business storytelling case study

Corporate Storytelling Examples from Well-Known Brands

In an era of intense competition, how can you make your brand stand out from the rest?  You can start by telling a story that conveys your values, shares your history, and engages your audience.

Check out these brand storytelling case studies to see what you can learn from other brands.

Case Study 1:  Burt’s Bees

Burt’s Bees makes effective use of storytelling to market themselves as a responsible, community-oriented company who promote an environmentally-friendly lifestyle. They have released several videos in which Burt, the founder, shares his outlook on life.

You can even visit Burt’s cabin and explore his home online. By inviting the consumer to appreciate Burt as a human being, the company inspire trust and loyalty. The online simulator also adds an element of fun and stimulates the viewer’s imagination.

Key Lessons:

• Consumers respond well to brands with a human face. If you have a charismatic founder or ambassador, make them part of your storytelling campaigns.
• Interactivity is also a key weapon to keep in your storytelling arsenal.

Case Study 2: Hinge

Hinge set up a website – thedatingapocalypse.com – featuring a video exploring this theme in more depth. The two-minute animation depicts a desolate young man trying to find love in a dystopian dating-themed fairground, before exiting via a door branded with the Hinge logo and finding a suitable match in an idyllic landscape.

• Make reference to your audience’s personal needs and vulnerabilities as you tell your story.
• Help them visualize how your products and services will transform their future.
• Show that you empathize with their concerns and want to offer thoughtful solutions so that they can have their own happy ending.

Case Study 3: Warby Parker

Their website also profiles seven Warby Parker customers, most of which work in desirable, creative professions. These profiles not only humanize the product, but also lend the range an aspirational edge. It is easy to see how the glasses might appeal to young creatives with big dreams and small budgets.   

Finally, the website also provides an insight into the company’s charitable work. This instantly makes Warby Parker appear more likeable, and makes consumers feel positive about their money.

• Simple storytelling with a feelgood message inspires consumers.
• Sharing your history and manufacturing processes gives the impression of transparency, and shows that your business is run by real human beings.
• Stories can inspire longing and ambition in your customers, encouraging them to buy into your brand’s image.

Case Study 4: IBM

IBM has partnered with Melanoma Institute Australia and MoleMap to help develop and deliver its Watson technology, an AI innovation that can help clinicians diagnose melanoma. On their website , IBM explains that Watson is still learning how to identify melanoma by processing medical images and notes.

The company urges consumers to provide their photos and stories relating to melanoma to “join Watson in the fight.” They set up the hashtag #outthinkmelanoma to help people share information. To date, people from all over Australia have submitted data. IBM’s site also features real-life stories from people taking part in the project.

• Linking your product with worthy causes provides a great opportunity to tell stories that capitalize on people’s lived experiences and emotions.
• By making it clear to your audience that you are working with non-profit organizations, you will improve your reputation.
• Social media campaigns further increase positive engagement.

Case Study 5: Malteasers

Mars won three Marketing Society Excellence Awards in 2017 for its “Looking on the Lighter Side of Disability” campaign. The company produced a series of adverts featuring actors with disabilities navigating awkward social situations that affect everyone.

In each advertisement, a character with a disability is shown relating an amusing anecdote while enjoying Malteasers with friends. The campaign was praised for its positive portrayal of people with disabilities. It prompted debate in several public forums, including the British House of Commons.

• Taking a socially responsible attitude towards storytelling can earn you a reputation as a modern, inclusive brand.
• Using everyday anecdotes that lots of people can relate to will communicate to the audience that you are warm and approachable.
• Do not be afraid to use humor when telling stories.
• Be willing to take a few risks.

More Brand Storytelling Tips to Keep in Mind

Test your campaign with a small group of users before scaling it up. Draw up a buyer persona. Who are your ideal customers? How old are they? What kind of language do they use? What are their needs? It may take a few adjustments before you create a story that captures their attention.

If you are not comfortable writing copy or shooting your own videos, outsourcing will be well worth the investment. A homespun aesthetic can be endearing, but try to err on the professional side where possible.

If you are tailoring your storytelling campaigns to different regions, be sure that they fit with the local language and culture . Always use a translation service such as PickWriters for an awesome result. To quote the CEO, “It’s never been so essential that your copy proves compelling to audiences all over the world.”

Finally, storytelling will only work if it is authentic. There is no point in crafting beautiful content for your brand if it isn’t aligned with your true values. Take your time deciding what message you really want to say, and stay true to that vision as you construct your next story.

Want more? Get more brand storytelling examples here.

Kristin Savage nourishes, sparks and empowers using the magic of a word. Along with pursuing her degree in Creative Writing, Kristin was gaining experience in the publishing industry, with expertise in marketing strategy for publishers and authors. Now she had found herself as a freelance writer. She observes with a special interest how the latest achievements in media and technology help to grow readership and revenue and shares her opinion. You can find her on Facebook .

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Bridging the Gap: Exceptional Brand Storytelling Case Studies

The power of brand storytelling.

Brand storytelling is a powerful tool that can greatly impact a company’s success and customer perception. By crafting a compelling narrative, businesses can connect with their audience on a deeper level. In this section, we will explore why brand storytelling matters and the benefits it brings.

Why Brand Storytelling Matters

Brand storytelling matters because it allows businesses to create an emotional connection with their target audience. Instead of simply promoting products or services, storytelling enables brands to share their values, purpose, and mission in a more engaging and relatable way.

By telling a story, brands can differentiate themselves in a crowded marketplace and stand out from competitors. A well-crafted brand story can evoke emotions, capture attention, and leave a lasting impression on customers. This emotional connection helps build brand loyalty and fosters a sense of community and trust.

Furthermore, brand storytelling enables businesses to humanize their brand. It allows them to showcase the people behind the brand, their journey, and the impact they seek to make. By revealing the human side, brands become more relatable and approachable, creating a sense of authenticity and building stronger connections with customers.

Benefits of Effective Brand Storytelling

Effective brand storytelling offers a multitude of benefits for businesses. Some key advantages include:

1. Memorable and Engaging : A compelling brand story captivates the audience, making the brand more memorable and increasing engagement. It enables customers to connect with the brand on a deeper level, leading to stronger brand recall and recognition.

2. Differentiation : Brand storytelling sets businesses apart from competitors by highlighting their unique values, experiences, and perspectives. It helps create a distinct identity that resonates with the target audience, making the brand more memorable and recognizable.

3. Emotional Connection : Brand stories tap into emotions, creating a strong bond with customers. By appealing to their aspirations, desires, and values, businesses can establish an emotional connection that fosters loyalty and advocacy.

4. Brand Loyalty and Trust : A well-crafted brand story builds trust and loyalty among customers. It showcases the brand’s authenticity, values, and commitment, creating a sense of trust and reliability.

5. Customer Engagement : Effective brand storytelling encourages customer engagement and participation. It sparks conversations, invites customers to share their own stories, and fosters a sense of community and belonging.

6. Increased Sales and Revenue : Engaging storytelling can lead to increased sales and revenue. When customers connect with a brand on an emotional level, they are more likely to choose the brand over competitors and become repeat buyers.

By understanding the power of brand storytelling and harnessing its benefits, businesses can create a strong and memorable brand identity. The case studies we will explore further in this article will highlight real-life examples of successful brand storytelling and the impact it had on these businesses.

Case Study 1: Brand Storytelling Success

In this first case study, we’ll examine a company that achieved exceptional success through brand storytelling . By effectively weaving their brand narrative into their marketing strategy, they were able to connect with their target audience on a deeper level, resulting in significant impact and growth.

Overview of the Company and Brand

The company in focus is a well-known player in the industry, recognized for their innovative products and commitment to sustainability. Their brand is built around the values of quality, craftsmanship, and environmental consciousness. They take pride in their heritage and the story behind their brand, which resonates strongly with their target audience.

How Brand Storytelling Was Implemented

To implement their brand storytelling strategy, the company focused on creating compelling content that showcased their values and the story of their brand. They employed a multi-channel approach, utilizing their website, social media platforms, and email marketing to deliver their brand story to their audience.

Through engaging blog posts, videos, and social media campaigns, they shared the journey of their brand, highlighting the craftsmanship and attention to detail that goes into each product. They also emphasized their commitment to sustainability and how their practices align with the values of their environmentally-conscious customers.

To further strengthen their storytelling, they collaborated with influencers and brand ambassadors who shared their passion for sustainability and showcased their products in authentic and relatable ways. This helped to amplify their brand message and reach a wider audience.

Results and Impact

The implementation of brand storytelling had a profound impact on the company’s growth and customer engagement. By connecting with their audience on an emotional level, they were able to build a strong brand identity and foster a sense of loyalty among their customers.

The results were evident in their increased brand recognition and market share. Their storytelling efforts resonated with their target audience, leading to higher customer acquisition and retention rates. Additionally, their brand reputation received a significant boost, as customers perceived them as an authentic and socially responsible brand.

This case study demonstrates the power of effective brand storytelling in creating a memorable and impactful brand. By aligning their brand narrative with their target audience’s values and leveraging various marketing channels, the company was able to solidify their position in the market and forge lasting connections with their customers.

The next sections will delve into additional case studies, providing further insights and key takeaways from successful brand storytelling examples.

Case Study 2: Brand Storytelling Achievement

In this case study, we will explore a brand that achieved remarkable success through effective brand storytelling . Let’s dive into the overview of the company and brand , how brand storytelling was implemented, and the resulting results and impact .

The company in question is a well-established brand in the [industry/sector]. They have a strong presence in the market and a loyal customer base. However, they recognized the need to revitalize their brand and connect with their audience on a deeper level. To achieve this, they decided to leverage the power of brand storytelling.

The brand storytelling journey began with an in-depth analysis of their target audience and market landscape. The company identified the key values, emotions, and aspirations that resonated with their audience. They crafted a compelling brand story that aligned with these insights, highlighting the unique aspects of their products and services.

To effectively communicate their brand story, the company utilized various platforms and channels. They revamped their website, incorporating engaging visuals, captivating narratives, and interactive elements to create an immersive brand experience. Additionally, they leveraged social media platforms, email marketing campaigns, and content marketing strategies to reach a wider audience and foster engagement.

The brand storytelling approach was not limited to external communication. The company ensured that their employees understood and embodied the brand story, enabling them to deliver consistent messaging and experiences at every touchpoint. This internal alignment further strengthened the brand’s authenticity and credibility.

The implementation of brand storytelling had a profound impact on the company. By connecting with their audience on an emotional level, they successfully differentiated themselves from competitors, fostering a deeper sense of brand loyalty . The compelling brand story resonated with customers, resulting in increased brand recognition and awareness.

The brand storytelling approach also translated into tangible business results. The company experienced a significant boost in customer engagement, reflected in higher website traffic, increased social media interactions, and a rise in conversions. This ultimately led to improved sales performance and revenue growth.

Furthermore, the brand storytelling efforts positively influenced the perception of the brand. Customers perceived the company as authentic, relatable, and trustworthy, which enhanced brand reputation and solidified their position as an industry leader. The brand story became a powerful tool in attracting new customers, while also fostering long-term relationships with existing ones.

This case study demonstrates how effective brand storytelling can elevate a brand’s image, engage customers, and drive business growth. By crafting a compelling brand story and implementing it consistently across various channels, companies can create a lasting impact on their audience and achieve exceptional results.

To learn more about the power of brand storytelling and how it can benefit your business, check out our comprehensive guide on storytelling in branding .

Case Study 3: Brand Storytelling Excellence

In this case study, we will explore an example of a company that has achieved brand storytelling excellence . By effectively implementing brand storytelling strategies, this company has made a significant impact on its target audience and achieved remarkable results.

The company in focus is a well-established organization with a strong presence in the market. Its brand is known for its commitment to quality, innovation, and customer satisfaction. The company’s products or services cater to a specific niche and have a loyal customer base.

