the art and science of persona-driven storytelling
TRANSCRIPT
Ardath Albee, CEO & B2B Strategist, Marketing Interactions, Inc.
The Art & Science of Persona-Driven Storytelling April 2015 Presentation
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Ardath Albee – Marketing Interactions - @ardath421 Ardath Albee is a B2B strategist & CEO of her firm, Marketing Interactions, Inc. She helps companies with complex sales use persona-driving content strategies to turn prospects into buyers and ensure that customers stay engaged. She’s the author of two books, Digital Relevance and eMarketing Strategies for the Complex Sale. Ardath has been voted one of the Top 50 Most Influential People in Sales and Lead Management for the last four years.
Thue Madsen - KISSmetrics - @ThueLMadsen Thue is the KISSmetrics Webinar Wizard and Marketing Ops Specialist. Before joining forces with KISSmetrics, he was a Ly" driver in SF, which is also how he ended up as a KISSmetrics marketer. Whenever Thue is not trying to automate everything around him, you can find him fishing and hiking in the Sierras.
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1 Section One – What Storytelling Means for B2B
Context
Components
Conflict
Conversions
2 Section Two – How Personas Drive Stories
3 Section Three – Why Storytelling Trumps Campaigns
Table of Contents
4 Section Four – Conversational Competence
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What Storytelling Means for B2B
1
82% of marketers are concerned about their ability to reach customers ResearchNow
1 in 2 Marketers don’t have enough ideas to fuel their content marketi
ng.
Kapost | Content Ideas
95% believe creating and finding new, timely, and engaging content is one of their biggest challenges
CMO Club: At the Speed of Life
Less than 30% of buyers equate trustworthiness with vendor content.
2014 B2B Content Preferences Survey
“A story is the only way to activate parts in the brain so that a listener turns the story into their own idea and experience.” Uri Hasson, Princeton neuroscientist
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How Personas Drive Stories
2
A persona is…
…a composite sketch of a segment of your target market designed to help brands align
with buyer’s needs and priorities to build engagement that results in a profitable
relationship.
Context
Components • A Day in the Life • Objectives / Problems • Orientation • Obstacles • Questions • Preferences • Keywords & Phrases • Engagement Scenarios
Helen, VP of eCommerce My team has worked really hard on our website. It looks amazing, but just when we think we’re done, consumer preferences shi" again. Traditional marketing seemed so much more predictable than the digital channels in use today. But that’s not all that’s changed. My executive board wants metrics for our marketing initiatives that tie to business objectives and new markets with demonstrable revenue streams. The analysts say that personalization and dynamic publishing are the path to consumer engagement, but I’m not sure the best way to do that. Mitch is doing his best, but the tools we have today aren’t cu!ing it. Making this more difficult, Charles is really proud of the system his team has worked to evolve over the last 7 years. Unfortunately, it’s not scaling well for what we need now. Every time he sees me coming, he knows I want something else. I think he’s starting to avoid me. Consumer preferences are driving the industry and if we don’t keep ahead of what they want, they’ll go somewhere else. In fact, I hate to admit it, but they already are. We’ve got to reverse that trend. I’m working really hard to try and get my digital expertise up to speed, but I’m afraid I’ll make the wrong choice. I really need a vendor who’ll help me get there and look good while I’m learning. Alan is a godsend, but I’m afraid he’s going to leave if I don’t give him the tools he needs to do his job be!er. We need to be able to create more immersive and interactive experiences that help us grow reach and build loyalty that translates into business value. Waiting on IT adds too much time. We need more control. Changing systems is going to be a huge undertaking. Not just on our side, but for IT as well. I need a credible vendor who puts their money where their mouth is—a"er the contract gets signed.
A Day in the Life
Objectives / Problems • Content Personalization • Monetization – ecommerce • Optimize online experience
• Lack of Data • Friction in payment proces
s • Unable to update in real ti
me
Helen, VP of eCommerce Helen needs to transform her company’s website to create “stickier” engagement that leads to higher conversions and revenue.
Questions Create Links to Build the Buyer’s Story Why should I care? Why isn’t my workaround good enough? What will happen if I do nothing? What are my competitors doing? What do the experts say? What are best practices? What are my choices? Who has the expertise to help? What’s the payoff? What else does it impact? What if something goes sideways? How can I be sure you’re the best choice?
Engagement Scenario Buyer clicks link
in Tweet Lands on
featured article on website
Clicks link to white paper mentioned
Downloads white paper and clicks on link to blog
post
Reads blog post, subscribes and Tweets link to
post
Sees webinar on related topic
promoted in blog feed
Registers to a!end webinar
Asks a great question at the
end
You follow up with the answer and conversation
begins
Conflict
Where’s the Trouble?
Conversions At each step along the
way…
What should your buyer do next?
Why Storytelling Trumps Campaigns
3
Campaigns
T1 T1 T1 T2 T2 T2 T3 T3
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Theme 1: Engagement Theme 2: Interactive
Theme 3: Metrics
What’s the Problem? The Prospect can’t do X because of Y.
Campaigns are a Company Construct
61% of buyers agreed that the winning vendor delivered a be!er mix of content appropriate for each stage of the purchasing process.
2014 Buyer Behavior Survey
Figure 10.2 | Digital Relevance
Stories Create Momentum
Hero (Buyer) Has Problem (Big Question)
Seeks Solution (Decides to Take
Action)
Lacks Expertise (Small Questions
asked at each stage)
Encounters Obstacles !
(What if…?)
Learns from Mentor (You)
Gains Consensus (Climax)
Achieves Resolution
(Chooses to Buy)
Figure 15.1 from Digital Relevance
Conversational Competence
4
Conversational Competence
Providing experiences that are fluid, easy to follow and highly relevant.
What payoffs can we achieve with a more personalized approach to our website content?
Personalized content is viewed with higher relevance which results in higher engagement and conversions. Here’s why…
Why is a WCM be!er than the CMS we use now?
Because unstructured content allows for customized displays created in real-time based on individual user parameters…
How do I talk to my CIO about the solution? What will he care most about?
Find out about the top 5 things CIOs want from a WCM…
Helen Your Content
http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Relevance-Developing-Marketing-Strategies/dp/1137452803
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Questions?
Ardath Albee CEO
Marketing Interactions @ardath421
Thue Madsen Marketing Operations Specialist
KISSmetrics @ThueLMadsen
THANK YOU
Ardath Albee @ardath421