Stories That Stick: How Storytelling Can Captivate Customers, Influence Audiences, and Transform Your Business

Eliminates Stink Completely
Breast cancer runs in my family, so I started trying natural deodorants to
lower my risk. One particular “like” product with similar ingredients left
chemical burns on my underarms. It was 4.00 cheaper. I tried others, but
they don’t work past walking out my front door. I live in the south so it’s
humid and hot. I sweat a lot and I was nervous about giving up
antiperspirant. I reluctantly ordered Native because it was so pricey in

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comparison. I’m 100% glad I ordered it. It truly doesn’t take much and it
works in the hot and humid south. No stink all day!!! Now if I could
slather my dogs in this stuff my world would be stink free. :-)
And this little ditty from Carolyn D.:
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Active Grandmother
My granddaughter left hers on my bathroom counter and I decided to try
it. I have tried so many brands in my seventy-seven years that I was truly
amazed that I no longer had an odor after biking or or paddleboarding. I
am just now placing my first order of the coconut/vanilla. Can’t wait!
At first blush, these could be perceived as value stories: customers with
problems whose problems are solved. But there’s one key element that make
these customer stories: the people telling them.
If these were true value stories, we might have the same character (Amy H.
or Carolyn D.) and the same explosion/product (Native Deodorant). We’d have
the same outcome. The same value. The difference is that Amy and Carolyn are
telling the stories—not Native. And that difference makes all the difference.
If, like Acme, Native told the story themselves, it would go something like
this:
Amy H. had breast cancer in her family and was trying to reduce the risk
associated with conventional deodorants. Every natural solution she tried
either left her with chemical burns or didn’t hold up in the humid weather
of the South. Native saved the day!
Carolyn D. borrowed her granddaughter’s bar of Native and was truly
amazed that after seventy-seven years of trying different brands, she no
longer had odor after biking or paddleboarding.
Either one of those statements could be transformed into a value story. Add a
little more emotion, build out the normal, and with some tweaking and work, we
could turn that into a great video ad, some online copy, or even a dramatic poster
or billboard. But even with those adjustments, we wouldn’t be tapping into the
critical leverage point that a customer story has and a value story lacks: inherent
credibility.

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Why Customer Stories Are More Credible
The customer story is in a world of its own because it eliminates the nagging
voice that questions whether or not you can believe a story if it’s the seller
telling it. With a customer story, it’s not the company, it’s a person—just like
you—who tried it and loved it and has nothing to gain by telling you.
As consumers, we’re far more sophisticated than we used to be. We have far
more power and information in the marketplace than ever before. And that’s
made us, if not suspicious, then at least cautious when it comes to what
businesses tell us. And that includes stories. Used properly, the customer story
solves any remaining doubt. The Amy H. and Carolyn D. examples show us
why.
The Source Matters
Think about it for a minute. What if Native were to say their product
“eliminates stink completely,” like they made that a part of their marketing
vernacular, even sharing it in a value story. There is something different about
hearing it from an actual customer; it simply means more coming from Amy. Or
there’s the bit about the high price tag. Native saying they’re worth the
additional expense feels like a justification, but Amy saying it feels like a fact.
I know, it may seem that what we’re really talking about here is something
you likely discussed in third grade during the twenty minutes dedicated to
creative writing. First person versus third person. I and me versus she and he.
And you would be right. But it turns out, sometimes the source is the thing that
matters most.
McDonald’s learned this the hard way in the United Kingdom.
In 2017, they released a commercial that started with a boy smack dab in the
middle of that awkward preteen phase and sitting on a bed. He’s sifting through
what appears to be a box of junk, but we quickly realize the items in the box are
in fact precious keepsakes. A pair of eyeglasses. A wristwatch. A handwritten
note. All physical memories.
After examining the box, the boy asks his mother, “What was Dad like?”
The mother looks at him and then takes him on a walk and starts to tell him
about his father’s best traits. As they pass an old stone church, she tells her son
his father was as big as a building. The young man stands a little taller,
attempting to look bigger. When they walk by a soccer game, she details how his

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father was not only a great soccer player but captain of the team. The boy
awkwardly tries to kick a ball back onto the pitch, but he’s clearly not soccer
captain material. When they sit on a bench, the mother talks about the boy’s
father being a smart dresser, with shoes so shiny you could see your reflection in
them. The boy looks at his scruffy sneakers. Discouragement is written all over
his face.
Their walk ends as they sit down to eat at McDonald’s. The boy opens his
kid’s meal, pulls out a fish sandwich, and takes a big bite. As he starts to chew,
the camera pans to the mother, who remarks in a wistful tone that the fish
sandwich was his father’s favorite sandwich and he never ate one without getting
tartar sauce all over his chin. Her voice cracks as she sees her handsome son
with a spot of sauce on his face.
The boy is thrilled. Finally. A similarity.
Outrage over the ad was intense and widespread. I read about it in the