To establish a strong emotional connection with its audience, the company implemented a comprehensive brand storytelling approach. They carefully crafted and communicated their brand narrative across various platforms, including their website, social media channels, and marketing campaigns.

The brand storytelling strategy revolved around highlighting the company’s core values, mission, and vision. They shared stories that showcased how their products or services have positively impacted their customers’ lives. By sharing authentic and relatable stories, they aimed to create a sense of trust, loyalty, and emotional resonance with their audience.

The company also utilized visual storytelling techniques, incorporating captivating imagery and videos to enhance the storytelling experience. They created compelling content that evoked emotions and effectively conveyed their brand message.

The implementation of brand storytelling had a significant impact on the company and its audience. The following are some of the remarkable results achieved:

• Increased Brand Awareness and Recognition: Through their compelling brand storytelling, the company gained increased visibility and recognition in the market. Their unique brand narrative set them apart from their competitors and made a lasting impression on their target audience.
• Enhanced Customer Engagement: By sharing relatable stories, the company successfully engaged their audience on an emotional level. This led to increased customer interaction, such as comments, shares, and positive reviews. The audience felt connected to the brand and became active participants in the brand’s journey.
• Strengthened Brand Loyalty: The brand storytelling approach fostered a sense of loyalty among existing customers. They felt a deeper connection with the brand and became advocates, spreading positive word-of-mouth and recommending the company’s products or services to others.
• Improved Customer Retention: Through their brand storytelling efforts, the company reinforced their relationship with existing customers. By consistently delivering on their brand promise and values, they retained customers and fostered long-term relationships.
• Increased Sales and Revenue: The emotional connection established through brand storytelling positively impacted the company’s bottom line. The increased brand awareness, engagement, and loyalty translated into higher sales and revenue.

This case study serves as a testament to the power of effective brand storytelling. By implementing a well-crafted brand narrative, the company successfully connected with its audience, fostered trust, and achieved significant business growth.

To learn more about brand storytelling and its impact on business success, refer to our article on successful brand storytelling .

Key Takeaways from Brand Storytelling Case Studies

After exploring various brand storytelling case studies, there are several key takeaways that can help business leaders and entrepreneurs understand the elements of successful brand storytelling. Let’s dive into the common elements, lessons learned, and how to implement brand storytelling in your own business.

Common Elements of Successful Brand Storytelling

• Authenticity : Authenticity is a crucial element of successful brand storytelling. The stories should be genuine, aligned with the brand’s values, and resonate with the target audience. This authenticity helps establish a strong emotional connection with customers.
• Emotion and Empathy : Effective brand storytelling evokes emotions and empathy in the audience. By telling stories that tap into universal human experiences and emotions, brands can create a powerful bond with their customers.
• Consistency : Consistency is key in brand storytelling. The stories should align with the brand’s overall messaging, values, and identity. This consistency helps reinforce brand recognition and build brand trust over time.
• Relevance : Stories that are relevant to the target audience are more likely to capture their attention and leave a lasting impact. Identifying the pain points, aspirations, and values of the target audience is crucial in crafting relevant brand stories.
• Visual and Verbal Communication : A successful brand story incorporates both visual and verbal elements. Compelling visuals, such as imagery, videos, or infographics, can enhance the storytelling experience and make it more engaging.

Lessons Learned from the Case Studies

From the case studies, we can draw several important lessons:

• Know Your Audience : Understanding your target audience is essential for effective brand storytelling. Tailor your stories to resonate with their needs, desires, and aspirations.
• Simplicity is Powerful : Keeping your brand stories simple and easy to understand can have a significant impact. Complex narratives may confuse or disengage the audience, so focus on clear and concise storytelling.
• Storytelling Beyond Products : Successful brand storytelling goes beyond promoting products or services. It focuses on the broader brand values, mission, and the impact it can have on customers’ lives.
• Consistency Across Channels : Consistency across various marketing channels helps reinforce brand storytelling. Whether it’s social media, websites, or advertisements, maintaining a consistent brand narrative is crucial for brand recognition and coherence.

Implementing Brand Storytelling in Your Business

To implement brand storytelling in your own business, consider the following steps:

• Define Your Brand Story : Identify the values, mission, and unique aspects of your brand that you want to communicate through storytelling. Craft a compelling and authentic brand story that aligns with your brand identity.
• Identify Your Target Audience : Understand your target audience’s demographics, interests, and pain points. This will help you create stories that resonate with them and address their needs effectively.
• Choose the Right Channels : Select the appropriate marketing channels to share your brand stories. This could include social media platforms, blogs, websites, or even offline events. Tailor your storytelling approach to suit each channel.
• Integrate Storytelling Into Marketing : Incorporate storytelling into your overall marketing strategy. Ensure that your brand story is reflected in your brand messaging, visuals, and other marketing materials to maintain consistency.
• Measure and Adapt : Continuously monitor the impact of your brand storytelling efforts. Use metrics such as brand recognition, customer engagement, and sales to assess the effectiveness of your storytelling approach. Adapt and refine your storytelling strategy based on the results.

By implementing these steps and incorporating the common elements of successful brand storytelling, you can create a compelling narrative that resonates with your target audience and helps differentiate your brand in the market. Remember, brand storytelling is an ongoing process that requires consistency and adaptation to stay relevant and impactful.

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The Art of Storytelling for Case Studies

These tips will make your UX portfolio easier to write — and easier to read.

I love a good story. The anticipation. The buildup of conflict. The climax and the payoff. As you experience the journey through the hero’s eyes, you might be left laughing, crying, or nodding your head in agreement. Stories are a vibrant way to share our life experiences.

Stories can be hard to tell when you’re writing about your work, though. Chatting with coworkers or venting to your partner in choppy anecdotes after a long day might feel easy. It’s much harder to tell a polished story when you’re looking for that next big opportunity or sharing it with an audience of your peers in a formal presentation. 

That’s right, I’m talking about case studies.

Many people don’t connect writing a case study with writing a story. The words sound so dry and clinical in comparison to the warm embrace of story . A case study is decidedly not cozy, and the subject matter is usually dry. It screams, “Take me seriously!”

But I’m a believer in looking at a case study like a story, especially when it comes to UX disciplines. A good story needs a plot, characters, and a conflict (user pain-points, anyone?) It also requires a beginning, a middle, and an end. When the storyteller leaves these things out, it’s harder for the reader (the hiring manager) to follow along. It’s difficult to understand where the project started, why it happened in the first place, and what the outcome was.

I’m no expert at this, nor am I a career advisor, so there’s no guarantee this advice will get you a job interview or offer. But I find a lot of joy in writing case studies and helping others write theirs. The basic structure of UX design, UX writing and content strategy, and UX research case studies have important elements in common and all follow the same general path. 

I’ll share some of the ways I lead the audience through a journey while highlighting all that I accomplished along the way.

Structuring a Case Study

In the past, I found reviewing, outlining, and writing case studies to be intimidating and exhausting. So I came up with a process to carefully craft a case study, make it less painful, and reach the same goal. I start by outlining three main points:

• The background
• The process
• The outcome

The Background

The story needs to start somewhere. Introducing the main characters and the plot helps set the stage for the reader and gives them a reason to care. In the initial phases of writing a case study, I like to answer these questions:

• If it was your company, take a sentence or two to explain the business or the product team you were working with.
• If it was a freelance project, talk about why you were approached with the project.
• Who was the target-user? What pain points did they face? Why was this a problem? How did it specifically impact the users?
• What is the elevator-pitch summary of your contribution to this project? Were you on a team with multidisciplinary partners? Or part of a tiny multiple-hat wearing startup? You’ll be going into depth about how you solved the problem later on, so give just a teaser.

Often, my first draft isn’t made of concrete paragraphs. I simply get the information out of my brain and into a document. In early stages of writing, these questions help me frame the problem in a way that clearly highlights my contributions to the solution. 

The Process

This is where you’ll spend the most time crafting your story. Whether you’re writing a case study to share as a presentation or adding it to your portfolio, the audience is most interested in how you got to the outcome and which parts of the process were your responsibility. I list out the most important pieces by answering these questions:

• Did you have to do research? Was there a competitive analysis or heuristic evaluation involved? What data put this into motion, and what did you do with it? What steps did you take to educate yourself about the problem and the users?
• Which parts of the process were done solo, and which were done in collaboration with cross-functional partners? When were the stakeholders involved? How many iterations did it take to make it to the solution? Did you run brainstorming sessions or design studios along the way? Was there A/B or usability testing done in tandem? Write down as many steps as you can remember. You can edit later.
• The audience is always interested in what’s behind the curtain. What design deliverables can you share? Low-fidelity wireframes, prototypes, rough drafts of scripts, process maps, personas? Help the audience understand how you think. Nothing goes from A to Z without a mess in the middle. We’ve all seen enough squiggly line graphs to know that design is not a pretty process.

The Outcome

The outcome section is the grand finale of your case study. It explains why the project kicked off in the first place, what happened after, what next steps the team took, and what you learned.

Not every case study needs a happy ending. I’ve worked for months on a project, only to hear “shut it down!” in the end. This doesn’t mean the work is useless or that you can’t include it in your portfolio.  We learn most from our failures, and openly sharing those shows we’re constantly trying to improve our process and understand the market better. Regardless of how the project resolved, a good outcome section answers questions like:

• This is a great place to show off the shiny final designs. After the climax comes the triumphant ending where the heroes (you and your team) can celebrate a job well done. This is what everything has been building toward: the resolution of conflict, whether it’s triumphant or tragic.
• Here, it’s easy to show off metrics that improved as a result of your work. Tangible quantitative results make a strong conclusion to any story, but they aren’t necessary if they don’t exist. You can reframe to express impact in a variety of ways.
• Describe the next steps your team took or planned. Did you change a broken flow or process that the team ended up adopting? Did this project lead to another initiative? Or did it result in a post-mortem retrospective full of learnings that the team can use  in the future? Your work added value even if the CEO ended the initiative or a project manager shut it down after a few months of zero traffic. A good story can define what positive impact means in the face of a troublesome ending.
• If it was a success, what did you learn about the market, the user,  and the approach you took? If it was a failure, how did the team learn from the experience and move forward after the dust settled? 

Polishing up the Outline

Once you list every step of the project, you’re more than 50% done with crafting your case study.  The hard part—getting started and remembering everything—is over. Now it’s time for you to turn these boring bullet points into elegant paragraphs of UX genius.

The Beginning

You’ve identified the details, now it’s time to build a narrative. We often meet a protagonist first, but who are they? What is their purpose? First impressions matter, and your audience will want a reason to care about what they’re reading. The beginning of any case study sets the reader up for everything that follows. 

To make a good first impression, I usually leverage a dynamic medium, like Google Slides. I keep text minimal and limit the number of slides and images. The hiring manager reviewing your work doesn’t have the time to get familiar with every detail of your case study. Be clear and concise, split the background slide into two to three distinct paragraphs. Remember, if you get the interview, you’ll have time to go into more detail.

• Paragraph one: Introduce the team or business who enlisted you to solve the problem, what the problem was, and where it originated.
• Paragraph two: Lay out the primary goal for the project, the solution you hoped to reach, and summarize your contributions.

A limited number of well-selected visuals throughout a slide-deck portfolio can give readers a more concrete image of the story. If you’re building a story for your website, you can be more liberal with imagery since space isn’t a concern. An engaging visual will represent the project, add some visual interest, and give context for the rest of the case study.

This is where the hero sets out, looking for purpose. They will encounter perils along the way, meet new allies, and eventually fight that gold-hoarding dragon during the climax! But how long should it be, and what’s an effective way to present the content?

The middle section can vary greatly in length. I’ve written case studies where it only takes a few slides to summarize the journey. Others take many more. Stay focused and represent the events in chronological order. 

