Why Customer Stories Are More Valuable Than Marketing Alone
Why Customer Stories Are More Valuable Than Marketing Alone. Let me ask you a question that may seem silly at first glance: do you know why your customers are important? Go beyond the obvious answer.
Of course your company wouldn’t survive without customers buying your products or services. But your customers are more than just transactions; they are the best megaphone you have to get your message into the market.
Why Customers Are Really Important
Most companies rely heavily on traditional marketing to demonstrate their value to potential customers. There is nothing wrong with saying, “Our company has a wonderful product that helps people achieve these outcomes,” but it is far more powerful and effective when your customers communicate this message for you in their own words and validate your company.
It’s impossible to overstate the influence of peer-to-peer stories. When your customers show how they’re using your solutions to improve their businesses in the real world, others see themselves reflected in these examples. Peer-to-peer sharing is so powerful that it can even transcend competition. Customers in the same industry – healthcare or retail, for example – will share similar challenges and be interested in the solutions their competitors are using to address them.
Many audiences are also becoming immune to traditional marketing. For instance, developers form one of our company’s target audiences, and they simply don’t respond to traditional marketing tactics. They value peer-to-peer reviews more than anything else, so it’s important for us to create word-of-mouth outlets that fit their specific buyer journey.
Transforming Customer References Into Customer Advocates
What we used to refer to as a customer reference program is evolving into a customer advocacy program. Companies have traditionally captured customer references in a cookie-cutter case study format, outlining the problem they were facing, the solution they deployed and the ultimate outcome. The process goes like this: a customer agrees to be a reference, your company asks them a standard set of questions and then produces a three-page case study.
Customer advocacy breaks the case study mold and explores different narrative approaches, such as videos, multimedia, infographics, in-person meetups and social media. Every customer has a story to share, and it’s up to you to find the right way to tell it.
