What are the 2 things every case study and business story should have no matter if you share them on your website, in sales calls or within presentations?
A great case study and business story is a living asset that everyone can use to learn, teach and/or build relationships. And especially when it comes to business stories, it may surprise you what these wisdom-packed, brand-building content marketing tools should always include.
It's not facts and figures... and it's not testimonials (although testimonials can be good if used well)! To do their job well, include both emotion and suspense in order to feed the inquisitive nature of readers/listeners.
Why Emotion and Suspense?
Even corporate clients make decisions based on emotions (there - I said it out loud). Emotions may influence decisions only a little... but they do influence. For example, want, fear and pride are three strong emotions that can influence behavior; let me show you what I mean. Lets say you have a corporate client/prospect. Do they want to grow - to gain more market share? Do they fear the possible missed opportunities if they do not purchase XYZ? Are they proud of their (personal or corporate), reputation as an innovative leader?
A client's emotional and business response to a story can be an important part of your success... and you don't even have to be present. For example, after reading some of your case studies and business stories a prospect can actually short-list you as a provider before you ever meet.
Suspense is important because suspense keeps your audience entertained and therefore interested. People like things like crisis, conflict and tension... and they long for resolution/balance. If you can create suspense around a crisis, your audience will stay hooked to find out how it was resolved.
One way to create suspense is to encourage your audience to work a bit. If the answer is going to be C, then give them A and then B... and then provide them a moment to get to C on their own.
Any resolution that they come up with on their own can provide valuable information to you in a sales or training environment.
Conclusion
There is always going to be more than one way to tell a story. When I develop case studies or business stories, I believe my role as a storyteller is to get the audience excited and keep them interested.
Do you have a library of case studies and business stories yet?
Click here if you have any questions and would like to connect with me.