A long story short

1 An intro to narrative design A long story short… Exploring the fundamentals of compelling product storytelling

02 An intro to narrative design Contents 4 Chapter One: Why do brands tell stories? 6 Chapter Two: How to optimize your storytelling 9 Chapter Three: Empowering advocate storytellers 16 Chapter Four: The recipe for storytelling (and success!) 24 Chapter Five: How to instil authenticity - and why it’s key [podcast] 32 Chapter Six: 10 tips to improve your storytelling strategy Effective communication is a valuable commodity for any product marketer. But how can product marketers convey their messages to their audience well, whilst striking the right balance between fact and narrative? The answer: well-executed product storytelling. Storytelling is one of the most important parts of product marketing, and is a great way of introducing your product or service to your target audience. As a product marketer, you need to re昀椀ne your storytelling to ensure you can build strong relationships with your audience, and convert them from prospects to customer advocates. This eBook will deliver transferable takeaways that’ll help you and your team tell compelling stories that’ll communicate your value proposition clearly, and resonate with your audience.

03 An intro to narrative design Chapter one Why do brands tell stories? 1. Stories are easy to 2. Stories simplify complex remember concepts People are more likely to remember something Some products are more complicated than others, they’re emotionally invested but even when they’re not, they can be tricky to in - and you want people to remember you. articulate succinctly, without jargon, and in a Take these two examples: way that resonates with end-users. But stories 1. Our email automation tool generates real-time eradicate each. reports. They make the message more accessible and 2. With real-time reports, you can quickly uncover present people with the facts that matter: how it and act on emerging trends. bene昀椀ts them. The latter’s instantly more impactful because there’s something in it for the user, and that’s likely 4. Stories inspire action to stick. You know how great your product is, how simple it is to use, and how much easier it’s going to make 3. Stories unite your audience your market’s day-to-day because you live and Whatever a person’s religion, race, language, breathe it for a job, but they don’t. Until they’ve witnessed the bene昀椀ts 昀椀rst-hand they’ll never truly location, age, or wealth, stories speak to everyone. understand its impact and storytelling is the next Your market has shared pain points and aligned best alternative. end goals, and a solid story makes every prospect So, by showing people what the future could look feel that emotion and understand what’s in it like, you’ll entice them into taking that all-important for them. 昀椀rst step. Remember, storytelling isn’t about your company or product, it’s about your customer and what they get out of choosing you.

04 An intro to narrative design Chapter two How to optimize your storytelling There’s no doubting the impact storytelling can have at Stay authentic and set yourself apart from your company - but how can you create storytelling that the competition truly resonates with your target market? How can you “I think that the most important thing about creating spin a narrative that’s impossible to ignore? How can you authentic storytelling is to get into their shoes and just be become a true master of the craft and re昀椀ne open about it. If we’re tiptoeing around things, this makes the process? it more complicated and diluted. Magda Saralegui, former Senior Product Marketing Manager at ASICS, shared her insights on how product “The customer is smart and they’ll 昀椀nd out what copied marketers can make the best use of storytelling at aspects have nothing to do with the company. The most their organization. important thing is to be transparent and honest. It’s true that we’ve created a lot of products that even had the Use focus groups to optimize the storytelling process same name. But we also must create differentiation with “With the focus group, people get super creative because creating products and in the storytelling itself. they don’t really know if something’s possible, impossible, “There’s one great example that comes to my mind with or if it’s too expensive. two pieces of context. One is that it was in the middle of “You get a lot of information and when you’re creating 2020 and everyone had to work out inside of their house and bringing in a story, the information you get from a with the kids and the dog around, and there were all focus group is a bit of a mix but it adds into the research those uncomfortable aspects. that you do in trends and also gives insight into “The second is that tights are the biggest seller for the consumer. women, especially in sportswear. “When you’re in the middle of the focus group, it’s “So this UK brand started to focus on seamless tights. good that they bloom, get super creative, and bring up They came up with this great product story, which was so insightful ideas. Most of the time, they don’t really know honest, so direct, and the language was very relatable what they’re talking about, but as a product manager for women. you pull it all together and create really good ideas.” “The 昀椀rst time I saw it was on Instagram. So it was like a 15-second video that was so bright and clean that you just fell in love with it. I wanted to buy it and try it on because it looks amazing.”

