How to shift from being a CX hopeful to CX changemaker through storytelling
Kathleen Hustad
Chief Storyteller, Founder, and CEO @ Bloom44 | Market Opportunity, Brand Messaging
What I treasure most about being a Customer Experience (CX) professional is the shared value most practitioners have which is to make a difference in the lives of customers.
Recently, I had an “aha” moment where I realized just how important storytelling is to this human-centered profession.
To be a B2B2C changemaker, you need to tell a story.?
This insight occurred to me when my mentor and CX thought leader Jim Tincher, CCXP was presenting the keynote speech at his first “Do B2B2C Better” conference. True to Jim’s commitment to advancing the CX profession, he was providing insights into how we can shift from being CX “hopefuls” to CX changemakers. He shared four key behaviors to focus on to achieve this shift.
When speaking about three of the four behaviors, he provided examples of how to demonstrate the behaviors. Guess what? Storytelling was a HUGE piece. Shifting the way CX professionals tell the “story” to executives matters.
To cite one of Jim’s examples of how to convey the business impact of how customers “feel” about a product, a “hopeful” may say, “Your products customers have an NPS score of 21 compared to the industry average.” In contrast, a “CX changemaker” could state, “20% of your product’s customers report being confident while the average is 53%. Worse, 34% are frustrated compared with 10% overall.”
Of course, a changemaker storyteller could take it even further by explaining the business implication of the frustration. For example, they could state, “Based on historical data, 90% of customers stop doing business with our company within 12 months. If this holds true and we lose 34% of our customers in this time horizon, this will translate to a revenue loss of approximately $100 million, not to mention the impact these detractors may have on potential customers.”
Based on my experience, if C-Suite executives hear they may lose $100 million in revenue from a Changemaker, they will be compelled to act!?
If they hear the information from the hopeful (“products have an NPS score of 21 as compared to the industry average”) they will not act because there is no imperative or call to action.
The reason I am sharing this information is to help fellow business changemakers see how storytelling truly matters.
If we can shift how we tell the stories, think about all the improvements that healthcare companies will put into place to benefit patients, caregivers, clinicians, and clients. Of course, the business will benefit from increased revenue and /or cost savings.
Telling a better story translates into better customer experiences
Sure, telling the story from the perspective as the changemaker takes more upfront time. Yet, by telling a clearer story, it will likely save many hours of meetings of you making a case for the change. Most importantly, it will translate into better customer experiences.
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If we as socially minded changemakers, want to achieve more dignified experiences for all consumers, we need these changes to take place.
Then the bottom line is, if you are a healthcare changemaker, you have the potential to improve well-being and perhaps save a life just by shifting the way you tell a story.
How meaningful is that??
Are you a CX changemaker or hopeful? What tips do you have to tell more compelling stories??
A special thank you goes to Jim Tincher, CCXP at Heart of the Customer, LLC for writing the new book ”Do B2B Better”?and connecting so many CX change makers at the recent “Do B2B Better” conference. If you did not make it this year, I recommend you keep next year’s conference on your radar. In the meantime, check out Heart of the Customer and Jim’s new book.
ABOUT KATHLEEN HUSTAD
As founder and CEO of Bloom44, I help caring leaders of start-up to mid-sized healthcare companies convey their value proposition story to potential B2B clients. My company’s services can result in higher close ratios and shortened sales cycles.
I do this by sharing my unique talent as a former journalist recognized for telling “human interest” stories as well as over 10,000 hours at a Fortune 10 healthcare company crafting presentations for executives and team member communications.
This unique storytelling ability, deep industry expertise along with a personal mission to help caring healthcare companies grow and prosper so their unique solutions reach more people are unparalleled.
As a founder of a mission-driven social enterprise, I love connecting with business leaders who care about making the world a better place for children and future generations. I connect on values first and then we can explore if I am the right person to help bloom your business.
I invite you to set up a complimentary consultation.
Email me: [email protected] | www.bloom44.com
Product Management | Customer Obsession | Business Agility | DevSecOps | Platform | Generative AI | Helping Enterprises in their Customer Centric Product Standup, Enabling, Innovation, Delivery Journey
2 年Loved the story Kathleen Hustad, CCXP ??
We Create Business Value from Customer Journey Mapping with the DARMA? Method | Champion for Independent Consulting and Remote Work
2 年Great recap, Kathleen! Jim's speech itself was a master example of storytelling. First, he made the audience the hero, not himself—every member of the audience could picture themselves becoming a CX Changemaker—Jim was just the guide (like Yoda or Mr. Miyagi). Next, he introduced the conflict between the CX Hopeful (present) and the CX Changemaker (future). The audience could see how the future was better than the present. As the structure of his speech unfolded over the 4 actions, he brought that contrast between the Hopeful and the Changemaker into each action. The audience left with a desire to be a CX changemaker and a roadmap showing how to do it!
Chief Storyteller, Founder, and CEO @ Bloom44 | Market Opportunity, Brand Messaging
2 年Dave Seaton, CCXP and Lisa M. France, CCXP , interested in your thoughts as you were also at the Do B2B Better conference.
Customer Experience Expert, CXPA Board Member, and Best-Selling Author of "Do B2B Better" and "How Hard Is It to Be Your Customer? Using Journey Mapping to Drive Customer-Focused Change"
2 年Kathleen, thanks so much for posting this! As we discussed, being a Change Maker vs. a Hopeful isn't based on who you are - it's on what you do. And story telling is certainly one of those critical skills!