Another helpful tip for organizing an accurate story: don’t let the visuals do too much of the talking. In plenty of case studies, I’ve had to sift through dozens of wireframes, user flows, site maps, mock ups, branding style guides—with very little telling me what I’m actually looking at and why. It can be difficult to self-edit when you want to prove your skills to a hiring manager. The hard truth is, showing one user flow is enough to prove that you know how to make a user flow. It’s more important to demonstrate that you understand why you created that user flow, what purpose it served in the design process, and how you used it to communicate your intent to the other members of your team.

I like to separate the middle section of my case studies with numbered points. Each point can define one piece of the project, and I can use the same number to label a single example image representing that piece.

Bonus tip: Another part of telling an accurate story is acknowledging everyone’s work. Since you’re writing from your own perspective, it’s easy to use “ I” and accidentally take undue credit. If you were part of a team, use “ we” instead of “ I.”  It won’t weaken your case study just because you can’t claim to exclusively own every part of the process. Hiring managers want to know you can work as part of a team and not just on your own.

We have reached the end of our story. Did the hero triumph over the dragon and return to their village with riches galore? Or were they sadly and tragically swallowed up, only to be memorialized for all eternity in epic ballads by their friends and family? The end of a case study, whether the project was successful or not, is a celebration of your accomplishments. 

Some heroes finish their tales quantitatively; they can explain that each step in the process was a factor in X metric improving by X%, bringing in X amount of additional users, increasing conversions, revenue, KPIs. And so on. 

For other heroes, the impact isn’t as clearly quantifiable. The outcome of their story might be a jam-packed product roadmap, or the launch of an MVP, a successful handoff to a client, or the improvement of an internal company process. Don’t fret! You’ve still accomplished something. This is a great place to share a visual of the final product, a colorful product roadmap, a graph, or something similar.

Sadly, for the heroes that never return home, the ending (or outcomes section) might be more introspective. When my past case studies have ended in less-than-ideal scenarios, I’d quickly explain the circumstances that befell the project—noting any wrap-up activities I performed on my own or with the team—then focus on my learnings. 

Ending with what you learned is a solid alternative to showing impact. Personal and team growth deserve to be acknowledged and documented, even if you aren’t writing a case study. Recognizing what went well, why, and how you accomplished it will only make the next endeavor better. Especially when we fail, we learn what not to do. By ending your hard-earned story with a summary of what you learned, you’re proving to your peers or a hiring manager that you’re fully engaged in the process and the goals.

Humans are naturally drawn to storytelling. It’s a chance to provide the audience with a new and different way to think about a concept. A well-crafted story encourages the imagination to anticipate the arc of what’s next, like a moving picture in the mind.

Case studies can and should be just as enjoyable. While not as whimsical or fantastical as a hero’s journey, they provide value: lessons learned, mistakes made, and triumphs won. As UX professionals, we’re constantly telling the user’s story to our teams and stakeholders and finding ways to foster empathy with the user and their needs. Why don’t we craft our case studies as stories to evoke equally empathic responses? A glorious journey will always be more compelling than a clinical list of events.

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Table of Contents

Back in the cave

Humans have dominated the world thanks to their cognitive abilities . Humans have bigger brains that allowed them to overcome adversity and thrive. Humans conquered the world thanks to their intellectual superiority.

Would you agree with these statements? I bet you would. Yet this is not the thesis of History’s Professor, Yuval Noah Harari, also the author of “ Homo Sapiens, ” and “ Homo Deus. ” In fact, as he explains in his Ted Talk , individually, humans are not that smarter or stronger or better than other animals, or mammals in particular. Humanity took over the world.

How is it possible then that humans dominated the world? The answer, according to Harari is ‘cooperation.’ Other animals cooperate as well! What makes us special? Are we more peaceful, compassionate or smarter than other mammals? Not really.

For instance, among our closest cousins, the  bonobos , are way more peaceful and almost as much intelligence as we are. Then, again, what is unique about us?

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The Rise of the Story-Listeners  

According to Harari, we are the only species on earth, which beliefs in stories, myths, and narratives. In short, if you ask a monkey to loan you a banana in exchange for a banana and a half in a year’s time; the monkey will not only eat it but also throw you a stone. Why? Because the monkey does not believe in the “ interests’ myth .”

This ability to believe in stories, allowed us to form large and complex societies. In fact, our brains allow us to cooperate at the small-scale level.

This is because there is only a certain threshold of information that our minds can handle before plateauing. According to Harari, if we could not believe in stories, it would’ve been impossible to form groups of more than 150 individuals.

Therefore, this ability carried us forward. Yet, if we ask ourselves “ are we happier, healthier, and more intelligent than we were when living in the Savannah? ” Although there is no definitive proof, according to Harari, the answer may be a “ big no-no. “

Why? Often we are so compelled to believe in stories. Those narratives, bend our reality and make the world take a strange turn. In other words, when those stories became mere propaganda this can lead to significant troubles.

Therefore, each time we come up with a new “ myth ” we should also place a label on it, which says “ handle with care, ” to avoid troubles.

What does this have to do with the business world?

How Storytelling Moved from the Historical Stage to the Business Arena

So far we can say that among the most significant inventions of humankind there is not the wheel, the steam machine, or the space shuttle. Instead, the corporation, the state, and the church.

From Emperor Augustus to Steve Jobs ; from Alexander the Great to Elon Musk ; storytelling and the ability to “fabricate” new myths had played a massive role. For instance, Emperor Augustus understood that to keep the Roman Empire compact; he had to create the “Roman myth.”

How could he otherwise glue together the consciences of millions of individuals? He did so through a story, which became known as “ The Aeneid ,” written by the most excellent storyteller of that time, Virgil!

Successful people in business understood this concept and made it work in their favor. Would anyone love Apple if it didn’t believe in “ Steve Jobs ‘ Myth? ” Would anyone trust Tesla or SpaceX if it didn’t believe in “ Elon Mask’s Myth? “

You may say, “ well, these are persons, not myths. ” Yet this is only in part true. Take Steve Jobs . Although he doesn’t have a physical existence anymore, he is still alive in the conscience of millions if not billions of individuals. We can say that in the “inter-subjective reality” (the stories shared by millions of heads) he is alive than ever.

Don’t get me wrong, both Apple and Tesla are great companies. A great contributor to their success was the ability of those companies to carry out the so-called “ founder’s myth. “

There is nothing wrong with that. On the other hand, when the fabricated stories start to bend reality, by creating a massive gap between the “ real world ” and the “ mythological world ” things may get out of hand.

What would happen to Apple or Tesla if people suddenly stopped to believe in the founders’ myth?

An Ethical Code for Storytelling: The Art of Finding the Sweet Spot

We saw how important storytelling is to create a business that sticks in people’s minds. On the other hand, we also want to make sure to find the sweet spot. How? By answering three central questions:

Is your story authentic? 

Howard Schultz ( Starbucks ‘ Founder) tells the story of his father , which broke an ankle when he was only seven years old, and the whole family lived in New York City housing projects. Since his father had no health insurance, to pay for the expenses they were left with no income.

At the moment in which Howard Schultz told this story, he fabricated the corporate responsibility myth. In fact, companies are abstract entities. How can a company be responsible?

When people associate Starbucks with the responsibility, they think of Schultz’s story, and that is how the Starbucks brand grows into the imagination of millions of people around the world. The story works though because it is authentic!

Would people be enthusiastic about sharing your story?

When Blake Mycoskie explains  how he founded TOMS SHOES people want to be part of it. Therefore, when you buy Tom’s shoes, you are not only purchasing cool shoes but rather the story behind it.

As Mycoskie recalls in his book “Start Something that Matters” people are so excited to share Tom’s story, that there is no need for marketing the product; it sells itself. Once again, Mycoskie  is a story that compels people to share and spread the word. And once again the story is authentic.

Is the story in line with your business ? 

When Elon Musk ‘s story of how he founded his companies  spreads like a virus, his companies automatically acquire an aura of heroic entities, operating for the “ greater good. “

Therefore, even though Musk ‘s companies get $4.9 billion in government support , none raises an eyebrow. Why? Because once again the story is authentic, compelling, and in line with Musk ‘s business ventures .

Understanding business storytelling

• Business storytelling is used to create compelling narratives for various forms of business communication such as presentations, reports, content marketing , and advertising.

As the name suggests, business storytelling utilizes the structure of a story to guide internal and external communication. The approach has many applications. It can be used as a persuasion tool or as a tool to sell to a prospective client. It can also define new marketing narratives and differentiate a brand with respect to the competition.

Business storytelling, like all forms of storytelling, is as much an art as it is a science. It requires a certain amount of skill, creativity, and patience. But when used correctly, it can empower individuals within a business environment to transcend corporate jargon, problem-solve more effectively, and enhance business practices. For the organization as a whole, business storytelling also encompasses stories that are used to support mission, vision, and purpose.

Integral components of business storytelling

Business storytelling is a process that endeavors to create an internal and external brand people can relate to. While the basic process should be adapted to suit the context, storytelling should always strive to express business communication, facts, and figures via the telling of a believable, engaging, and authentic story.

Here is a brief outline of the steps that are involved:

• Understand the audience – the crafting of a user persona is paramount before any work commences on the story itself. This will maximize the chances the story will be viewed, read, heard, and understood by the correct audience in the way it was intended.
• Create the core message – the nature of the core message is far less important than the presence of a core message in the first place.
• Craft the story – with the core message identified, a story must then be crafted to give it extra meaning and depth. Business stories should explain the success of a past initiative and how the same initiative could be beneficial to the user. Stories should also avoid excessive detail, contain practical solutions that are cost-effective, and incorporate human emotions, values, and situations.
• End with an outcome and a call to action – every story must conclude with a thought-provoking message that motivates the audience to take action. To that end, a call to action (CTA) may include asking a prospect to agree to terms or encouraging a customer to subscribe to an email list or purchase a product.

Benefits and implications of business storytelling

How can businesses benefit from telling stories? Below is a look at a few examples.

Employee efficiency and engagement

Companies only succeed when employees are motivated and driven. However, research firm Gallup found that 85% of worldwide employees and 65% of employees in the United States were not enthusiastic about their roles.

Business storytelling can be used to create a corporate culture that is conducive to satisfied and productive employees. It is important to share stories about the company, including how it came to be and the obstacles it had to overcome to succeed. Employees are instilled with a greater sense of purpose and meaning when leaders make an effort to include them in the future story of the company.

Decision-making

Stories also influence decision-making. In the same way that consumers look at stories in product reviews before deciding to purchase, businesses evaluate the stories of other businesses before deciding whether to enter into a relationship with them.

In essence, the quality of storytelling is used to determine whether someone should get involved with an organization. That someone may be a customer, stakeholder, or potential employee.

Purpose and profit

Storytelling provides the link between purpose and profit. Indeed, companies such as Apple and Google became successful because they were founded by visionaries whose story involved changing the world. If the business has a story that consumers can get behind, all the better.

Telling stories is also a useful way for the business to make its mission and vision statement less esoteric. The companies that display their humanity, personality, and imperfection will avoid the stigma of a faceless corporation and become the sort of business others will naturally become attracted to.

Challenges of Business Storytelling

Crafting Effective Stories: Not all stories are compelling, and crafting engaging narratives can be challenging.

Balancing Information: Striking the right balance between storytelling and conveying critical information can be tricky.

Audience Variability: Different audiences may require different types of stories or messaging.

Measurement: It can be challenging to measure the direct impact of storytelling on business outcomes.

When to Use Business Storytelling

Sales and Marketing: Storytelling is effective in marketing campaigns, sales pitches, and product launches.

Internal Communication: It can be used for internal communication to convey company culture, values, and goals.

Change Management: When introducing change within an organization, stories can help employees understand and embrace the change.

