It Pays to Help Your Clients Tell Their Stories… Here’s How to Do It

Let me ask you an important question: would you find a statement more impactful if it came from a business or if it was presented from the perspective of one of its clientele?

It's probably the second option. It only makes sense… even if it’s the business distributing it, the fact that someone else’s name is tied to a statement adds significant confidence that the contents are trustworthy. This is precisely why client success stories can be so compelling when featured in your marketing.

Let’s talk about how to use these powerful marketing tools for yourself, but first…

…Why are Success Stories Such Powerful Marketing Tools?

On some level, you’d think that your perspective—the expert one—would be the most impactful one out there. After all, you’re the one who understands how the sauce is made.

However, you need to consider it from your prospect’s perspective. Of course, you’d talk up your services. You’re the one who stands to profit. Anything you say will be taken with a grain of salt until you can prove yourself.

That’s effectively the role that your relationship marketing plays in your overall strategy. Customer relationship marketing (not to be confused with the other CRM, or customer relationship management) basically takes the data the (other) CRM provides and shapes it into a marketing strategy intended to build brand loyalty and confidence.

How to Boost the Perceived Value Your Targets See in Your Offering

What is the easiest way to do that? Simple: telling stories… so why not make your clients’ past successes the stories you tell? There are plenty of reasons you should do precisely this:

• Sharing the achievements your clients have experienced with your help demonstrates that you work alongside your clients as a partner compared to another service provider.
• Storytelling allows you to highlight what sets you apart from others in your area who offer what appear to be the same services when considered at the surface level.
• By taking a different approach than your competitors in sharing the information your clients and prospects need to make a decision, you stand out more.
• Describing the events that one of your current clients got through with your help may resonate with a prospect experiencing similar situations and pain points.
• Highlighting the value of a specific product or service in a story helps demonstrate the value that an audience member can anticipate from the same service.
• These stories can also make for compelling social media material, helping draw in your audience there and potentially securing their consent to be marketed to.
• There’s more than one way to tell the same story, allowing you to diversify your marketing efforts to multiple audience preferences.

Mind you, this isn’t a comprehensive list by any stretch… you’d have to bookmark this page and come back later if we were going to include every reason why telling stories through your marketing efforts can be beneficial.

Instead, we want to discuss how to share client stories in a way that will allow you to see these benefits for yourself.

How to Tell Your Customers’ Stories

You need to take a few steps so that your attempts to make a compelling and engaging story don’t backfire. Let’s go through this process together to ensure your stories are as effective as possible.

Identify Those Who Had a Problem You Fixed and May Be Willing to Share their Story

This is the incredibly critical first step—you need to find a client you helped and is comfortable sharing a bit of their story. This can be more challenging than you might expect.

After all, would you want your business’ failings publicized, even after the fact and after you had done the work to resolve them? Of course not… and you need to be aware of and sensitive to the fact that your clients will feel the same. So, you must do everything possible to make your clients feel comfortable with what they share. Don’t be afraid to confirm whether they’re comfortable sharing specific details and guide them with the questions you ask to give structure to their experience working with you.

Make the Story About Your Client

While the story you’re telling may be more designed to highlight your business’ capabilities, that doesn’t mean that it’s all about you. Your client is the story's hero—your business is the Old Ben to the client’s Luke. However, you should share how your client’s journey took them to you and what you did for them, highlighting the specifics that brought them the value they needed. What obstacles did the client experience that you helped them overcome?

The beginning of the story is where the client’s struggles are made apparent, while the middle is where they come into contact with the assistance of your team. The end is where the client finally sees the benefits, with these benefits being shared.

Make Your Story Available

It’s vital that your audience can find these accounts. Ensure these are shared on your website, across social media, and referenced in your other pieces of content to accomplish as much spread as possible. These efforts help direct others to the value you can provide, starting the process over as you deliver these results to more and more businesses.

We Can Help You Accomplish This

Reach out to us to learn more about our case studies, testimonials, and other client account services! Give us a call at 888-546-4384 today!