FACTS TELL, STORIES SELL
DISCOVER STORY SELLING CASE STUDIES & TESTIMONIALS
Challenges That You're Faced With in 2021
B2B Marketing in 2021 means that you have to contend with:
# 1: Increased competition making communicating your value harder by the day.
# 2: Customers working differently, which means marketing strategies need to be adapted to remain effective.
# 3: Getting group buy-in has never been more challenging or important because according to the latest research only 4% of purchases are made by a single buyer*.
*2021 B2B Buying Disconnect - Trust Radius
Why Are Marketing Assets More Important Now?
The average buyer uses 6.9 information sources to make a purchase decision, a 35% increase from last year*.
33% of buyers spent more time researching products in 2020 than they did before the pandemic*.
This increase in research means an increased demand for content.
If your competitors do a better job of producing marketing assets which make a strong and compelling case in their favour, this shift will tip heavily in their favour.
*2021 B2B Buying Disconnect - Trust Radius
What Is The Most Effective Type of Marketing Asset?
The latest post-pandemic research tells us that case studies are the #1 vendor provided resource which B2B buyers rely on.
They’re used 34% more than webinars and 47% more than white papers and ebooks.
Businesses which fail to provide current, detailed and useful case studies are viewed negatively by buyers and it passes easy wins to competitors who do.
*2021 B2B Buying Disconnect - Trust Radius
'Invisible Influencers', Threat or Opportunity?
57% of people with influence in a purchase decision never make direct contact with a vendor's sales team.*
Because these influencers are invisible to your sales team, this is why marketing is the only hope to win them over.
If you have a strategy to place effective sharable assets in front of those invisible influencers, getting them on-side and voting in your favour will give you a significant winning advantage.
*2021 B2B Buying Disconnect - Trust Radius
How Can You Market To All People With Influence?
According to BUYERS themselves...
THE MOST EFFECTIVE marketing asset that drives them towards a purchase decision are TRUE case studies*.
A TRUE case study is one where the customer shares the FULL story leading to ownership.
It's an honest review of their experience, what challenges they faced, what they learned along the way, and how life is now different as a result.
*2020 B2B Buying Disconnect - Trust Radius
Why Are Stories So Powerful?
Did you know that marketing claims are prime triggers for what is known as 'Push-Back?'
'Push back' is resistance to unsupported facts or anything which differs from what we currently believe or know to be true.
Stories however bypass a person's push-back filter which means that content is accepted entirely unchallenged.
Why Story Selling?
(you'll love this)
Because stories bypass our push-back filter, whatever is said in a story is accepted WITHOUT challenge by the audience.
So this is why... stories are PERFECT, absolutely perfect!... for communicating why YOU are able to help customers better than anyone else can.
Now, this principle has to be used ethically.
But stop for a moment and consider just how powerful a concept that is!
The ultimate application of this principle is with STORY SELLING.
Story Selling is when you use the art of telling stories to persuade or sell.
The best application of this is to tell stories which incorporate your key features, benefits and sales talking point.
The Most Successful Movie Formula of All Time
Formulas are the key to repeatable success, and this very much applies to stories.
Did you know that there are only 7 different movie formulas?
It's true... EVERY MOVIE you’ve ever seen comes from one of ONLY 7 different formulas.
Furthermore, the Hollywood movie industry has found that one formula is more successful than any other.
The most successful formula of all time is called…
‘Overcoming The Monster’.
In short, the hero sets out to overcome a threat, encounters a series of challenges, and has a make or break moment, before rising victorious against all odds!
Star Wars, Transformers, James Bond and highest grossing movie of all time, Avatar all use this formula.
So hold onto that thought, because if it works so well for Hollywood we could be onto something...
What If We Made Your Customer The Hero?
Your prospects don't really want to hear what YOU have to say about your offering (disappointing, but true).
But they would LOVE to hear a story about how someone like them...
Remember... the most successful movie formula of all time is when the hero goes on the perilous journey and overcomes the threat.