Leadership and Vision: Leaders often use storytelling to communicate their vision and inspire teams.

Expected Long-Term Impact of Business Storytelling

Improved Communication: Over time, businesses that use storytelling effectively often experience improved communication within and outside the organization.

Brand Strength: Consistent and authentic storytelling can contribute to a strong and relatable brand identity.

Cultural Alignment: Stories that reinforce company culture can lead to better cultural alignment among employees.

Decision Influence: Well-crafted stories can influence decision-making and shape stakeholder perceptions.

Related Communication Strategies

Content Marketing: Storytelling is a fundamental aspect of content marketing , creating engaging and shareable content.

Public Relations: Effective storytelling can enhance public relations efforts by making messages more relatable and newsworthy.

Crisis Communication: During crises, storytelling can help organizations convey empathy and transparency.

Employee Advocacy: Encouraging employees to share their stories can humanize the organization and build trust.

Key takeaways

• Business storytelling is a process that endeavors to create an internal and external brand people can relate to. This can be achieved by understanding the target audience, developing a core message, crafting a story, and ending with a call to action.
• Business storytelling can be used to improve employee performance and profit potential. Stories are also considered by key stakeholders when deciding whether or not to become involved with an organization.

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Marketing Storytelling Examples: How 3 brands told their stories (with results)

This article was originally published in the MarketingSherpa email newsletter .

“If I’m trying to change somebody who disagrees—I choose not to be holier-than-thou. You’ve got to reach the heart. And I do that through storytelling,” Jane Goodall said recently in TIME magazine ( Jane Goodall and the Tenacity of Hope by Ciara Nugent).

Marketers can use the same tool to communicate the value of their products and services. “Instead of telling me that you’re #1, I’m more interested in the why of your DNA that produced the #1,” Flint McGlaughlin, CEO, MarketingSherpa and MECLABS Institute, told me in our latest podcast excerpt:

To help you tell your company’s story, today we bring you three quick case studies. First, how storytelling built a software business from scratch to 700,000 visitors per month. Then, a CEO shares how he used marketing storytelling to increase the number of clients for his fitness app. And finally, how a nonprofit’s public relations won massive exposure by telling an overlooked story.

Quick Case Study #1: How storytelling built a software business from scratch to 700k visitors per month

When he co-founded DSM Tool in 2016, Kfir Shapira had barely any experience in digital marketing. “This was a side project I helped my brother (today my business partner) to build because we wanted a software to manage our eBay drop shipping business with,” said Shapira, CEO, DSM Tool.

When they launched, they included a free version of the software. They also created an affiliate program. These two choices from the digital marketing neophytes were the spark needed to get the product into other people’s stories.

“Within a few weeks, YouTube influencers heard about it and decided to review the software. They tried to use the software itself in order to tell the story of how they’ve made money online using the eBay drop shipping model,” Shapira said.

Creative Sample #1: YouTube videos about software business

By September 2018, they reached 710,537 monthly sessions, the vast majority of which were based on the storytelling of others that made the software go viral. They were shocked at the massive growth since they were only beginning to learn digital marketing.

Creative Sample #2: Growth in monthly sessions for software business

“When you look at the channel breakdown for that traffic from Google Analytics, it seems like channels like SEO are pretty strong indeed,” Shapira said. But they were skeptical because they realized they didn’t have strong SEO skills.

Creative Sample #3: Acquisition channels for software business

They discovered that the software company’s website was mostly getting traffic from branded keywords.

“Here is what happened, people have heard on YouTube or Instagram about DSM Tool and then did one of a few things – typed www.dsmtool.com in their browsers (hence the direct traffic), typed DSM Tool in Google (hence the SEO traffic), clicked on an affiliate link (hence the referral traffic), or clicked on links of influencers that did not use an affiliate link (hence the social channel traffic),” Shapira said.

As they’ve gained more experience in digital marketing, the team has learned how to capitalize on the storytelling virality effect and today the business generates multi-channel traffic. Influencers are still one of their favorite channels.

Quick Case Study #2: Fitness app gets 20% more clients using testimonials

“As a company that provides remote personal training programs, we use a lot of storytelling in our marketing strategies,” said, John Gardner, CEO and Co-Founder, Kickoff .

The fitness app uses storytelling to show potential customers the effectiveness of its personal training programs.

The team experiments with different storytelling techniques. One of the most successful has been existing clients sharing their stories – having consumers verify that the app is efficient and answer the questions and concerns of potential customers.

Creative Sample #4: Screen capture from testimonial video for fitness app on Instagram

Since the team started this campaign, they have seen a 20% increase in clients.

Case Study #3: Nonprofit inspires 1,920 articles by telling an overlooked story with press release and public relations outreach

Wreaths Across America (WAA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded to continue and expand the annual wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.

The nonprofit distributed a press release titled “After 59 Years, the Families of Flying Tiger Line Flight 739 Receive Closure.”

The press release tells the story of a secret mission that disappeared in the early days of the Vietnam War and the WAA’s work to memorialize the soldiers and civilian crew members lost on the mission. Due to the nature of the mission, their names have not yet been added to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. WAA Founder Morrill Worcester donated land for a memorial. The land is part of the tract the WAA uses to grow and harvest wreaths to honor those who serve.

In the press release, Worcester says, “When I first heard the story about this mission, I was shocked to learn that nothing has been done for these families. I said that day, that we would do something to make sure these people are honored and remembered, and to hopefully give some closure to these families.”

Creative Sample #5: Nonprofit’s press release

This wasn’t a story the team created, it already existed as an aviation mystery and/or government controversy. The team wanted to retell the story as a factual account of what happened mixed in with the recognition that this was an event in people’s lives (people who are still living.) The team wanted to convey that the members of the flight were loved ones who made an impact in their communities and are still missed and still loved.

“Humbly understand that this wasn’t our story to tell, it was the families’ stories.  We simply helped amplify their voices for others to finally hear,” said Sean Sullivan, Public Relations Liaison, Wreaths Across America.

The team wanted this to be a story that resonated in both small and large communities, so by saying the names of those lost, helping to remember them in the communities that they were from, and connecting interested parties with local family members, they helped to show that an incident 59 years ago can still impact communities all across America.

“We also wanted to only give some information but leave enough questions that would spur reporters to do something that they very rarely get to do much of in today’s media, and that’s to actually do some investigative reporting. In doing so, the media was a great help in identifying 30 families that had lost touch with their shared history,” he said.

“That release got 1,920 articles, including the New York Post. We found 30 families and connected them with the information and recently had a bill introduced into the Senate (2571) to move this issue forward,” said Sean Sullivan, Public Relations Liaison, Wreaths Across America. The bill, introduced by Senator Gary Peters, would place the missing servicemembers names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

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Business storytelling: tips, ideas, and examples

by Cheryl Clemons | Resources

In this fast-paced, competitive world of business, the ability to effectively communicate and engage with your employees, customers and other stakeholders is critical. It fosters understanding, builds trust and ultimately drives success. And one powerful way to make sure your communications tactics are hitting the mark is through business storytelling.

Business storytelling is the art of using narratives to convey messages, ideas and values in a compelling manner. It goes beyond knowledge transfer or entertainment. Corporate storytelling aims to connect with the audience by appealing to their emotions, experiences, and aspirations. Real business stories engage on an emotional level AND drive specific organisational goals.

In this blog, we explore the significance of business storytelling and how organisations can use it to solve different challenges. You’ll get ideas from the essential tips and real world examples to help you kick start your business storytelling journey.

Why is business storytelling important now, more than ever?

Whether it’s conveying insights to stakeholders or an informal chat over the watercooler, stories have always played a central role in how we connect, learn and thrive at work.

Yet in today’s digital age, business storytelling has struggled to gain traction. While billions of messages are shared daily across countless channels, it can be hard to find the stories you need in the sea of endless content. But, it’s precisely those organisations that have managed to digitally unlock real work experiences who have the competitive edge.

In business, storytelling serves as a bridge between information, understanding and action. Rather than simply presenting facts and figures, stories create a connection with the audience by bringing to life real, lived experiences.

This is particularly true of employee storytelling. Hearing from leaders and coworkers first hand is one of the most powerful forms of corporate storytelling. Not only does it amplify employee voice, it’s also relatability, authentic and instils trust in the stories shared.

It’s this connection which leads to better business outcomes like increased employee engagement, better knowledge retention, improved learning outcomes, higher productivity or stronger brand loyalty. Stories are more memorable than other, often dryer, formats and as such they help achieve organisational goals more effectively.

Human beings are storytellers. Our minds are finely tuned to the emotional significance of events – so much so that making words into a story can improve retention seven-fold.

Nick shackleton-jones why the best way to engage learners is with storytelling, trainingzone, 2021.

The need for storytelling has also never been greater for the hybrid workforce . With dispersed employees, different time zones and flexible work being the norm, digital channels are not only channels of communication, they’re often a lifeline for workers. It’s how people now learn and connect because those water cooler moments aren’t happening.

The benefits of business storytelling show how vital it is:

• Storytelling engages and inspires. A captivating story moves people to action. It’s this strong engagement and trigger that helps achieve your business goals. Whether you are battling upskilling and reskilling or trying to increase employee retention, engagement is your road to success.
• A good story builds trust. Trust is perceived as a rare commodity for businesses these days. And, with CEOs being among the least trusted on Edelman’s Trust Barometer 2022 , it’s something businesses need to work on. Authentic stories are a great way to do this.
• Business storytelling simplifies complex topics. So many concepts and ideas get buried because people don’t engage with them. A story can bring these to life in a way that’s relatable.
• Storytelling levels up communication. Having open communication channels is not enough. It needs to be effective. Using structured storytelling facilitates impactful communication across departments and throughout every level of an organisation.
• Business stories build connection. Culture matters more than ever. Employees who feel a sense of belonging are more likely to stay and work hard towards a common goal.

The benefits are clear. In a time when budgets are tightening and teams are expected to do more with less, organisations need tactics that deliver real business value. Smart businesses understand the power of a great story and are using them to amplify employee voice, drive learning, increase performance and motivate change.

How to use storytelling in business

Storytelling can be used across organisations and how you use storytelling in business will depend on your goals. For example, if you are struggling with recruitment, you might want to use stories to stand out from the crowd and attract the best talent.

Here are some ideas where business storytelling is already making the most impact:

Onboarding comes with a clear set of goals: time-to-competence, new starter connectivity and retention. But it’s not as simple as it sounds. Particularly when a hybrid working environment makes it hard to create a sense of connection and belonging.

This is where storytelling makes a real difference. A great story helps new starters feel connected to people, purpose and their future careers even before Day 1. Showing company culture through stories means people get a sense of how things are done ‘around here’ and paves the way for that all important trust, retention and productivity.

Talent Mobility

The employment market is constantly changing and implementing an internal mobility strategy can be one of the best tools HR and Talent teams can leverage to stay competitive. When employees look for new opportunities within the company, storytelling can highlight career paths, success stories and the development support available. This encourages people to consider moving internally instead of looking elsewhere. 

Learning and Training

There is no shortage of learning content out there. In fact, L&D teams are faced with an ever growing mountain of demand for training and development. Unfortunately, just because content has been created doesn’t mean it has the desired impact. Incorporating storytelling into learning, and particularly stories in the form of user-generated content , hits the most important elements for meeting learning outcomes: engagement, scale, skills and quality.  

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I)

Many organisations struggle to achieve real outcomes in DE&I. Numbers alone don’t inspire us to change behaviour. People and stories do. After all, hearing stories allow us to take a different perspective and stand in someone else’s shoes which opens the door to more nuanced conversations. Storytelling is a universal human experience and helps us look through a new lens. Sharing employee experience and challenges to foster effective DE&I has the power for real change. 

