Adopt an always be storytelling mindset when it comes to focusing on customer success for customer retention.
Listen to what customers have to say, regardless of whether you are acquiring them or not. In addition, storytelling mode makes you pay more attention to what internal colleagues have to say, as well.
After all, regardless of the size of your company, potent tribal knowledge creates wonderful stories to be told. Sure, lots of stories are legacy tributes to former leaders who “got you to where you are today.” However, study the story. You will discover the same story, being retold differently, today. That is powerful stuff, folks.
One of the best sources of powerful storytelling is when technical professionals collaborate with business professionals for the client’s benefit. Join me on October 3 at 11 AM Eastern and learn how to work with and sell to skeptical technical decision makers.
An always be storytelling attitude is an excellent way to move beyond Us versus Them mindset.
A lot of employment stratification exists within companies. These layers are due to differences in education, professional discipline, country of origin and other factors. However, when you are in “always be storytelling” mode, you listen differently. There are aspects of the Voice of the Customer story which are common, no matter who tells the story.
Also, when organizations collaborate for customer success, individuals compare stories across departments and professional disciplines. As a result, a story-rich culture is created. In addition, employees share what they learn from colleagues with whom they normally do not work.
Consider the value of developing a storytelling culture.
When always be storytelling becomes an organizational imperative, cross-functional collaboration becomes the common organizational theme.
When it comes to technical/non-technical collaboration, employees usually come up against a mindset and terminology wall. Think about whether this scenario currently occurs in your own workplace. Perhaps you even contribute to this standoff. It doesn’t have to be this way.
However, a funny thing happens when you focus on collecting Voice of the Customer insights. Employees become more engaged in collaborating across the organization. Greater interest is generated in what happens to a customer once they leave one customer touchpoint and move into another domain.
When differences between employees are perceived as opportunities for, instead of impediments to, collaboration, innovation happens.
An always be storytelling mindset meshes the historical with today’s actual and tomorrow’s conceptual storytelling.
Customer success is based on how an organization has a customer’s back, over time. In addition, customer success stories chronicle customer’s experience over the duration of that relationship.
As a result, customer success creates the structural underpinning for customer retention. Leveraging customer retention stories catalyzes new business development. And the business Circle of Life continues.
In my Playbook, always be storytelling. This mindset provides you with an entirely different listening filter when having customer and colleague conversations. Otherwise, you only listen as far as the boundary of your professional discipline. What’s the value in that tack?
Get started storytelling today! Join me on October 3 at 11 AM Eastern and learn how to work with and sell to skeptical technical decision makers.
Babette Ten Haken is a corporate catalyst and innovative speaker. She serves organizations as a strategist, coach and storyteller. Babette’s One Millimeter Mindset™ Workshops and Speaking programs leverage collaboration to catalyze professional innovation, workforce engagement and customer success for customer retention. Babette’s playbook of IIoT team collaboration hacks, Do YOU Mean Business? is available on Amazon. Do you know the Top 5 Negative Customer Retention Scenarios? Find out here.
Image author: Brian Jackson Image source: Fotolia
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