B2B storytelling – emotion over promotion

If you’ve ever watched a box-set back-to-back on Netflix, you already know how powerful storytelling is. And if you’ve had your heart strings pulled by an emotional John Lewis TV Christmas ad (2019, a personal favourite), you also know how effective they are as a consumer. 

But B2B? Don’t buyers just want the facts? There’s drama in B2B too…

A traditional bank may find itself losing customers to a digital-savvy disrupter; a retailer may struggle to transition online, a global enterprise could fall foul to more efficient competitors and patient lives may be at risk because their medical records are in the wrong place. Within each of these organisations is a hero battling against a real-world foe. Just like the hero in any great movie.

Three things to consider when bringing your next B2B campaign to life:

• Be very clear about who you are targeting and make your character relatable to the audience. Your prospect needs to see themselves as the central character with a similar problem.
• Stories have stakes. Be sure to highlight what’s at risk. Eg: reputational damage, customer churn, drop in revenues, and business collapse even.
• Add tension to your story by identifying the pitfalls along the journey ahead as the hero slays their villain to win the day.

Find out more at our next academy day, when we will be having a focus on B2B storytelling. For a recent independent review by Communicate Magazine, click here.

B2B storytelling is just as important as storytelling for consumer marketing. By using the emotional power of stories, B2B companies can display their core message clearly and make a lasting impact on their audience.

Berkeley Communications is a master of storytelling. We offer specialist storytelling services to help our clients tell their stories in the best way possible. Our team of experts knows how to create stories that are both engaging and impactful. Whether you want to show off your product’s best features, talk about the problems your company is solving, or just build up your brand, we’re here to help.