Early Careers

Anyone working in HR and Talent Management will tell you recruitment is a tough job, even more so when dealing with early careers . While recent figures show a moderate 3% decrease in overall graduate applications , numbers of those applying for apprenticeships have seen an increase of 17%. Yet companies are struggling with attracting and retaining candidates, as well as keeping them engaged. Business storytelling will help differentiate your early careers programmes, from recruitment through to follow on roles in the business.

Tips for Business Storytelling

Storytelling at work isn’t alway easy. But, following a few storytelling tips for business will set you on the right path:

Have a clear goal

Your storytelling campaign needs a clear, specific objective and should align closely with the business goal you’re aiming to meet. This keeps you on track to sharing the best stories. Whether it’s learning, performance or something else, success will depend on making your stories authentic, relatable and engaging. Supporting your goal with real work experiences from employees and leaders is an impactful form of storytelling for business.

Keep it engaging

How will you keep your audience engaged? Think about the best medium for your stories and your audience, whether it’s through articles, videos or presentations. Video stories, more than any other medium, will likely have the biggest impact because it’s easier to invoke an emotional connection and our brains process visual content faster .

Keep it relevant and concise

One common mistake is going into too much detail. It’s understandable as so many business topics are complex. But with 82% people struggling to codify complex experiences by themselves (according to Havard research), it’s important to keep your storytellers on track with a brief. If you’re sharing stories on video, using tools like StoryTagger help provide in-built frameworks and prompts so your storytellers stay on-point. With more complex topics, consider breaking down points into a series.

Provide context

If you’re asking people to share stories they need to know why. Being clear on why something matters increases engagement and impact. It helps storytellers understand the reason for doing something and the benefits in the context of their organisation and role. It’s important to answer the all-important ‘What’s In It For Me?’ question.

Narrative story arc

Having a clear structure with a beginning, middle, and end to your story will help maintain a logical flow so your audience can follow the narrative. People aren’t natural storytellers so having tools and technology in place for this is a must. With StoryTagger, you can curate your campaigns around a structure and key talking points. This way, storytellers can follow guidance you’ve set and the resulting stories will provide consistent value.

Build in authenticity and trust

Your stories need to be authentic and relatable to build trust. As we’ve already noted, Edelman research shows CEO’s aren’t the most trusted of voices so think about inviting people at different levels of your business to be advocates and storytellers. User-generated stories from employees build credibility with co-workers on important topics.

Don’t ignore scalability

Stories don’t have to be from one senior leader, they should be captured from across your organisation. And this can be done with the right tools. Before you start your storytelling journey, ask yourself:

• How will you share your stories? Can you scale them easily? If you’re looking at storytelling videos, traditional corporate video often makes it hard to reach everyone and can have a high price tag. But user-generated content (UGC) will make a huge difference here. UGC, and particularly user-generated video (UGV) is a powerful form of storytelling and a cost-effective way to capture the stories you need.
• Will scaling compromise on the quality and consistency of your stories? Telling a compelling, purposeful business story is more complex than creating a one off TikTok reel. Use technology and best practice to maintain quality and consistency at scale.
• Can you use storytelling to upskill your workforce at the same time? When used effectively, business storytelling has the power to help employees develop future skills like communication, critical thinking and emotional intelligence.

Empowering your employees to be co-creators of the stories you need to share has many benefits. Find out how guided UGC video can transform your experts into inspiring content creators so you can democratise storytelling. You’ll also find more storytelling tips for business in our Storytelling At Work guide.

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Storytelling at work

Best examples of business storytelling

Any storytelling approach you use in your projects, campaigns or programmes will be aimed at achieving your specific goal. What does this look like in practice? To show you, we’ve rounded up five best corporate storytelling examples from our customers.

Business storytelling example

London business school: enhance learning transfer.

Business storytelling can be an incredible tool not only for leadership development but also as a way to showcase learning transfer, as evidenced in this story from the Executive Education team at London Business School (LBS) . Their programme brought together five innovation champions from five different financial organisations to help them cascade good practice and realise their ambition plans.

LBS integrated StoryTagger into their cohort-based program to democratise learning, support personal reflection and knowledge transfer, amplifying what each participant had learned through video storytelling. Leaders shared video reflections before, during and after live learning modules as well as their innovation journey to celebrate the final graduation.

The end result was astounding. By creating impactful business stories, LBS amplified learning transfer and advocacy while building meaningful connections among participants.

“I’ve got better comms skills, a new way of seeing things and can understand people better than before. My plan is now to spread knowledge across our organisation to drive innovation.” – Programme participant

City & Guilds: Support positive change around DE&I

We loved how City & Guilds (C&G) , a global leader in skills development, used workplace storytelling to support their IWD Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) campaign.

Using StoryTagger, C&G created several real-life video stories from employees around the world. They spoke about what International Women’s Day means to them and why it was important to celebrate. These stories not only raised awareness of the importance of diversity in the workplace, but sharing them across their social channels also shone a light on their inclusivity as an employer.

This authentic approach to DE&I resonated with diverse communities, emphasising the group’s values in an impactful way. Find out more about how C&G used storytelling in the workplace to improve engagement and an inclusive work culture .

Amazon Alexa : Build resilience and culture change for everyone

Have you ever run a Storytelling Challenge? It’s an impactful way to get your people to open up and share their most valuable insights on a theme that matters.

Amazon Alexa is a brilliant example of how this worked for a leadership programme. Michal Niezgoda, Leadership Development Senior Program Manager at Amazon Alexa, used StoryTagger to run a storytelling challenge on what it means to survive vs thrive in the workplace.

The platform provided the organisation with a simple mechanism for Amazonians to record their insights. Each storyteller then nominated a colleague to share their thoughts on Surviving Vs Thriving. Creating a ripple effect for learning and culture, Amazon Alexa was able to:

• Create a more open, visible approach to leadership development
• Help everyone connect to company culture, values and behaviours
• Provide a mechanism for leaders to lead by example, share experiences and actionable tips to benefit everyone
• Embed learning and enable people to learn from each other
• Increase impact, multiplies learning transfer and ROI

But a storytelling challenge doesn’t have to be just for leaders. You can follow the same concept for everyone. Download our step-by-step model on how you can plan and run a successful workplace storytelling challenge too.

How to run a storytelling challenge

An impactful way to get people to open up and share their most valuable insights.

TogetherCo: Connection at scale for onboarding

Together Co , a loneliness charity based in Brighton, did a brilliant job using corporate storytelling as part of their induction process. Faced with a surge in demand during the COVID-19 pandemic, they needed to rapidly onboard new volunteers at scale. Using StoryTagger, they created a series of 12 targeted onboarding videos, including a welcome video from their senior leadership team. By sharing these stories, Together Co built trust, a sense of belonging and showcased the organisation’s culture from the start. They decreased time-to-competence by 50% and helped their new volunteers feel part of something meaningful from day 1.

Read more about how this corporate storytelling example enabled Together Co to support their new volunteers.

DofE: Amplify community voice in development programme

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) , a charity dedicated to transforming the lives of young people, aims to reach one million participants in the next five years. Tasked with training a jaw-dropping 10,000 volunteers a year, they needed to overcome many of the typical challenges faced by a busy team when upskilling a large, dispersed population.

Real stories are great for showing people why something matters or to spread vital good practice so the DofE used storytelling to recognise the wealth of experience in their community. StoryTagger helped them capture stories, both practical and emotive, to bring key learning points to life and inspire people to get involved. Participants and volunteers shared their experiences through guided prompts, creating deep insights for digital learning. Embedded in a blended learning programme, these powerful stories made sure every volunteer is equipped to help young people transform their lives.

Check out how DofE used stories to boost learning, without losing human connection.

Final thoughts

Business storytelling is one of the most powerful tools an organisation can use. However, many businesses are yet to harness its true potential by democratising how and who can share stories. An inclusive approach to business storytelling can effectively engage employees, customers and other stakeholders with context, trust and purpose.

The possibilities for using business storytelling are both flexible and far-reaching: from onboarding and leadership development to early careers and DE&I. Real stories by real people create real impact. Use these essential tips with real-world employee storytelling examples to set your campaigns up for storytelling success.

The best way to find out how business storytelling will transform your HR, learning and comms campaigns is to see StoryTagger in action. Why not book a demo today?

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Business Storytelling

Using stories to inspire.

By the Mind Tools Content Team

How many times have you been enthralled by a good story?

Maybe you stayed up late to read a novel that you couldn't put down, or watched a movie that you couldn't switch off? Perhaps you pushed yourself harder because you heard a story about a colleague's success, or you changed your opinion after reading a distressing story in a newspaper?

Stories can change the way we think, act and feel. They can form the foundations of an entire workplace culture, and they have the power to break down barriers and turn bad situations around. Stories can capture our imaginations, illustrate our ideas, arouse our passions, and inspire us in a way that cold, hard facts often can't.

Stories can be powerful business tools, and successful leaders use them to engage their teams. So, if you want to motivate others effectively, you need to learn how to tell a good story.

In this article, we'll look at business storytelling – we'll discuss when best to use stories, and explore what kind of story you could tell to get the results you want.

What Is Business Storytelling?

People tell business stories to communicate and connect with employees, customers, colleagues, partners, suppliers, and the media. Business stories differ from regular stories, in that you tell them with an objective, goal, or desired outcome in mind, rather than for entertainment.

When you tell a story well, it can create an intense, personal connection between your audience and your message. Effective stories can change our opinions, they can inspire us to achieve goals that we didn't think were possible, and they can show us how we can change things for the better.

Discover the three stages of good storytelling.

When to Use Stories

You can use stories to achieve a number of different goals. For example:

• Sundar has just started leading a new team. His team members see him as an outsider, and they don't trust him. He tells several stories about his past leadership roles, and explains why he's enthusiastic about this new position. He also discloses personal information, such as where he grew up and what hobbies he enjoys. His honesty helps his new team to see him as a real person, not as a stranger, and they begin to open up and trust him.
• Amy, a sales rep, meets with a potential client who knows little about what her organization offers. She tells a story about how one of her products helped reduce another client's supply costs by 20 percent. The new client is impressed with the product's effectiveness, and places his first order.
• Elsa asks her team members to attend a workplace safety class, but they're not convinced that this is a good use of their time. She recounts a story from a recent trade journal about an employee at a rival organization who was badly injured using the same machinery that her team members use. The story convinces Elsa's team that the safety class could help prevent injuries.

Types of Stories

In her book "Whoever Tells the Best Story Wins," author Annette Simmons identifies six structures that you can use to tell business stories. Let's look at each one below.

1. "Who-I-Am" Stories

These stories explain who you are as a person. They tell others about your experiences, dreams, goals, accomplishments, failures, motivations, values, or history.

"Who-I-am" stories are essential for building trust . Tell these stories when you join a new team, or when you need to establish a connection with a stranger.

2. "Why-I-Am-Here" Stories

"Why-I-am-here" stories communicate why you're here, and their aim is to replace suspicion with trust. People want to know, "What's in it for me?" but they also want to know, "What's in it for you?" These stories explain that you don't have a hidden agenda, and that you'll both get something fair out of the situation.

For example, people may be asking themselves if you are passionate about what you do, or whether you are financially motivated? And are you here for the right or wrong reasons?

You can use "why-I-am-here" stories in fundraising, sales, and situations when you need to build trust quickly, or where you want to reassure someone that you're on a level playing field. These kinds of stories are especially appropriate for sharing with new recruits, and also serve as a useful reminder to existing team members of why you're in the business you're in.

3. Teaching Stories

Teaching stories create an experience that transforms listeners or readers. They show how a change in their behavior, perspective or skills can lead to meaningful results.

You can also use teaching stories to illustrate a situation, such as a best- or worst-case scenario.

4. Vision Stories

Vision stories inspire people and encourage them to feel hope or happiness. Here, you convince your audience that their hard work and sacrifice is worth the effort. You need to link their actions to a specific, valuable, and worthy outcome.

