| Acknowledgments |
xii |
| Introduction |
1 |
| Introducing Success-Story Marketing™ |
2 |
| How to Use This Book |
6 |
| Don’t-Miss Definitions |
8 |
| Chapter 1 | The Power of Success-Story Marketing™ |
11 |
| In Friends and Strangers We Trust |
11 |
| The ‘Like Me’ Factor. |
13 |
| We Love to Hear about Other People |
14 |
| Stories Make it Stick |
14 |
| The 3 Roles of Success-Story Marketing |
15 |
| Findings on Customer-Story Effectiveness |
18 |
| Minimize Live Reference Calls |
19 |
| Chapter 2 | The Seven-Step Customer-Story System |
21 |
| Step 1: Strategic Story Planning |
22 |
| Step 2: Uncovering Customer Candidates |
22 |
| Step 3: Securing Customer Permission |
22 |
| Step 4: Intelligence Gathering |
23 |
| Step 5: Creating Compelling Stories |
23 |
| Step 6: Story Signoff |
23 |
| Step 7: Leveraging Customer Stories |
23 |
| Chapter 3 | Step 1: Strategic Story Planning |
27 |
| Story Needs Assessment |
29 |
| The Story Wish List |
30 |
| Communicate to All, Often |
32 |
| Chapter 4 | Step 2: Uncovering Customer Successes |
35 |
| Bringing Leads to the Surface |
36 |
| Sources for Story Leads |
37 |
| Creative Ways of Finding Stories |
38 |
| ‘Tell Us Your Story’ Links. |
39 |
| Self-Service Story Publishing Options |
40 |
| Incentives for Internal and External Reps |
41 |
| Build Relationships with Reps and Resellers |
42 |
| Reference Programs |
43 |
| Simplify Candidate Submissions |
44 |
| Qualifying Candidates |
45 |
| Characteristics of Potential Customer-Story Candidates |
46 |
| Chapter 5 | Step 3: Securing Customer Permission |
49 |
| Why Customers Say No |
50 |
| Does Size Matter? |
52 |
| Why Customers Say Yes |
53 |
| Strategies for Increasing Customer Participation |
54 |
| Open Windows |
55 |
| Representing Customer Interests |
56 |
| Motivators |
57 |
| Involve Corporate Communications |
59 |
| An Angle the Customer Can’t Refuse |
60 |
| Set the Expectation Early |
60 |
| The Art of Asking |
62 |
| Choose your Timing Wisely |
62 |
| Check for Red Flags |
63 |
| Approach Customer Contacts |
63 |
| Send Your ‘Pitch Packet’ |
64 |
| Move toward an Answer |
66 |
| A Reverse Approach |
66 |
| When the Customer Won’t Go Public |
68 |
| Chapter 6 | Step 4: Intelligence Gathering |
73 |
| Study Featured Products/Services |
73 |
| Customer-Story Objectives |
74 |
| Interview Questionnaire Prep At-a-Glance |
75 |
| The General Interview Questionnaire |
75 |
| Customer-Specific Study |
76 |
| The Customer-Specific Interview Questionnaire |
76 |
| Interviewing |
77 |
| Your Interviewer |
77 |
| Interviewees |
78 |
| Participant Limits |
79 |
| General Questioning Techniques |
80 |
| Specific Questioning |
80 |
| Capturing Results |
86 |
| A Pre-Solution Assessment |
89 |
| ROI vs. Payback Period |
90 |
| Interviewing Tips and Hints |
91 |
| Chapter 7 | Step 5: Creating Compelling Stories |
101 |
| Tried-and-True Story Technique |
102 |
| Success Stories vs. Case Studies |
103 |
| Select a Story Format |
105 |
| Matching Story to Purpose |
114 |
| Choosing a Writer |
117 |
| The Writing Process |
121 |
| Organize |
122 |
| Introduction of the Featured Customer |
122 |
| The ‘Challenge’ Section |
122 |
| The ‘Solution’ Section |
123 |
| The ‘Benefits/Results’ Section |
123 |
| The Lead |
123 |
| Key Value Propositions |
124 |
| Readability |
125 |
| Headlines and Subheads |
125 |
| Quotes |
126 |
| Editorial Style |
127 |
| First Names or Last Names? |
127 |
| Stay Positive |
128 |
| Make Your Customer Look Good |
128 |
| Presenting Measurable Results |
129 |
| Localizing, or Localising, Stories |
130 |
| Cater to Readers and Skimmers |
131 |
| Keep Stories Current |
131 |
| Story Design |
132 |
| Photos |
134 |
| Chapter 8 | Step 6: Story Signoff |
139 |
| Internal Review |
140 |
| Types of Customer Approval |
141 |
| Partner/Reseller Review |
142 |
| Sample Customer-Story Release |
143 |
| Customer Review |
144 |
| Formally Thank Customers |
147 |
| Ways to Thank Customers |
149 |
| Potential Roadblocks |
150 |
| Chapter 9 | Step 7: Leveraging Customer Stories |
153 |
| Building a Brand |
155 |
| Putting Wheels on a Brand Message |
156 |
| Connecting Stories to Brands |
156 |
| Be Consistent |
157 |
| Reinforce across all Communications |
157 |
| Marketing Communications |
162 |
| Web Sites |
162 |
| Online Customer Communities |
167 |
| Other Online Opportunities |
168 |
| Newsletters |
169 |
| Events |
171 |
| Direct Marketing with Stories |
172 |
| Selling With Stories |
178 |
| Timing Story Use |
179 |
| Training Reps with Stories |
179 |
| Door Openers |
180 |
| Education/Evaluation |
181 |
| Validation |
182 |
| Up-Selling and Cross-Selling |
183 |
| Right Information, Right Time |
184 |
| Financing Proposals/Presentations |
186 |
| Teaching Sales Reps to Use Customer Stories |
187 |
| Story-Selling for Independent Consultants |
188 |
| Anatomy of Customer-Story Use |
190 |
| Spinning Success Stories into Media Coverage |
192 |
| Pitching to Editors |
193 |
| Small-Budget Media Relations194 |
194 |
| Seven Ways to Slice a Customer Story |
195 |
| The Story Press Release |
197 |
| Media Targeting |
198 |
| News-Release Distribution Services |
198 |
| First Right of Refusal |
200 |
| Expect Media to Do it Their Way |
200 |
| Anticipate Media Interviews |
200 |
| Contributed Articles |
201 |
| Telling Tales to Further Causes |
205 |
| A Face on the Problem |
205 |
| Humanizing Heroes |
208 |
| Universal Tales of Survival |
209 |
| The Nuances of Cause Storytelling |
210 |
| Unexpected Story Perspectives |
213 |
| Ways to Use Stories |
216 |
| Employee/Volunteer Orientation |
217 |
| Web Site |
217 |
| Fundraising Appeals |
218 |
| Grant Proposals |
218 |
| Newsletters/Magazines |
219 |
| Annual Reports |
220 |
| Advertising/Public-Service Announcements |
220 |
| Speeches and Meetings |
220 |
| Your Physical Environment |
221 |
| Your Hold Message |
221 |
| Public Relations |
221 |
| Chapter 10 | Creating Connections with Stories |
223 |
| Calling all Best Practices |
225 |
| Index |
227 |
