improves close rates at the bottom of the sales funnel by giving sales reps real-time alerts when prospects are reviewing information sent to them. Users that send emails via Microsoft Outlook receive detailed tracking on prospects’ opens, clicks, which web pages they viewed, and more.

Now, of course, this generous offering comes with a catch.

The catch is — they get to try to sell you their full suite of services, LeadLife.  I was given a guided tour of LeadLife and it’s impressive.  It’s marketing automation software with a twist.  The twist is… the people at LeadLife do most of the heavy lifting for you.  Each customer is assigned a lead management specialist who actually builds out the software solution for you, as well as advising you all along the way.

Check out this section of their website, where they outline how they’s solve:

• A sales productivity concern
• Maximizing revenue from existing clients
• Evolving your sales culture to a solutions sale

What’s possible with this technology is remarkable.  LeadLife makes it very easy to tap into both prospects and existing customers to increase sales, customer connections and the longevity of your customer relationships.

Fair warning — it comes with a hefty price tag.  But if you can’t afford the full solution — no reason why you can’t take full advantage of the free Funnel Fixer.

More

Twitter and Facebook ROI

July 8, 2012

This has to be one of the biggest questions banging around marketing conferences, blogs and social media gatherings.  “How do we measure the return on my investment (ROI) for the time, money and effort we put into Twitter and Facebook?”

To truly answer that question, you need to define your own ROI. If it is a dollar for dollar equation, then you need to be able to quantify/tie a value to the time spent, calculate the dollars invested and then put the proper tracking/measurement tools in place to link your social media contacts/connections to actual sales.

Are sales the only worthy ROI?  Probably not. Like all marketing — you start by knowing what result you want.

• Are you trying to create a community that will tell the world about your new book, product or ?
• Do you want people to sign a pledge or commit to a cause?
• Do you want email addresses because your sales cycle requires a lot of education and time, so you want to create a drip campaign?
• Do you want to identify like-minded business people so you can create a safe place to generate thought leadership?

I have nothing against sales.  It’s how we all pay our mortgages.  But I just want to remind you, there are many worthy outcomes of any marketing effort.  And that’s certainly true of Twitter and Facebook. As Stephen Covey taught us, begin with the end in mind.

This infographic from InventHelp (click here to check them out) begins to dig at the question and explore potential answers.  Take a look at it and then tell me — what do you want from your social media efforts?

More

How do you create urgency?

June 6, 2012

I’ve been in several conversations with clients and other business owners of late all surrounding the issue of creating urgency in potential buyers.

You’ve probably found yourself in the same situation. You know your product or service has incredible value but no one seems in a big hurry to buy it.

How do you move someone from “that might be nice” to “I need to have it now?”  Especially if you don’t consider yourself a sales person.

The canned sales training answer to this question would be to create an artificial incentive or fear that can be relieved by making a purchase.  These might include:

Limited quantity — Hurry, because we only have 20 of these left in the warehouse and once they’re gone…. they’re gone!

Limited time — These grand opening prices will never be seen again so get in here before Sunday or say goodbye to these incredible savings!

The bonus — If you buy the cookware set today, you’ll also get the matching knife set and a year’s subscription to Foodies Magazine.

Each of those techniques can and does work.  But…you have to be careful.  Your customers and prospects are:

• Pretty jaded
• Pretty smart
• Pretty onto the tricks

If the limited quantity, time or bonus items are legit — then give it a whirl.  But recognize that your audience is still going to smell promotional trickery, even if it isn’t there.  (Remember, pretty jaded).

If people just aren’t buying as quickly — maybe you’re talking about the wrong things.  Are you still talking features rather than benefits?  Or have you dug deeply enough to get at the real “why they’d buy?”

I think in many cases…we get a little lazy here.  We think that people want to come to a home show because they like looking at new ideas for re-decorating their home.  But if you dig a little deeper and push through another couple “whys” you might take this path:

• I’m thinking about going to the home show because it’s fun to get re-decorating ideas.
• I’ve been in my house for 10+ years now and things are feeling boring/stale.
• We can’t afford to move to something newer/bigger because we’re upside down on our mortgage.
• I feel stuck in our house and it’s making me notice everything that’s wrong, dated and old about it.
• By investing in some paint and elbow grease, my old house will feel new again and I’ll  fall back in love with living there.  I’ll go from feeling like I have no choice to being happier with the choice I do have.

This is a simplistic example…but you can see I drilled down about 4 “why” levels to get to a very human truth. If I were writing ad copy or blog posts about the home show — rather than just pointing out all the booths that were touting re-decorating ideas, I’d focus on the idea that everyone’s home could use a little help here and there…and the result is that you’ll fall back in love with your home.

My point — before you create an urgency gimmick, drill down a few more ‘why” layers and see if you can find a human truth that will serve as a much better urgency creator.

 

Photo courtesy of www.BigStockPhoto.com

More

The worst sales email ever

May 24, 2012

Maybe I’m wrong and you can top this…but check this out:

Hi folks,

Name Name here from InvestorGuide.com. Our network of sites reaches a business savvy audience of over 5 million people every month. We also have a million opt-in subscribers and 125,000 financial advisors ready to receive dedicated email blasts.

We’ve been in this business for over 10 years so we know what works. I’m trying to find out who handles media buys for your clients, and I’d really appreciate it if we could get an updated copy of your client roster. I think we can really make something work here.

Sincerely,

Ms. Name Name
Title
e-mail address

Hi Folks?  So who all got this and how did I get lumped in with them?  Send you an updated list of our client roster?  Are you kidding me?  Who writes these things and worse yet…who approves them to actually be sent to prospects?

This is why we have all the SPAM laws and why our email inboxes are so cluttered with junk that we can’t find the emails we want to receive/read.

If you are sending out emails like this — stop it.  Now.

 

Photo courtesy of BigStockPhoto.com

More