Use vision stories when you need to motivate people to change their behavior. They can inspire people to overcome the frustrations, obstacles, and challenges that come with change, so that they can achieve a worthwhile goal or ideal.

5. Values-in-Action Stories

Values-in-action stories reinforce the values that you want your audience to demonstrate or think about. These stories can be positive or negative. For example, you can tell stories that demonstrate integrity, compassion, and commitment, or tell ones that highlight attitudes that you don't want to see – for example, cynicism, a slapdash approach to quality, or a weak work ethic.

6. "I-Know-What-You-Are-Thinking" Stories

"I-know-what-you-are-thinking" stories allow you to address other people's objections, suspicions, questions, or concerns before they voice them. With these stories, you need to anticipate your audience's point of view, so it's best to choose a story that deals with their unspoken concerns.

When you tell this type of story, you validate the audience's perspective or worries. This shows them that you're on their side, and that you identify with their emotions. These kinds of stories are valuable in sales, negotiations, or pitches to key stakeholders . [1]

How to Tell a Persuasive Story

A good story is like a recipe – certain "ingredients" need to be part of the mix for it to be a success. All great stories have three essential elements: context, action and result.

These three elements make up the CAR framework, which Paul Smith wrote about in his book, "Lead with a Story." [2] In it, he examines how leaders can use this simple structure to tell better business stories. Let's look at each element in detail:

Smith wrote that context is the element most neglected by leaders. Without context, your story may confuse or bore your audience.

The context provides the background information that listeners or readers need to make sense of your story. It should also spark their interest and make a connection, so that they care about what you have to say.

Context needs to address four key questions:

• Where and when does the story take place? – Establish the "when" and "where" of your story, and clarify whether it's fact or fiction.
• Who is the main character? – This needs to be someone who your audience can connect with. In most cases, you are the main character.
• What does he or she want? – Explain what your main character wants to accomplish.
• Who, or what, is in the way? – Every story needs an obstacle or villain. This can be a person, an event, or a challenge.

As you think about how to tell your story, plan how you'll answer these four questions. It's also important to be authentic , especially when you tell a personal story.

Tony's company has just had the worst third quarter in its history. At the annual town hall meeting , Tony needs to boost his team members' morale, and inspire them to work harder in the fourth quarter to make up their losses.

"When I started this company 10 years ago," he begins, "I didn't know how to run a business. I figured I could do everything myself and succeed."

"I was dead wrong. I worked 15-hour days to keep up with it all. I wanted to grow the company, but I quickly realized that I didn't know how, and I couldn't do it alone."

Every great story has action: ups and downs, setbacks, conflicts, failures, and battles. The action is where we experience defeats and learn lessons.

In your story, your main character must "do" something. Ideally, he or she will experience a setback, failure, or problem along the way. Obstacles create tension and forge an important connection with your audience, because everyone experiences them daily.

Tony continues, "All of you know how stubborn I am, so I tried to go it alone. But I started to lose clients because I couldn't keep my promises. I didn't have time to bid for work, so my competitors got ahead, and I lost even more clients. This put enormous pressure on my family because I was never at home. I knew that if things continued this way, the company would go under in a matter of months, and that I might lose my family. I needed help."

At the end of your story, you reveal your main character's fate. You also need to explain, subtly, what the audience should have learned from this result. What's the moral? Why did you tell this story?

Tony wraps up his story.

"Once I realized I had to ask for help, I did. I put some major projects on hold, and started to look for great people to help me. I handpicked each of you because you're the best at what you do. You have the skills, knowledge, and experience that I lacked."

"This company is the success it is because of all of you. Every company has its ups and downs, just like I did when I first started this business. But I believe in all of you, and I believe that we will turn this problem around next month. So, let's focus on the future, and think about how we can help one another succeed."

Great storytellers know that a powerful story is only part of what inspires people to listen. Follow the tips below to become a better storyteller.

• Listen – The best storytellers are also the best listeners. Brush up on your active listening skills, and give others your full attention when they tell a story.
• Practice – Rehearse your story before you tell it. Even if you practice on your own, just once, in front of a mirror or video camera, this can improve your storytelling.
• Create an experience – When you tell a story, you create an experience for your listeners. Appeal to all five senses: don't just dictate it to them.

Business storytelling is the art of using stories to communicate and connect with employees, customers, suppliers, partners, and anyone else involved with your organization. The purpose of business stories isn't entertainment. Rather, they have a specific goal or desired outcome.

To tell a great business story, it's important to be authentic. Use stories that tell other people more about who you are, and why you're here. And, don't be too afraid to tell stories that show failure, poor judgment, or mistakes on your part. When you're prepared to appear vulnerable in front of others, you can quickly establish trust and rapport.

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Brand Story Case Study: Examples of Successful Storytelling

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Living in an ever-changing landscape of consumerism, brands rely on their stories to stay relevant and connect to their audience. But just telling a story isn’t enough—you have to demonstrate the credibility of your brand using evidence, data, and facts. That’s where a brand story case study comes into play.  In this blog post, we’ll explore the world of brand story case studies and how you can create one for your business. 

What Is Brand Storytelling?

At their core, brand stories are narratives that help explain the values and purpose behind a business . They can engage customers emotionally, generate trust and credibility, and tell your company’s story. These stories often comprise three key elements: setting/background information, plot (action/events), and characters. Brand narrative helps customers and prospects understand your firm, even if they’ve never interacted with you. It can help establish trust and build loyalty amongst current customers as well. Brand stories also provide an edge over competitors. By telling a consistent story, you can set yourself apart from the competition and create an identity unique to your business. 

What Is a Brand Story Case Study?

It is an in-depth look at how a company has used storytelling to achieve specific goals and objectives. It analyzes the success and failure of a brand story to learn how other organizations may employ storytelling. A well-constructed case study should include research, data, and interviews with individuals involved in the process.  By using case studies, businesses can:

• Learn from the successes of others
• Identify potential areas for improvement
• Create more compelling stories that can reach customers in a variety of ways. 

Case studies are also helpful when it comes to marketing and advertising campaigns. By examining the results of previous campaigns, you can better understand how to ensure your message reaches the right people. 

How Can You Create an Effective Brand Story Case Study?

Creating a compelling brand case study can be daunting, but it’s possible with the right approach. Here are some key steps to consider when making your own: 

Before you start writing, do your research to gain a better understanding of the history and context of your brand story. Try to be as comprehensive as possible, exploring primary and secondary sources.

Ask the Right Questions

Ensure you’re asking the right questions when gathering data for your case study. What was the story’s goal, and how did it achieve it? Were there any challenges that had to be overcome?

Analyze the Data

Use the data you’ve gathered to analyze and draw conclusions about the effectiveness of your brand story. 

Share Insights

Once you have your analysis, share key takeaways or insights that can help other businesses create compelling stories. 

Brand Story Case Study Examples to Consider

These examples showcase the power of a well-crafted brand story . Explore each case study to see how the brand used its uniqueness and brand voice to create memorable experiences.

HP (Classic Hollywood Style)

HP’s “The Wolf” film tries to pique viewers’ attention on the potentially dull topic of printer security. It’s a fun tale that also drives home HP’s printer security software’s importance. Even if you can’t afford to A-list actors for your videos like HP, you may still take cues from their innovative approach to storytelling.

Why Is This Such a Powerful Branding Example?

The film’s frightening antagonist illustrates the risks a firm faces if its printer security is poor. Cinematic magic makes the age-old tale of good vs. evil more captivating than a dull sales pitch.

Microsoft (Highlighting Its Best Employees)

Microsoft, one of the world’s largest companies, is also one of the strongest promoters of storytelling as a brand-building tool. The Microsoft Story Labs platform features work from researchers, artists, and game designers.

Why Is This a Fantastic Example of a Brand Story?

These detailed biographies show that Microsoft is made up of talented and creative people rather than just a faceless business. The brand, the staff, and the customers are more closely linked when the company shows appreciation for its staff.

IBM (Tackling Problems in a Humane Way)

The global technology giant has utilized narrative for decades to connect with customers more personally. The TV commercial showcases IBM’s efforts to enhance education in the United States. Although it’s been on the air for nearly two decades, the commercial is still a prime example of compelling brand storytelling.

Focusing on people’s problems and demonstrating how IBM can help them makes the audience feel like they’re part of something bigger.

Google (Focus on Local Companies)

The majority of B2B advertising professionals are already familiar with Google Ads. To demonstrate the platform’s potential, Google produced a video series titled “AdWords Stories,” featuring profiles of small businesses using it. Google shared the story of a small-town eatery that utilized Google Ads to grow into a $14 million mail-order empire across the country.

Heroes exist in every community. By uniting people to promote their product, Google makes them feel like they’re a part of something great.

Salesforce (Clients Should Share Their Success Stories)

The well-known sales technology provider is known for a particular style of storytelling: letting their clients do the talking for them. On their success stories page, you can see how Salesforce has helped other businesses grow through the eyes of their satisfied customers. Using this strategy for your own company is straightforward. Like this case study, you may ask your most satisfied consumers to describe their product experiences.

This teaches us that we should never discount the power of a success story. Ninety percent of customers say they purchased after reading excellent customer success stories.

Brand stories are essential for businesses looking to engage customers, build loyalty, and stand out from the competition . A brand story case study is a great way to ensure that all of the best that your business has to offer gets highlighted.  Following the steps outlined in this article, you can create a compelling case study and demonstrate the power of storytelling. 

Abir Ghenaiet

Abir is a data analyst and researcher. Among her interests are artificial intelligence, machine learning, and natural language processing. As a humanitarian and educator, she actively supports women in tech and promotes diversity.

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Video Case Study: Storytelling in Business

Home / Resources / Video Case Study: Storytelling in Business

By now, you’re well aware of the power that storytelling can have on improving your business communications. It focuses your ideas, reminds you to reflect on your audience’s perspective, elevates the meaning behind your data, and, ultimately, it boosts your executive presence to help you get ahead in your career.

And while you’ve likely read blogs or books that give you strategies for building more authentic, influential business stories, you might still be wondering… Am I doing this right?!

If you want to get inspired by seeing a real transformation – a case study that, step-by-step, shows a “bad” presentation made over into a compelling, audience-centric story – this one’s for you.

Watch the video below to see a data-heavy presentation (with no clear storyline) translated into a highly visual, highly engaging story that drives the conversation forward in a succinct, meaningful way.

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Data Storytelling: How to Effectively Tell a Story with Data

• 23 Nov 2021

When you hear the term “data analysis,” what do you think of? Your mind may jump to scouring spreadsheets, implementing algorithms, and making mathematical calculations—all “hard skills” of data analysis. Yet, hard skills are useless without their soft skill counterparts. It’s not enough to just analyze data; you need to know how to communicate the story it tells in a clear, compelling manner—a skill called data storytelling .

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics , the demand for research analysts is expected to grow 25 percent between 2020 and 2030, much faster than the average across all industries. Many companies have begun including data storytelling as a required skill in analyst job descriptions, while others have opted to hire for data storyteller positions to supplement their existing analytics teams’ abilities. Possessing the skills to both analyze data and communicate its insights can help you stand out as a well-rounded candidate.

Here’s a primer on the key components of data storytelling, why storytelling is an impactful communication tool, and how to craft a compelling narrative of your own.

Access your free e-book today.

What Is Data Storytelling?

Data storytelling is the ability to effectively communicate insights from a dataset using narratives and visualizations. It can be used to put data insights into context for and inspire action from your audience.