05 An intro to narrative design Ensure brand identity and voice is present Try to avoid stereotypes “Heritage is important when telling your story. I think “You have to be careful not to stereotype. However, in sometimes we forget that the product story has to be saying that, it’s strange because what we’re doing is completely related to the brand story. stereotyping. We’re building a demographic but then we “For example, the language at Puma is completely can’t get to know people individually, so we have to base different from ASICS. Heritage also makes a difference: our research on these demographic stereotypes. one is from Germany, and the other is from Japan, so “There’s a quote I really like: ‘’the mistake is when you they’re separate in that way, too. mistake one story for every story”. For example, when you “I think that’s the exciting part of our job, we have different ask one person from a focus group and think “ah, what teams, and different points of view- so the vision is never she said is what all people believe”. exactly the same.” “There’s a very dif昀椀cult balance to play in a story. But, Simplify your story to make it memorable I think that’s the difference between people thinking they’re being patronized or thinking “oh my God, that’s “What’s the true reason for storytelling? Nobody really me”. That’s basically the science or the creativity of remembers numbers. If I ask you right now to tell me a product storytelling.” great story, I’m sure something will pop up instantly. Tell a visual story “The key is that the story has to be great. It has to be easy “The simplest way to tell a story is visually telling the story to understand and completely relatable. itself and then putting a pop color next to a part of the “If I do something too complicated and nobody technology. Try to get to the point where the person can understands it, then how can you expect a sales team to wear it and feel as though they know the story just by remember? Or how do you expect someone in a store to ‘wearing’ it. Products de昀椀nitely do that. remember it? “For example, Apple is famous for not needing to read the “When you’re looking at things, and they’re telling you manual. You can just pick it up, learn it and understand. stuff about them, and there’s a constant stream of The dream is “I don’t need someone to tell me, you can information, it feels too dif昀椀cult to process. just show me” but that’s a little bit more dif昀椀cult.” “Product creation is constantly thinking about this. So there’s a lot of information and a lot of stories, but we must 昀椀nd a story that’s smaller because sometimes it’s just a small little thing that actually clicks in your brain.”

06 An intro to narrative design Chapter three Empowering advocate storytellers Harnessing the power of customer advocates as There might be a mismatch between the story you have storytellers is a strategy that’s authentic and builds trust in mind, and the story your customer wants to tell, and amongst existing customers as well as prospects. while you may be able to charm a customer into telling It might be time to rethink the traditional testimonial it, it probably won’t come across well – it might look too format. However - seeing ‘great customer service and staged, forced, or simply not authentic. good prices’ is all well and good, but to really make an Instead, mine for themes or topics they’re already impression, there needs to be something else - chances talking about. Take the pulse in your existing advocates are, your closest competitor will have identical-sounding or community if you have one – what’re people talking comments that don’t differentiate you from about? Have they done any surveys recently? Topics or similar brands. questions can also be tested on message boards, Slack, While your content team might be skilled at crafting or socials – see which ideas get the most traction and stories, your customers may not be, and here’s where run with those. having some kind of framework can be helpful to ease Another layer of scaffolding to add to your advocate them into the process. storyteller framework could be a how-to guide. Make sure The key message here is about giving people options there’re plenty of examples across the various content that sit with their comfort level – most people would be types – written and video – to inspire con昀椀dence. A happier leaving a review online, fewer would be happier tutorial video could cover all of these points really well. volunteering a photo of themselves, and the smallest Empowering customers and injecting their voice into fragment of customers will be those positive about the storytelling process in new ways will do great things being in front of a camera. Providing different ways to for the value of the customer marketing function – and, contribute casts your net wider. to go back to the real purpose of it – reinforce active, Next, it’s important to give options when it comes to the successful, delighted users. It’ll do wonders for social type of content they might be involved with. proof, and boost engagement and retention. The great thing about stories is that if they are told well, they spread Establish whether your customers and advocates like wild昀椀re - and your advocates take center stage. would prefer: • To give advice and opinions • Written testimonials / reviews, video testimonials • A video on a subject of their expertise/choice • An industry expert piece, or contribution to a report