So if you can tell your business stories in a structure similar to that, the $136 billion dollar movie industry says that you'll have a winner on your hands.
The Most Powerful B2B Case Studies Possible
To create THE MOST POWERFUL B2B case studies possible, we adapted the most successful movie formula of all time... 'Overcoming The Monster'
This adapted formula skilfully hooks viewers in within the first few seconds and takes them on an emotional journey of discovery.
Ultimately, it allows us to tell a story that perfectly leads your target customers to see you as their ideal choice as partner or vendor.
Can You See The Power In That?
If you embrace Story Selling Case Studies great things will happen...
Think about it... you'll be able to deliver highly valuable original content campaigns which can be laser targeted to specific customer needs.
Your competitors won't have anything like this, yet your content will be welcomed with open arms because of the help it will give prospective customers in their quest to make educated and informed decisions.
Better yet, by making your customers the hero and letting them do the selling for you... it will be infinitely more effective as a result.
Don't Forget Testimonials
David Meade is one of the most brilliant public speakers in B2B, and as an expert in psychology and influence he’s a huge advocate for the power of testimonials.
As he aptly puts it…
“Testimonials are like cat-nip for B2B buyers.”
Unfortunately, most testimonials are little more than an advert for the person speaking and only give a top-level account of their experience.
They’re not specific on any benefits you’d likely receive.
The SECRET to a great testimonial is to reverse engineer your key features and benefits into questions so that the customer can talk about them in their own words.
And finally, by structuring each one as a story, you can then leverage the full power of testimonials.
INTRODUCING...
Worldwide Video Case Study Service
(Using Local Film Crews Through Our Global Partner Network)
I present the UK's #1 B2B Marketing Podcast, The 414.
These Story Selling Case Studies are a direct result of having spent the past two years interviewing some of the greatest and most interesting minds in B2B marketing.
Through speaking with everyone, the thing which stood out the most was the problem of marketing to all stakeholders in a purchase decision.
It really is a huge challenge and my research which followed led me to appreciate the extent of the problem in full.
Another key part of what I learned was in discovering the power of story!
You've no doubt heard the buzz around storytelling in B2B.
Well, I have to admit this fascinated me, so much so that I immersed myself for a full year learning about the art.
And it was the process of digging deep into it that lead me to discover the most exciting element... Story Selling.
Insights & Wisdom From The Greatest Minds In B2B
The UK's #1 B2B Marketing Podcast
The main reason why case studies are so underused is simply because of the sheer amount of hassle that it normally takes to produce them.
Then, of course, you have the challenge of getting customers to be featured. After all, you are asking them for a favour.
To address ALL of those problems I developed Story Hero.
It's a COMPLETELY done-for-you video case study production service.
The only thing you need to do is take part in a 45-minute pre-production call, and absolutely everything else is completely taken care of.
Don't believe me? Nice... I love a healthy spot of skepticism!
Story Hero is the most comprehensive case study production service you'll ever find, scroll down to see everything that's included...
WE WILL produce a case study and testimonial so powerful and compelling, that if it doesn’t make you want to...
BUY YOUR OWN PRODUCT - we’ll refund your money in full.
(Yes, it sounds a bit crazy but when was the last time you came across anyone who had that much confidence in their product?!)
Seriously though... this won't be just any old marketing video.
If you think from your customer's perspective when you watch it for the first time, you'll be motivated to buy your own product!
If it doesn't... we'll give you your money back, and you get that in writing too. That's how serious we are about producing the most powerful B2B marketing asset you've ever had.
Our unique story selling framework is specifically designed to educate and excite customers about how your product or service is the PERFECT fit for their needs, and why NO ONE else can help them better than you can.
Educated, excited, and happy to have found you - they will be the perfect type of customer.
Our process and technique will do this EVERY TIME, WITHOUT FAIL, which is why you get a FULL money-back guarantee in writing.
If you would like to see about tailoring a case study package, click the button below to arrange a consultation call.
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