Cisco and Co had an interesting article via Twitter about “increasing referral opportunities” so I wanted to share their insight on storytelling…
Author: Patty Cisco, Creative Catalyst, July 28, 2010
Have you ever heard of the old adage, “There’s publicity you pay for, and there’s publicity you pray for (free stuff).”? Attempting to garner free press is a daunting challenge. In fact, when I conduct marketing assessments for senior care providers, I rarely see storytelling being used in either print or verbal communication.
To demonstrate the effectiveness of storytelling, read this story from the book, Ordinary Greatness, by Pamela Bilbrey and Brian Jones:
“While working with an urgent care center in the western United State, we heard that the administration had encouraged staff to do “whatever it takes” to please the customer. This was put to the test one night when a man with chest pains drove himself to the center. He was ultimately rushed to the hospital. There was one catch: When he had checked in, his beloved dog was in the car, and he was very concerned about the dog. The care center staff remembered the “whatever it takes” mantra, and they kenneled the dog at the center’s expense until the dog‘s owner was safely out of the hospital and home. The administration was thrilled, as was the customer. For a few hundred dollars, the center now had a happy customer who was out in the community saying great things about the center, including writing a positive letter to the editor of the local newspaper.”
I know I was drooling after reading the extraordinary service that was delivered, and was also reminded of how impactful storytelling can be. The key is that when other people hear how great your services are from someone other than you, they are more likely to select your service…the basis for word of mouth referrals.
Storytelling Generates Referrals
Storytelling is an easy-to-use marketing tool that is available to all senior care marketers. So why is storytelling such a vital marketing tool to generate referrals?
–Stories give us context, and context helps everyone understand.
–Stories wield special power because they can be translated quickly into something visual. When we hear a story, we see it too, and the visual image becomes something that sticks in our memories long after the words have fled.
–Stories inspire and motivate people to action.
–Stories serve as a form of communication for people to share information.
–People remember stories longer and with greater recall than they do facts and figures.
The Tricks of Storytelling
Why is it that senior care marketers try to sell their services, rather than telling their stories? Why do they spend so much time saying how good they are, and so little time telling their stories?
Storytelling is powerful whether it’s used for publicity purposes, in your presentations, or as one of your sales techniques. Just think of one your favorite childhood stories, like Bambi for example. Immediately you can visualize Bambi in the woods. You can hear his mother talking to him. Your heart races a little faster because you remember the danger Bambi faced. That’s exactly what your storytelling should do.
Remember when using storytelling to:
–Have a “lead” question that immediately pulls the listener into the story. This is your first sentence and must make your listeners eager to hear your second sentence.
–Once you open with a strong lead, then provide some details that keep the listener interested. Then given them something to again capture their interest, like the phrase, “But wait, there’s more!!”, or “But the best part of the story is what happened next…”
–Have a hero in your story. (Make it personal if you can)
–Have a challenge in your story. (Find their pain point)
–Tell how the hero handled the challenge and learned something from it. (As a result of the service, they are better because…)
The next time you go on a sales call, or start to write a press release or engage in social media conversation, just ask yourself if the information you are about to share answers the questions, “How can you help me?”, “Have you done that already, for someone like me?”, and then share your story.
This article can be found on Cisco & Co’s website http://ciscoco.com/.