07 An intro to narrative design Chapter four The recipe for storytelling (and success!) A good story has a compelling start to hook your interest, the right amount of suspense in the middle to keep you going, and an end you’ll remember forever. Stories have been told for centuries, yet it’s an art to master the skills of good storytelling and to lead the process with impactful and truthful conversations. We like brevity and getting to the point, but that shouldn’t stop a good story from taking its time to reach its full potential. What’s your favorite story? Which story with a well-told premise did you connect with and continue to read or watch? Let’s look into a good story framework and map it to the buyer’s journey: Discover Learn Try Buy Advocate Every prospect is going through a phase of the buyer journey, they’ve done their due diligence before reaching out to sales. It’s not a linear process, but every customer is on their journey and has a different way to connect with you. Let’s tell a compelling story to bring them into our universe, and we can walk the transformation journey together.

08 An intro to narrative design Make it worth the time to care (discover/learn) It’s always important to have an understanding of what When we narrate our story to customers and users, we the platform or technology will not do, just as much as all need to be mindful of our customers’ time and effort. the cool things it will do. We need to introduce new users to the company and Would you trust a transparent company, knows its core technology, and also 昀椀nd out why they signed up in the strengths and weaknesses, and is self-aware? 昀椀rst place. Or one that shows only the best capabilities and how Get them excited about their discovery and tell great they are? them why they need to explore the solution and have In the “try” and “buy” phases, help your customers see the a conversation. real world of possibilities with the platform and help them • What experiences do you resonate with? achieve their vision. • How do you craft stories to connect with your target Find your true storyteller (advocate) audience in each phase of the buyer journey or It’s easy for us to maintain our status quo and 昀椀nd customer 昀氀ywheel (awareness, consideration, supporting data for our actions with our own con昀椀rmation decision, adoption, and growth)? bias. Our customers are our best advocates, and we need In the discover and learn phase, understand your to help them tell their stories at user groups, events, and customer’s pain points and speak their language. Help customer programs to give them a voice. them understand that you care and are here to help. Make them the heroes – not your product or your Gain trust and credibility (try/buy) company. Customers appreciate it if you’re honest and if you’re looking out for them. Look beyond the revenue – When we think of competitive intelligence, many may it’ll go a long way, it’s true customer lifetime value. think of Harvey Ball matrices that show the company’s Think about your own experiences: when you write a core strengths. review, do you immediately think about your negative Are we true to ourselves and our customers on what experiences or the positive ones? matters? Customers and partners often know more than One negative review will be on a review site, but the we think. positive reviews are often word of mouth, talking about More often than not, customers value a trusted advisor how great the product, company, and team were to work versus a vendor trying to sell the product (which can lead with. In the advocate phase, provide opportunities for to churn when the promise that got the sale isn’t ful昀椀lled). customers and partners to share their stories everywhere. How often does your product team ask the question, Before you embark on your next buyer journey mapping, “Why did we make this unreasonable promise?” Sell take a minute and ask yourself: Are we trying to justify what’s available today, and be transparent on what is on and prove we are the best? Or are we being true the roadmap and what doesn’t or will not exist. to ourselves?

