The Inside Story - Show and Tell

Once upon a time (about a year ago), a client declared that their new focus would be improving the consumer experience.  One executive wanted to know how to use social media to achieve this goal, although they sold through a global distributor network and did not deal directly with the consumer.

So we scoured discussion forums and blogs and other social media sites to learn what consumers liked, didn't like and wanted.  Then we asked the distributors what they thought.  How could the manufacturer better support them so that they could better support the consumer?  Consumers, we discovered, wanted shorter repair time; they wanted repairs done right the first time, and they wanted leading edge information about the newest features and upgrades.  Delivering those benefits correlated with higher consumer satisfaction and lower churn.  Dealers wanted help.

We created a social media strategy and a new operating model that promised to give the dealers the tools to fuel their passion and to provide the experience the consumer wanted.

But the systems in place weren't "broken."  Why "fix" them?  How could we convince the majority of the executive team that the best approach was using social media platforms rather than call centers or road shows?  We developed a business case.

We told stories.

With clip art and enthusiasm, we wrote and illustrated a series of vignettes.  Carey and Caroline Consumer went through each stage of the customer lifecycle -- from becoming interested in the product through to purchasing, warranty repair issues, and ultimately deciding whether to upgrade, stay with the status quo, or move to a competitor.  At each point in the customer lifecycle, we illustrated how the proposed social media would affect the process; how it helped to shape the consumer experience, and how it influenced measurable outcomes.

We presented the stories to the C-suite.  No power point decks with bulleted lists, we used one-act plays and dramatic readings.  We employed imagination plus some prototypes and mock-ups.  It was fun; it was often times funny, and it drove home the value of the proposed social media strategy.

We hear a good deal about telling stories in social media.  But the stories are usually about how other companies are succeeding, not visionary tales about the impact of social media inside our own organization.  

Be creative.  Show and tell.  The inside story can be powerful.

What stories have you told?