Customer stories are transforming the way B2B SaaS sell their product and services to their prospects. In a world where 91% of B2B buyers are influenced by word of mouth, it’s important to capture stories that you value best.
But first, you need to undertake the necessary steps to acquire a customer story. Although it can be a long process, we have made it easier for you by outlining 4 main steps.
Here are four simple steps to follow to create your first customer story:
Step 1:
- Choose the right people to source customer stories
The main players in the storytelling of product adoption should be the ones in constant communication with prospects or/and those in charge of customer marketing.
As previously mentioned in our customer story in B2B SaaS article, salespeople and customer success managers are the ones that should nominate and highlight the best customers to tell customer stories.
Salespeople will use the stories during sales calls whilst marketing will use the authentic stories in demand generation campaigns to build trust and credibility.
Both players know how to effectively use success stories to convert a lead into a customer and close the deal.
Step 2:
- Customer interviews
Gathering intel about the customers’ experience and the impact your product has on their success.
This step allows the salespeople and customer marketing managers to conduct customer interviews in which they will map out customers’ journey from the decision making stage towards the buying stage.
These interviews will allow your key players to grasp what was it about your product that stood out for customers, its relevance to the industry and their thoughts about your product’s innovative features & benefits.
Step 3:
- Identify the right customer story
Once your key players have been chosen (Step 1) and customer interviews have been made (Step 2), they will then choose the best customer story which best articulates the value of your product or service.
To identify the best success story, you need to listen to your customers who had the best experience and achieved the most success while using your products.
And finally…
Step 4:
- Reward customers for sharing their success stories
Customers will be more than willing to share how they feel about your software company as long as they are shown what they can gain from it.
Once you have used their stories, you can either partner with customers and turn them into official customer advocates that will advertise your software to prospects or help them achieve industry leader status.
You may also choose to promote them or their business on your company’s official website and social media accounts or even invite them to events where they can be guest speakers.
Rewarding customers will highlight their commitment to the company and potentially help them in new ventures within the industry.
Conclusion
Now that you have been made aware of the four important steps to acquiring customer stories, you are ready to seek out the most compelling stories for your B2B SaaS and share them in ways that will generate organic growth for your company.