09 An intro to narrative design Chapter 昀椀ve How to instill authenticity - and why it’s key [podcast] Authenticity is a key component of product storytelling. If your consumer doesn’t believe that your brand is genuine about its products/services, then they won’t buy into your values – or buy your product. Therefore, authenticity is a key component in the formation of a cohesive brand strategy. In the Storyselling Podcast, host Elliott Rayner, CMO at ARION, welcomed Rachel Howard, Vice President/Brand Director at Adidas Russia, to discuss the focus on the story itself, and speci昀椀cally how to create a product story that resonates with authenticity. Press Play

010 An intro to narrative design Chapter six 10 tips to improve your storytelling strategy Understand ‘why’ storytelling is important – but unsure how to execute a perfect strategy? Here’re 10 tips to help make a good story great: 1. Know your audience If you don’t get the fundamentals right you’re setting yourself up for a fall. So, if you haven’t already, run some research to: • Solidify your target market, • De昀椀ne your buyer personas, • Understand their pain points, and • Discover how and where they’ll be. With this in tow, you’ll have the intel you need to accurately shape all future stages of your story. We can’t emphasize enough how important this step is so don’t be tempted to rush the process. Without the right information on your market, you’re essentially putting your 昀椀nger in the air and seeing what sticks, and that isn’t the sort of approach that secures sales. 2. Set your objective Different products have different objectives. If you’re selling hair accessories online it might be an immediate sale. If you’re a counselor it might be to inquire. If you’re a car dealer it might be to browse your stock. On top of that, some objectives might require more than one story level too. For example, someone buying a hair clip from a large chain is probably less interested in the person behind the company than someone seeking a counselor. With the latter, you need to demonstrate what’s in it for the customer (i.e. less stress, better quality of life, reduced anxiety) while simultaneously showing the person/people behind the sale (i.e. what characteristics do they have that their patients want and need).

011 An intro to narrative design 3. Speak to your audience one-on-one If you somehow managed to skirt around it during the research phase, set some time aside to speak to your customers – whether that be over the phone, in person, or during a focus group. • To get the answers you need, ask questions like: • How does our product help you? • Can you imagine going back to a life without our product? • What was the biggest turning point in trying out our product? • What could someone have said to you to make you realize you needed our product sooner? • How did you 昀椀nd out about us? • Is that typical of how you normally research products in this 昀椀eld? • What did your journey with us look like? Did you buy straight away? Watch a video 昀椀rst? Did you download a few guides? • If you had to sum up our product in three words, what would they be? As well as helping you understand key bene昀椀ts and how and where to spread your story, with these kinds of questions, you could even 昀椀nd yourself with buzzwords to infuse into your messaging. 4. Know why people buy your product Stories require context and if you want it to have an effect, contextrequires accuracy. Let’s say you’re a TV package provider and one of your main features is that you have more channels than any of your competitors. So, you use this as your hook. “More channels at your 昀椀ngertips than any other provider.” But, your market doesn’t primarily care about that. They want something cheap. All the channels in the world wouldn’t relate to their buying behavior and all your angle would do is alienate them from the outset - which is the exact opposite of connecting. Instead, with the right info under your belt, you might go in with something like “Like John, you too could save £110 a year on your TV package - without compromising on your channels.” Relying on assumption is a route to failure - don’t lose sight of the importance of research.

012 An intro to narrative design 5. Have a clear start, middle, and end It’s not rocket science, but with so many other elements to worry about it’s a practice that’s easily forgotten. Stories have three core components: 1. The start: what life’s like right now without your product by their side. 2. The middle: light at the end of the tunnel; a solution that solves their problems. 3. The end: a better life without the problem they faced at the start. Your story needs to take your audience through this journey to help them truly understand the bene昀椀t. They need to see the stark contrast between where they are today and where they could be tomorrow. Tip: to drive action, make the ending as inspirational as can be, without making outlandish promises. 6. Speak like a human People can sniff out a disingenuous story from a mile away so make sure yours is 100% authentic - and that means speaking like a human to a human. If you’ve not got the luxury of a copywriter to help you with this bit here are a few nuggets to keep in mind: • Write as you talk. Read what you’ve written aloud and if doesn’t sound like something you’d say in a conversation, tweak it until it does. • Contractions are friendly. ‘You’re’ sounds more approachable than ‘you are’, ‘it’s’ is more natural than ‘it is’, ‘they’ve’ is more suitable than ‘they have’, etc. • Grammar rules can be broken. And sometimes your writing sounds better for it.

