Stories are one of the most powerful things that humans can create and share. They are the things we remember above and beyond the day-to-day - it’s far easier for people to remember stories than dry facts.
They appeal to the parts of our minds where facts and figures don’t resonate. In fact, our brains are wired to search for stories (it’s why many of us daydream).
So what does this mean for Customer Experience professionals? How can you use storytelling to connect with your customers?
Storytelling takes time. It also takes expertise. So why should you bother?
People base a lot of their decisions on their emotions, rather than rational information. Storytelling is a way for customers to connect with your brand – it’s based on the stories you tell and the stories they hear about you. They infuse customer interactions with entertainment and fun.
What makes a great CX story?
While there are no hard or fast rules for creating CX stories, these are common traits of strong storytelling:
- Useful info in a narrative – giving the fact and figures a context
- What motivates your team
- What your brand stands for
- About your customers – giving a platform to share customer success
- Emotional & Engaging
- A beginning, a crisis and a resolution – having a structure to place to give your story shape
- An interaction between your customers and your brand
Compelling stories enhance customer experience by infusing them with feeling and emotion. They also stimulate employee engagement, by bringing the customer to life within the company.
Whether good, bad or ugly, everyone has stories to share about experiences they’ve had.
When you think about your own experiences, as a customer, the power of stories makes complete sense. You don’t share your experiences as facts, figures and metrics. You share as a narrative. As Jason Sharpe said at CX Day 2015: “The shortest distance between two people is a story”.
Stories connect with us; they stick in our minds. They inspire us and inspire others. If you’ve not considered how important storytelling can be, the question you have to ask yourself is: “What is your story?” Wonder what it is that customers are sharing about you to their friends and family. And wonder what impact you can have on the stories they tell about you.
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