Page 14 - index
P. 14
RESEARCH, ANALYSIS & TRENDS
Storytelling is dead -
long live Storylistening
as the beginning of a successful story
Storytelling is often understood as a creative concept there is already some contact or a constant dialogue.
that goes hand in hand with strategic consulting. Some These people are the most important, as they are
companies even look at it as a secret weapon to invent bringing the sales. Hence, their stories are practically
stories of their self-perception, free according to the right in front of you and you just have to make use of
motto "If you repeat it often enough, your target group the opportunity to integrate these resources into your
will eventually be convinced". Budgets are thrown out of corporate communication strategy.
the window for that and yet the audience keeps a mind
of their own. Customer stories can reveal important issues that com-
panies would not have noticed from their perspective.
But that’s the crux of the matter, as exactly in those That’s why listening requires competent consultants
heads are the real interesting stories - for the target and not more call centers agents. Empirically, with a
group and organization alike. Unfortunately, listening well-structured analysis of the stories, most success
has become rare in the noisy, fast-paced world, alt- factors can be identified easily after a few interviews.
hough we know that good listening is often more valua-
ble than loud screaming in the market. Standardized questionnaires can therefore be tricky as
well, since incorrect questions are often left out or an-
It is assumed that part of the reason we ignore listening swered wrongly, leading to blind spots and systematic
is our society’s orientation toward active roles, rather falsifications, not to mention that results can be very
than receptive roles, which contributes to why we under- limited. Anyway, storytelling should in no way be re-
value listening. And because of our failing to notice the garded as an insular creative concept, as it could then
transformative power of listening, we fail to devote time do more harm than good. As a groundwork, strategic
to becoming more masterful listeners. storylistening vitalizes companies to record and ana-
lyze customer stories, and make them the basis for
In marketing, however, the most important input is often their creative concepts.
given by taking a close look at the customers to whom
14 February 2017 - Video Marketing & Advertising
Storytelling is dead -
long live Storylistening
as the beginning of a successful story
Storytelling is often understood as a creative concept there is already some contact or a constant dialogue.
that goes hand in hand with strategic consulting. Some These people are the most important, as they are
companies even look at it as a secret weapon to invent bringing the sales. Hence, their stories are practically
stories of their self-perception, free according to the right in front of you and you just have to make use of
motto "If you repeat it often enough, your target group the opportunity to integrate these resources into your
will eventually be convinced". Budgets are thrown out of corporate communication strategy.
the window for that and yet the audience keeps a mind
of their own. Customer stories can reveal important issues that com-
panies would not have noticed from their perspective.
But that’s the crux of the matter, as exactly in those That’s why listening requires competent consultants
heads are the real interesting stories - for the target and not more call centers agents. Empirically, with a
group and organization alike. Unfortunately, listening well-structured analysis of the stories, most success
has become rare in the noisy, fast-paced world, alt- factors can be identified easily after a few interviews.
hough we know that good listening is often more valua-
ble than loud screaming in the market. Standardized questionnaires can therefore be tricky as
well, since incorrect questions are often left out or an-
It is assumed that part of the reason we ignore listening swered wrongly, leading to blind spots and systematic
is our society’s orientation toward active roles, rather falsifications, not to mention that results can be very
than receptive roles, which contributes to why we under- limited. Anyway, storytelling should in no way be re-
value listening. And because of our failing to notice the garded as an insular creative concept, as it could then
transformative power of listening, we fail to devote time do more harm than good. As a groundwork, strategic
to becoming more masterful listeners. storylistening vitalizes companies to record and ana-
lyze customer stories, and make them the basis for
In marketing, however, the most important input is often their creative concepts.
given by taking a close look at the customers to whom
14 February 2017 - Video Marketing & Advertising