013 An intro to narrative design 7. Scrap feature lists (or place them lower down) Lists or matrices are a nifty way to outline key features, but the reality is that prospects care more about why they need to pick your product than its features. Instead of putting the onus on other people to work out where your value lies, tell them yourself. This’ll help you differentiate yourself from other products on the market and convert more customers. 8. Keep your story consistent Consistency is key and repetition makes you memorable. By this, we mean keep your core message the same whether it’s being used in a paid social ad, blog post, webinar, or event. If you start mixing it up it’ll get diluted, lose its impact, and fail its objective. 9. Never stop learning This might sound contradictory to point eight - but bear with us. Just because something’s working, doesn’t mean it can’t be improved. Therefore, see your story as a continual work in progress… and if it’s not working at all, don’t be afraid to shake things up. Here’re a few tips to help with this one: • To see which parts of your story are successful (and which aren’t), speak to the people that matter. Ask for their feedback and if you spot any trends, weave them into your next version. • If you’re making any re昀椀nements consider rolling them out as an A/B test 昀椀rst. That way, you can measure which version works best before potentially pushing a less effective story out. • When you’re tweaking and testing, remember to experiment with different aspects, like the words and images you use, the channels you share them on, and the type of asset (i.e. video, audio, blog, etc.). • Always keep in mind that although your product might not have changed, people’s preferences, behaviors, and attitudes might’ve, and this could have a knock-on effect.

014 An intro to narrative design 10. Put yourself on their level We mentioned authenticity a little earlier and this one’s closely linked to it. To position yourself as being 100% genuine, you need to show you understand their pain points, their goals, and their barriers - and that means being on their level. Tip: if you want to put yourself in your prospect’s shoes, speak to them. Getting the information from the horse’s mouth is by far the best way to relate to their situation. Achieving this requires a careful blend of the right message and the right language because remember, it’s not always what you say, but how you say it. For example, let’s say you’re a social media management consultancy and you know the reason clients come to you is that they don’t have the expertise to do it themselves, but they also don’t have the budget to hire a full-time employee. This is your message: Don’t know what you’re doing? Don’t worry, we’ll do it for you. The intent’s there, but it just sounds patronizing and not on their level. You’re almost talking down to them. This, on the other hand, sends the same message but with more tact, understanding, and sincerity: No one can do everything, but everyone can do something. Let us help. The moral of the story? Choose your words carefully and make sure your audience interprets them the way you intend.

15 An intro to narrative design Getting Storytelling Certi昀椀ed and understand the science behind telling a story that sells. Once upon a time, the product marketer spent the rest of the day alongside Elliott, taking the Storytelling Certi昀椀ed: Masters course, learning all about the importance of those three words - perspective, passion, purpose - fundamental factors in any winning product story. The PMM discovered the essentials of the topic, including what is brand storytelling, why a brand story is important, and how to tell your brand story effectively. But, they also learned intricate details about the strategy, including the best brand story examples to truly understand what works and what doesn’t when developing a brand or product story. Eventually, the PMM became a master of the storytelling craft themselves, transforming their product marketing efforts with ease, creating their very own storyboarding, and communicating with new and existing customers like never before. Wanna 昀椀nd your product’s happy ending, too? Turn over a new leaf and start a new chapter by registering for our in-demand Storytelling Certi昀椀ed course. Get Storytelling Cert昀椀ed

16 An intro to narrative design