Enterprise Storytelling Across the Buyer’s Journey
Turn prospects into customers with StoryOne: Storytelling in marketing
Every technology purchasing decision starts with a prospect taking the first step along a journey — one that will help them identify their challenge, consider solutions, make a decision and reflect positively on the outcome. This buyer’s journey is a story in itself, from the moment the prospect identifies a need to the satisfaction that they have met that need with the best solution. And each stage of the buyer’s journey represents an opportunity for you to tell the right story to the right person at the right time.
With StoryOne, our multi-step storytelling process, we help enterprise technology companies connect with prospects, cultivate leads, drive engagement and encourage action. And by putting the power of enterprise storytelling to work, your brand can deliver valuable content that moves your buyer forward at each stage.
Download our infographic to see how our StoryOne storytelling process can help you create targeted content for each stage of the buyer’s journey.
Stages of the Buyer’s Journey
How to use our StoryOne storytelling process across the buyer’s journey:
1. The Awareness Stage
When potential customers become aware of a challenge or need answers to their questions, they begin looking for information to help them find a solution. They might not have put a name to their problem yet — and they might not know your company. This means you have the opportunity to connect on an emotional level with prospects by helping them articulate their need while positioning your brand as a valuable resource.
Think of the awareness stage as your story’s introduction. It’s when buyers first discover and interact with your brand, so your story needs to capture the audience’s interest right away — and keep them coming back for more. Through StoryOne, you can:
- Tell them tell your story in a video
- Send them helpful content in emails
- Connect with them on social media
- Illustrate a solution to their challenges in infographics
2. The Consideration Stage
Once potential customers have defined their problem, they begin considering potential solutions. Although they may be aware that your brand offers a solution, they’re still evaluating the competition, comparing prices and determining which company is the best fit for their specific needs and situation. By presenting helpful and unbiased content that guides your audience through their options, you differentiate your brand from your competitors.
The consideration stage becomes the rising action of your story. It’s when buyers build interest in your offerings and begin to think of your brand as a thought leader. By delivering a story that builds your brand credibility and relates to your audience’s specific challenges, you become their go-to resource. Using StoryOne, you:
- Help your audience further understand their options in e-books
- Showcase your brand thought leadership in white papers
- Provide expert guidance online through web content
3. The Decision Stage
Now your potential customers are ready to decide which company’s product or service will meet their needs. They’ve done their research, they’ve investigated their options and they’re ready to take action. Your content now should offer targeted value and allow your audience to envision their problem being solved — relieving stress and leading to positive outcomes.
The climax of your story is when your audience makes their final decision. It’s when buyers realize that your product or service is the solution they’ve been looking for. By crafting a compelling story that speaks directly to your audience and addresses their pain points, you can guide them toward this critical moment and help them see the value in what you have to offer. Our StoryOne process enables you to create urgency around decision-making, helping your audience:
- See themselves suceeding through case studies
- Gain in-depth product information in data sheets, demos and use cases
- Understand the value of your offering in comparison guides
4. The Nurture Stage
The final act in your story begins once your audience becomes a customer: You need content that shows you care about them beyond that initial sale. A happy customer is not only more likely to recommend your brand to others, but they’re also more likely to be a repeat customer — and perhaps even spread the word about your brand.
Just like the conclusion to any story, the nurture stage is your chance to leave a lasting impression. Your final act should empower customers with the information they need for success while also ensuring that they feel valued and appreciated. Through the power of your storytelling, your customers can become your biggest advocates. With StoryOne, you continue your story beyond the sale by creating:
- Training documents to empower customer success
- Promotions to encourage additional engagement
- Peer-to-peer networking events to make advocating for your brand easy
Content across each stage of the buyer’s journey
Oracle and Accenture transform utilities for a sustainable future
Oracle and Accenture approached us to develop a campaign of assets across the stages of the buyer’s journey for one of their most important industries — utilities. They tapped our storytelling team to communicate the value of their offerings in a variety of assets, including videos, landing pages, blogs, collateral, interactive demos and social tiles. We mapped this campaign across key touchpoints to allow the partnership to stand out with utility decision makers.
See how they enticed tech buyers across distinct stages by following our StoryOne process:
Awareness: Watch the video
Consideration: Check out the landing page
Decision: Read the solution brief
FIS educates buyers about the power of digital payments
FIS sought our expertise to help develop an overarching messaging strategy that would build awareness of its prepaid business platform. The campaign storyline we developed highlighted the value of instant payments through multiple assets across each stage of the buyer’s journey, focusing on the buyer’s needs rather than on products or services.
See how FIS wove the messaging to guide buyers with the help of our StoryOne process:
Awareness: Scan the infographic
Consideration: Read the thought leadership article
Decision: Dive deeper in the white paper
Did you know: Storytelling has been found to boost conversions by 30% when it is used to answer customers’ questions about a product, business or service.[1]
[1] Toby Nwazor, “How to use the art of storytelling to boost content marketing results,” Search Engine Watch, December 20, 2019.
Create engaging stories at every stage of the buyer’s journey
As an enterprise storyteller, you can tailor your narrative to your audience — no matter where they are in their journey. That’s the happy ending to our story: When you create a clear content path and map your content to each stage of the buyer’s journey, you attract and retain customers.
Download our infographic and take your first step to implementing StoryOne across the buyer’s journey.
Get started: Connect with us to learn how to bring enterprise storytelling to your content — and connect more effectively with your customers.