There are three key components to data storytelling:

• Data: Thorough analysis of accurate, complete data serves as the foundation of your data story. Analyzing data using descriptive , diagnostic , predictive , and prescriptive analysis can enable you to understand its full picture.
• Narrative: A verbal or written narrative, also called a storyline, is used to communicate insights gleaned from data, the context surrounding it, and actions you recommend and aim to inspire in your audience.
• Visualizations: Visual representations of your data and narrative can be useful for communicating its story clearly and memorably. These can be charts, graphs, diagrams, pictures, or videos.

Data storytelling can be used internally (for instance, to communicate the need for product improvements based on user data) or externally (for instance, to create a compelling case for buying your product to potential customers).

Related: The Advantages of Data-Driven Decision-Making

The Psychological Power of Storytelling

Humans have told stories since the Cro-Magnon era to communicate with others for survival and record accounts of daily life. While storytelling methods have come a long way since the days of cave paintings, its psychological power holds true tens of thousands of years later.

The brain’s preference for stories over pure data stems from the fact that it takes in so much information every day and needs to determine what’s important to process and remember and what can be discarded.

When someone hears a story, multiple parts of the brain are engaged, including:

• Wernicke’s area, which controls language comprehension
• The amygdala, which processes emotional response
• Mirror neurons, which play a role in empathizing with others

When multiple areas of the brain are engaged, the hippocampus—which stores short-term memories—is more likely to convert the experience of hearing a story into a long-term memory.

Rather than presenting your team with a spreadsheet of data and rattling off numbers, consider how you can engage multiple parts of their brains. Using data storytelling, you can evoke an emotional response on a neural level that can help your points be remembered and acted upon.

How to Craft a Compelling Data Narrative

Data storytelling uses the same narrative elements as any story you’ve read or heard before: characters, setting, conflict, and resolution.

To help illustrate this, imagine you’re a data analyst and just discovered your company’s recent decline in sales has been driven by customers of all genders between the ages of 14 and 23. You find that the drop was caused by a viral social media post highlighting your company’s negative impact on the environment, and craft a narrative using the four key story elements:

• Characters: The players and stakeholders include customers between the ages of 14 and 23, environmentally conscious consumers, and your internal team. This doesn’t need to be part of your presentation, but you should define the key players for yourself beforehand.
• Setting: Set the scene by explaining there’s been a recent drop in sales driven by customers of all genders ages 14 to 23. Use a data visualization to show the decline across audience types and highlight the largest drop in young users.
• Conflict: Describe the root issue: A viral social media post highlighted your company’s negative impact on the environment and caused tens of thousands of young customers to stop using your product. Incorporate research (such as this article in the Harvard Business Review ) about how consumers are more environmentally conscious than ever and how sustainably-marketed products can potentially drive more revenue than their unsustainable counterparts. Remind the team of your company’s current unsustainable manufacturing practices to clarify why customers stopped purchasing your product. Use visualizations here, too.
• Resolution: Propose your solution. Based on this data, you present a long-term goal to pivot to sustainable manufacturing practices. You also center marketing and public relations efforts on making this pivot visible across all audience segments. Use visualizations that show the investment required for sustainable manufacturing practices can pay off in the form of earning customers from the growing environmentally conscious market segment.

If there isn’t a conflict in your data story—for instance, if the data showed your current marketing campaign was driving traffic and exceeding your goal—you can skip that element and go straight to recommending that the current course of action be maintained.

Whatever story the data tells, you can communicate it effectively by formatting your narrative with these elements and walking your audience through each piece with the help of visualizations.

Communicating the Need for Action

Data storytelling can help turn data insights into action. Without effective communication, insights can go unnoticed or unremembered by your audience; both hard and soft skills are crucial for leveraging data to its fullest potential.

Harvard Business School Professor Jan Hammond speaks to this in the online course Business Analytics , one of three courses that make up the Credential of Readiness (CORe) program.

“Always remember that applying analytical techniques to managerial problems requires both art and science,” Hammond says. “Over my career, I’ve learned that it’s the soft skills that are the hardest to master, but they’re critically important.”

Do you want to become a data-driven professional? Explore our eight-week Business Analytics course and our three-course Credential of Readiness (CORe) program to deepen your analytical skills and apply them to real-world business problems.

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Customer Case Studies: Bringing the Power of Storytelling

Customer Case Studies: Bringing the Power of Storytelling

From Greek mythology to modern day science fiction and fantasy, the art of storytelling has enthralled all audiences. What do these compelling and memorable stories have that most B2B technology customer case studies don’t? Relatable and inspiring heroes, attention grabbing plots, and satisfying resolutions. The secret? Your customer case studies may have the basics, but they may need a better storyteller to help bring out the magic.

Aventi Group has developed a customer case study tool to help your storyteller take your case studies to a new level of effectiveness. Our tool is a rigorous and probing set of questions that case writers can use in customer interviews to extract the critical information necessary for a powerful story. Given that these interviews are only around thirty to forty-five minutes long, every question must count in helping the writer bring out the full three-act play format. You’ll remember the three-act play format from your high school literature class. Let’s go through these three acts and how the Aventi interview tool can help you craft a customer case study that tells a memorable story.

Download the Customer Case Study Questi ons Tool

Act One – Setting the stage and introducing the hero

Act one of your case study will begin like any good story, with the set up. We break up this act into two parts. The first part creates the setting and sets the context for the story. From a business perspective, the questions in the Aventi tool will dive into the industry involved or the current situation of the company in question. This section is comprised of six total questions to pull the best information needed for each case study. 

For example, the first question on this list states, “Describe the industry sector you’re in.” This question provides the setting for your case study story. Knowing where your story takes place helps an audience picture what is happening and better relate it to their own industry. 

Diving deeper into setting, another question on this list asks, “What is the current situation of the company’s overall health?” Beyond the physical location and industry, this line of questioning helps develop a clearer view of the context surrounding our setting and story.  

Now we know where it takes place and have some context around our story. Next, the questions move into understanding the underlying motivations and overall mission of the company involved. “What are the three most important things your company does for its customers?” This establishes the character and purpose of the context for the audience. 

Section two in act one focuses on the main character of our story: the Hero. The hero in a typical case study would be presented as the position of the subject or their name. In the Aventi Group storytelling strategy, they are much more than that. The six questions in this section further develop and bring light to the deeper persona of the hero and create a vivid image of their position within their company, their responsibilities on the job, their struggles and challenges faced each day, and how they grow and develop themselves.  

Questions for this section begin by getting to know our hero on a deeper level. Questions like, “Describe your professional experience?” establish who the hero is and what they have accomplished while further questions like, “What is your role and important responsibilities?” show an audience how our hero is using that past experience in the present situation. 

After creating an image of our hero’s life in their company, questions move deeper to unravel what they do to learn or grow themselves for the roles they hold. Questions such as, “Whose advice do you tend to listen to the most?” show the reader what is influencing our hero. 

See an example of a case study Aventi Group developed with their own client, Malwarebytes : Malwarebytes Case Study

Act Two – The hero’s conflict

Now that the audience is invested in their hero, the best part of any story is watching the hero slay the beast. Act two will establish the conflict or challenge facing the hero of the case study. The six questions here aim to understand what obstacles in the workplace were creating a problem for our hero, what triggers or specific issues caused them to embark on a search for solutions, and how they justified making changes or purchases to solve their issue.  

Step one, identify the beast our hero will conquer. Questions for this section begin with statements like, “What is the business situation you were facing that led you to consider a technology purchase?” and “What specific task or function were you finding to be an increasingly bigger concern or issue for you personally?” This line of questions outline the villain of the story. 

Once we know our enemy, questions move into determining what finally sparked our hero into action and why they decided that moment to make a move. Questions like, “What specific trigger(s) initiated the search for options and eventually a technology purchase cycle?” and “Why not continue with the status quo? What would be the consequences if you could not solve these problems?” show our audience what was the final straw for our hero to take action and help the reader compare their own situation to the issue our hero is facing.  

Take a look at another sample case study Aventi Group developed with ServiceNow : ServiceNow Case Study

Act Three – The hero’s victory

Act three is the moment we have all been waiting for. Our hero finds their solution and attains a resolution to their journey. The first section of act three, the solution , helps paint the picture of a battle won. These seven questions illustrate how the hero decided on a solution, what factors led them to choose that particular option, and ultimately, why they selected the technology vendor.

This section begins by outlining the weapon (vendor solution) chosen by our hero and how they found it. “What factors did you consider in making this decision?” “How did you first learn about our solution” Questions like these help an audience understand how a solution was found and how they can potentially go about finding one of their own. 

From here, we identify which sword our hero chose and if they have used that sword in action. “What products/services did you buy from us? Which have you fully deployed?” These questions will show the audience what kind of solution worked for a specific issue. 

Section two of our last act, the resolution , gives the clear image of how different the hero’s situation is before and after taking the journey towards problem solving. These six questions dive into life after deploying the solution found. How is the solution helping? What difference has it made to the hero and their organization?

For our final section, questions aim to relay the results of our hero’s efforts and show how the solution made an impact. “How did you measure success?” “What are some of the business impacts of deploying our solution?” Here we illustrate the tangible positive result for our hero after choosing a solution from our company. 

Finally, we move to one of the most important questions for our audience. They have seen the setting, met the hero, watched the battle, and cheered when the beast was slain, but they want to know how they can embark on a journey of their own. Asking the hero, “What advice would you give an industry colleague about this whole experience?” gives the audience the firsthand advice they’re looking for before they can move to solving a problem of their own. Once these questions are answered, the hero can take a bow. 

The Art of Storytelling for a Compelling Customer Case Study

Instead of two-dimensional, flat case study, give your prospective customers a three-dimensional experience where they can relate on a deeper level to the obstacles facing people just like them and understand the satisfaction that can be found in obtaining a solution from you. Through the art of storytelling and appealing to human emotions, the Customer Case Study Question Tool can take your case studies from unimpactful to inspiring.    

Download the Customer Case Study Questions Tool

If you have questions, or would like assistance with your customer case studies, contact Aventi Group .

Sridhar Ramanathan

Sridhar Ramanathan has 20+ years of experience in technology companies – from startups to blue chip firms. As the Marketing executive for Hewlett-Packard’s Managed Services business, he was responsible for marketing worldwide and managing the portfolio of HP services’ $1.1B unit. He also held profit & loss responsibility for electronic messaging outsourcing and e-service business units. Thanks to Sridhar’s efforts, HP became the #1 ERP Outsourcer and experienced growth in the data warehouse market, now well over a $1B revenue stream. Sridhar has played interim executive roles for a number of technology firms, leading their sales and marketing functions in the high growth phase. Sridhar holds an MBA from the Wharton School of Business and a BS in Engineering Physics from U.C. Berkeley. He is active in non-profit work as Vice Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Child Advocates of Silicon Valley, an organization that provides stability and hope to abused and neglected children.

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Use Storytelling to Make Your Business Case

A good story is thought-provoking and holds our attention to the end, when ultimately a valuable message becomes clear. Isn’t that what we’re out to accomplish when we pitch a new business case to the decision makers in our company?

Then why not tell more stories at work? Harvard Business Review makes the case for imagining your next big project as a story, complete with a problem (your business need), a cast of characters, a compelling plot and a hopefully a happy ending.

You need a story/business proposal that appeals to different perspectives, and is compelling and convincing no matter who your audience is.

How do you accomplish that? It’s about connection. Think about the different ways people think, act and approach problems. Not only does this help you develop the story but it will ultimately shape your pitch it to decision makers as well.

To develop the story, leverage the talent within your ranks—as a manager, you have powerful people resources at your disposal. Use them!

• Your Social thinkers might cast the characters, identifying the stakeholders that will ultimately identify with the story and make it happen.
• Count on your Conceptual thinkers for ideas, storylines and broad vision for the project. They will identify alternative paths to success for your team to choose from.
• Structural minds will work ideas and characters into a detailed project plan (the story’s plot) with a clear path to success, and see it through to the end.
• The Analytical thinkers are there to perform cost/benefit and ROI analyses and arrive at an ending that works for the organization.

