Editorial
The Gist
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Persuade your audience gently. Use customer experience storytelling to frame discussions like they're stories to persuade your target audience.
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Use empathy to understand your customers. CX is greatly improved when leaders know how customers feel about/interact with your brand.
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Incite future change. Storytelling prompts change by illuminating what’s possible.
Storytelling is ancient and embedded deep in human nature. Every culture across the globe has evidence of stories being told far back in our history, acting as a powerful tool for communication and teaching.
However, despite that history, storytelling isn’t valued as a tool for enabling change and transformation in business. This article will delve into the importance of customer experience storytelling in business scenarios, exploring how it serves as a transformative tool in various aspects such as persuasion, empathy and inspiration.
The best presenters are often storytellers who hold the attention of the audience and sway them toward their intended outcomes. As a leader in customer experience and customer-centric transformation, I’ve found that thoughtfully storyboarding each discussion, workshop or presentation enables me to have a better idea of how to help my stakeholders and audience reach a common understanding of where to go next. It is a key part of my arsenal of tools to enable change.
Three Ways to Tell a Customer Experience Story
I’ve used customer experience storytelling in three primary ways:
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Persuading key stakeholders
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Engaging empathy for customer pain points
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Inspiring others
Related Article: Storytelling Drives the Modern Customer Experience
Using Gentle Persuasion in Customer Experience Storytelling
Let’s take the first pillar: persuasion. When I have a meeting planned, I don’t start with a Powerpoint or slide deck. Instead, I write down the outcomes, what I know about my audience and then use this information to storyboard. I map out the flow of the discussion to ensure our conversation will be reminiscent of a story, logically building toward the outcomes. I create slides once I have that mapped out if they are needed.
While data is critical to persuading the business and leadership to take action, it is most effective when integrated into a story. Years ago, I had an important customer tell me that buying decisions, even when the cost is in the millions of dollars, are not based on data alone — they also depend on emotions, such as trust. And you can’t have trust without empathy.
Related Article: Why Visual Storytelling Is Important to Brand Messaging
Empathizing With Consumers
When I am building a case for change, in addition to the data (customer research, operational data, product usage behaviors, cost to serve, growth opportunities, process improvement impacts, etc.), I also build a story that enables my key stakeholders to empathize with the customer, understanding what they go through when their experiences go poorly. When these two elements are combined, they help CX leaders gain a real sense of empathy.
Inspiring Change for the Future
We’ve all heard and experienced change, and we know how difficult it can be. Using stories to inspire people is an effective tool for change. By painting a picture of what’s possible, we can illustrate the benefits more explicitly and clearly.
Build Engaging Stories
I like to use engaging ways to build these stories — this includes cartooning customer interviews (live), illustrating customer needs and pain points, and journey mapping the future state with joint workshops between customers and employees. These methods provide inspiration and a path to change.
Read the Room
My last tip emphasizes the significance of your audience in customer experience storytelling. I rarely tell the same story the same way because every audience is different. Instead, I take cues and read the room to adapt the story for a particular audience. It’s important to focus on what matters most to your listeners because every story — no matter the context or genre — is meant for the audience, not the storyteller.
Final Word on Customer Experience Storytelling
Customer experience storytelling is not just an engaging strategy, but a pivotal tool for bringing about transformation in business. The trifecta of persuasion, empathy and inspiration, all weaved into the fabric of storytelling, offers a unique approach to shaping customer experiences and driving change. It enables us to connect with our audience on a deeper level, fostering trust, understanding, and ultimately, shaping future actions.
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As we evolve in the realm of customer experience, we must remember that storytelling isn't a one-size-fits-all tool. It requires adaptation, catering to the unique facets of each audience we encounter. By integrating customer experience storytelling into our daily business practices, we pave the way for a future that prioritizes understanding, connects individuals and encourages meaningful change.
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