How to Use CRM for Storytelling

What is storytelling?

Storytelling is the use of stories to influence, inspire, or motivate people to take action. Marketers use storytelling to package a message in a story that resonates with the target audience.

Let’s take the example of Dove. Dove is a Unilever brand that became famous for its Real Beauty campaign. Instead of just selling their beauty products, they put out a “story.” That story is about how beauty should be a source of happiness for all women––not fear.

Their models are ’normal’ women of all shapes, colors, and sizes who previously struggled with their appearance. They share how they learned that authenticity is more beautiful than perfection. And that appeals to their target audience.

“By putting real women and stories at the heart of our storytelling, we’ve been able to stay relevant, delivering campaigns that resonate and, ultimately, products that our consumers love,” says Pau Bartoli, Dove Masterbrand Director.

Why is storytelling important?

Stories stick. Stories create connections. And that’s what you need if you want to sell something, especially in this day and age where we are bombarded with content, advertisements, and information.

You want to build trust with the reader, and you do that through storytelling.

What makes a good story?

A good story:

• grabs attention and holds it. The first few sentences should make the reader curious. Then you have to maintain the pace and emotion.
• is tailored to the customer. Your story is not about you or your product, but about the customer: their dreams, problems, and desires. You or your brand is, at most, the guide in the story.
• engages the reader. By sketching recognizable situations or asking questions, the reader feels part of the story.
• encourages action. A good story in marketing doesn’t end with “and they lived happily ever after,” but with a call to action: an invitation to do or buy something.

How do you grab attention?

Nowadays, people have an attention span of about 3 seconds. And that’s being generous. They scroll or click away quickly, as there is plenty of other interesting content available. So you have to grab their attention within a few seconds.

• Use emotions and make people curious. But deliver on your promise, otherwise they won’t come back.

Clickbait, an exaggerated or misleading headline to entice people to click, is not a good idea in storytelling.

It creates false expectations. An example of clickbait is “This tip will change your life forever!” You see this a lot on YouTube.

And although some videos score well, it has to be a really solid tip. In storytelling, you want to build trust, and if your story doesn’t deliver what it promises, you’ll get the opposite effect.

It’s better to choose titles and stories that arouse curiosity without exaggerating, and that actually offer something valuable.

How do you use CRM for storytelling?

To get inspiration for those titles and stories, use your CRM. Your CRM system is full of valuable data that you can use to make your stories more personal, relevant, and effective.

Your CRM system stores all the data, interests, hobbies, places of residence, etc. of your leads, customers, and stakeholders. People used to do this in Excel, but nowadays we use software such as FlowQi CRM.

Want to try out how FlowQi CRM works? Sign up for our BETA Program to try all our software for free!

Okay, so how do you use the data from your CRM tool for your storytelling? You do this in the following ways:

1. Segmentation: tell the right story to the right group

Use your CRM to distinguish and segment customers (new leads, returning customers, loyal fans). Each group is in a different phase and therefore needs a different story.

Let’s say you sell project management software (hey, that’s us!). A new lead is someone who has just signed up for your newsletter but is not yet familiar with your product.

This is what you tell your new leads:

“When Mark, owner of a small marketing agency, noticed that his team had lost track of things, he went looking for a simple tool. He didn’t want a complicated system, but something that worked right away. After one week with FlowQi, he saw that deadlines were being met again and the team was calm.”

But to a loyal customer who has been using your software for a year and has never upgraded, you say this:

“Many of our customers start with FlowQi CRM and only later discover how much time they save with our additional modules. Studio Flux, which has been using our tool for years, now saves 4 hours a week thanks to our invoicing tool.”

By using data from your CRM tool, you can tailor each story to the right person—and that’s exactly what makes CRM so valuable.

2. Insights into behavior and needs

Your CRM tool also shows which products someone has viewed, which emails people do or do not open, and what they click on.

This gives you insight into the interests and needs of your (potential) customers. Based on this, you can write stories that respond to that desire or frustration.

3. Personalize where possible

With a CRM tool, you can personalize emails and content by name and context. For example, refer to a previous purchase or interaction. This increases engagement.

The more data you have about your visitors, the more effective your storytelling can be. So don’t just use simple newsletter forms on your website, but also use quizzes and interactive lead magnets. This way, you collect more data than just an email address.

Use FlowQi CRM and make your storytelling irresistible

Want to take your storytelling to the next level? Sign up for our BETA Program and try all our software, including FlowQi CRM, completely free of charge!