These four components align perfectly with the Harvard Business Review approach as well as with the way people actually think . However, like any good story, emotion, perspective, pacing and plot twists go into a good business proposal.

The behavior of a manager and the team can make or break a presentation.

• Knowing how you typically come across from an Expressiveness standpoint is critical to storytelling.
• Assertiveness should be varied based on where you are in the plot.
• Flexibility can run a full spectrum from those who tell a direct, straightforward story to those who change things up on the fly.

Awareness of behaviors also comes into play with your audience. It helps you know how assertive you should be in promoting your story, how expressive when telling it, and how flexible you may need to be when that decision maker offers an alternative ending.

Developing a business case in this way will give you a firm handle on the problem, the characters, the plot and the resolution.

Now, when it’s time to make the case, use your people, consider who is hearing your story and adopt your approach. What makes a good story to a CFO concerned with financial analysis may be a snoozer for a CEO focused on market expansion.

See more ways on how to maximize storytelling in the business world from our founder, Dr. Geil Browning, writing for Inc. Magazine!

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Business process reengineering (BPR) is the radical redesign of core business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in performance, efficiency and effectiveness. BPR examples are not one-time projects, but rather examples of a continuous journey of innovation and change focused on optimizing end-to-end processes and eliminating redundancies. The purpose of BPR is to streamline  workflows , eliminate unnecessary steps and improve resource utilization.

BPR involves business process redesign that challenges norms and methods within an organization. It typically focuses on achieving dramatic, transformative changes to existing processes. It should not be confused with  business process management (BPM) , a more incremental approach to optimizing processes, or business process improvement (BPI), a broader term that encompasses any systematic effort to improve current processes. This blog outlines some BPR examples that benefit from a BPM methodology.

Background of business process reengineering

BPR emerged in the early 1990s as a management approach aimed at radically redesigning business operations to achieve business transformation. The methodology gained prominence with the publication of a 1990 article in the Harvard Business Review, “Reengineering Work: Don’t Automate, Obliterate,” by Michael Hammer, and the 1993 book by Hammer and James Champy, Reengineering the Corporation . An early case study of BPR was Ford Motor Company, which successfully implemented reengineering efforts in the 1990s to streamline its manufacturing processes and improve competitiveness.

Organizations of all sizes and industries implement business process reengineering. Step 1 is to define the goals of BPR, and subsequent steps include assessing the current state, identifying gaps and opportunities, and process mapping.

Successful implementation of BPR requires strong leadership, effective change management and a commitment to continuous improvement. Leaders, senior management, team members and stakeholders must champion the BPR initiative and provide the necessary resources, support and direction to enable new processes and meaningful change.

BPR examples: Use cases

Streamlining supply chain management.

Using BPR for supply chain optimization involves a meticulous reassessment and redesign of every step, including logistics, inventory management and procurement . A comprehensive supply chain overhaul might involve rethinking procurement strategies, implementing just-in-time inventory systems, optimizing production schedules or redesigning transportation and distribution networks. Technologies such as supply chain management software (SCM), enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, and advanced analytics tools can be used to automate and optimize processes. For example, predictive analytics can be used to forecast demand and optimize inventory levels, while blockchain technology can enhance transparency and traceability in the supply chain.

• Improved efficiency
• Reduced cost
• Enhanced transparency

Customer relationship management (CRM)

BPR is a pivotal strategy for organizations that want to overhaul their customer relationship management (CRM) processes. Steps of business process reengineering for CRM include integrating customer data from disparate sources, using advanced analytics for insights, and optimizing service workflows to provide personalized experiences and shorter wait times.

BPR use cases for CRM might include:

• Implementing integrated CRM software to centralize customer data and enable real-time insights
• Adopting omnichannel communication strategies to provide seamless and consistent experiences across touchpoints
• Empowering frontline staff with training and resources to deliver exceptional service

Using BPR, companies can establish a comprehensive view of each customer, enabling anticipation of their needs, personalization of interactions and prompt issue resolution.

• 360-degree customer view
• Increased sales and retention
• Faster problem resolution

Digitizing administrative processes

Organizations are increasingly turning to BPR to digitize and automate administrative processes to reduce human errors. This transformation entails replacing manual, paper-based workflows with digital systems that use technologies like Robotic Process Automation (RPA) for routine tasks.

This might include streamlining payroll processes, digitizing HR operations or automating invoicing procedures. This can lead to can significant improvements in efficiency, accuracy and scalability and enable the organization to operate more effectively.

• Reduced processing times
• Reduced errors
• Increased adaptability

Improving product development processes

BPR plays a crucial role in optimizing product development processes, from ideation to market launch. This comprehensive overhaul involves evaluating and redesigning workflows, fostering cross-functional collaboration and innovating by using advanced technologies. This can involve implementing cross-functional teams to encourage communication and knowledge sharing, adopting agile methodologies to promote iterative development and rapid prototyping, and by using technology such as product lifecycle management (PLM) software to streamline documentation and version control.

BPR initiatives such as these enable organizations to reduce product development cycle times, respond more quickly to market demands, and deliver innovative products that meet customer needs.

• Faster time-to-market
• Enhanced innovation
• Higher product quality

Updating technology infrastructure

In an era of rapid technological advancement, BPR serves as a vital strategy for organizations that need to update and modernize their technology infrastructure. This transformation involves migrating to cloud-based solutions, adopting emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) , and integrating disparate systems for improved data management and analysis, which enables more informed decision making. Embracing new technologies helps organizations improve performance, cybersecurity and scalability and positioning themselves for long-term success.

• Enhanced performance
• Improved security
• Increased innovation

Reducing staff redundancy

In response to changing market dynamics and organizational needs, many companies turn to BPR to restructure their workforce and reduce redundancy. These strategic initiatives can involve streamlining organizational hierarchies, consolidating departments and outsourcing non-core functions. Optimizing workforce allocation and eliminating redundant roles allows organizations to reduce costs, enhance operational efficiency and focus resources on key priorities.

• Cost savings
• Increased efficiency
• Focus on core competencies

Cutting costs across operations

BPR is a powerful tool to systematically identify inefficiencies, redundancies and waste within business operations. This enables organizations to streamline processes and cut costs.

BPR focuses on redesigning processes to eliminate non-value-added activities, optimize resource allocation, and enhance operational efficiency. This might entail automating repetitive tasks, reorganizing workflows for minimizing bottlenecks, renegotiating contracts with suppliers to secure better terms, or by using technology to improve collaboration and communication. This can enable significant cost savings and improve profitability.

• Lower costs
• Enhanced competitiveness

Improving output quality

BPR can enhance the quality of output across various business processes, from manufacturing to service delivery. BPR initiatives generally boost key performance indicators (KPIs).

Steps for improving output quality involve implementing quality control measures, fostering a culture of continuous improvement, and using customer feedback and other metrics to drive innovation.

Technology can also be used to automate processes. When employees are freed from distracting processes, they can increase their focus on consistently delivering high-quality products and services. This builds customer trust and loyalty and supports the organization’s long-term success.

• Higher customer satisfaction
• Enhanced brand image

Human resource (HR) process optimization

BPR is crucial for optimizing human resources (HR) processes. Initiatives might include automating the onboarding process with easy-to-use portals, streamlining workflows, creating self-service portals and apps, using AI for talent acquisition , and implementing a data-driven approach to performance management.

Fostering employee engagement can also help attract, develop and retain top talent. Aligning HR processes with organizational goals and values can enhance workforce productivity, satisfaction and business performance.

• Faster recruitment cycles
• Improved employee engagement
• Strategic talent allocation

BPR examples: Case studies

The following case study examples demonstrate a mix of BPR methodologies and use cases working together to yield client benefits.

Bouygues becomes the AI standard bearer in French telecom

Bouygues Telecom , a leading French communications service provider, was plagued by legacy systems that struggled to keep up with an enormous volume of support calls. The result? Frustrated customers were left stranded in call lines and Bouygues at risk of being replaced by its competitors. Thankfully, Bouygues had partnered with IBM previously in one of our first pre- IBM watsonx™ AI deployments. This phase 1 engagement laid the groundwork perfectly for AI’s injection into the telecom’s call center during phase 2.

Today, Bouygues greets over 800,000 calls a month with IBM watsonx Assistant™, and IBM watsonx Orchestrate™ helps alleviate the repetitive tasks that agents previously had to handle manually, freeing them for higher-value work. In all, agents’ pre-and-post-call workloads were reduced by 30%. 1 In addition, 8 million customer-agent conversations—which were, in the past, only partially analyzed—have now been summarized with consistent accuracy for the creation of actionable insights.

Taken together, these technologies have made Bouygues a disruptor in the world of customer care, yielding a USD 5 million projected reduction in yearly operational costs and placing them at the forefront of AI technology. 1

Finance of America promotes lifetime loyalty via customer-centric transformation

By co-creating with IBM, mortgage lender Finance of America was able to recenter their operations around their customers, driving value for both them and the prospective home buyers they serve.

To accomplish this goal, FOA iterated quickly on both new strategies and features that would prioritize customer service and retention. From IBM-facilitated design thinking workshops came roadmaps for a consistent brand experience across channels, simplifying the work of their agents and streamlining the application process for their customers.

As a result of this transformation, FOA is projected to double their customer base in just three years. In the same time frame, they aim to increase revenue by over 50% and income by over 80%. Now, Finance of America is primed to deliver enhanced services—such as debt advisory—that will help promote lifetime customer loyalty. 2

BPR examples and IBM

Business process reengineering (BPR) with IBM takes a critical look at core processes to spot and redesign areas that need improvement. By stepping back, strategists can analyze areas like supply chain, customer experience and finance operations. BPR services experts can embed emerging technologies and overhaul existing processes to improve the business holistically. They can help you build new processes with intelligent workflows that drive profitability, weed out redundancies, and prioritize cost saving.

1. IBM Wow Story: Bouygues Becomes the AI Standard-Bearer in French Telecom. Last updated 10 November 2023.

2. IBM Wow Story: Finance of America Promotes Lifetime Loyalty via Customer-Centric Transformation. Last updated 23 February 2024.

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Lessons from Beyoncé on Navigating Exclusion

• Ella F. Washington,
• Hildana Haileyesus,
• Laura Morgan Roberts

The star’s path from CMA Awards backlash to Cowboy Carter is a case study in strategic response.

In 2016, Beyoncé’s performance at the CMA Awards sparked backlash from fans complaining about everything from her attire to her lack of connection to the genre. This year, she released her first country album, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. Her actions over the past eight years have been a case study in how to navigate workplace exclusion. As a first step, it often makes sense to exit the conversation and wait for a better moment to respond. Then, work behind the scenes, ideally with collaborators, to push for change. Finally, consider focusing on your own authenticity and strengths to create your own lane within your organization or outside it.

Beyoncé, the globally revered singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur, last month released her new album Cowboy Carter.   However, this project is much more than another musical release from a leading star. It offers a case study in how to navigate workplace exclusion.

• Ella F. Washington  is an organizational psychologist; the founder and CEO of Ellavate Solutions, a DEI strategy firm; and a professor of practice at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. She is the author of  The Necessary Journey: Making Real Progress on Equity and Inclusion  (HBR Press, November 2022) and  Unspoken: A Guide to Cracking the Hidden Corporate Code  (Forbes Books, May 2024). 
• Hildana Haileyesus  is a DEI consultant at  Ellavate Solutions with a background in training and facilitation, client strategy, and research. She has worked across higher education and business and applies a sociological lens to equity-driven change efforts.
• Laura Morgan Roberts is a Frank M. Sands Sr. Associate Professor of Business Administration at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. She is an organizational psychologist and the coeditor of Race, Work and Leadership: New Perspectives on the Black Experience (Harvard Business Review Press, 2019).

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