Customer Stories with Warren Laine-Naida

Episode 1 January 10, 2022 00:21:50
Customer Stories with Warren Laine-Naida
Launch With Words
Customer Stories with Warren Laine-Naida

Jan 10 2022 | 00:21:50

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Hosted By

Bridget Willard

Show Notes

Why should your small business value blog posts and customer storytelling on your website? In this episode of the second season of the Launch With Words Podcast, Bridget is joined by her writing partner Warren Laine-Naida for an episode about customer stories, customer delight, and solving problems. 

 

Follow Warren at @warrenlnaida on Twitter and check out his website at warrenlainenaida.net.

 

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Brought to you by Bridget Willard of Launch With Words

Transcript

00:20.21
gidgey
Hey thanks for joining this second season of the launch with words podcast I'm your host Bridget Willard I'm joined today by my writing partner Warren Lane Nighta welcome thanks for being on my podcast.

00:31.40
Warren Laine-Naida
Um, hello hey thank you for asking me.

00:39.39
gidgey
So small business owners. We know they need to write for their blog. We know they need to use that content for social media. Ah Google profile business profile formerly known as Google my business Google maps Google places.

00:53.20
Warren Laine-Naida
Yeah.

00:58.32
gidgey
So what? What are some things that you really wish ah small business owners could do like what? what do you wish that they would do. Oh.

01:07.84
Warren Laine_Naida
Oh That's that's a really easy ah question I have this with my clients pretty much in a regular basis. Um I don't think most small businesses look. At the stories around the products or around the services that they are selling. There's sort of a tunnel vision. Um, and there's there's so many ways to think about the products. Um and these are the stories. These are the use cases. This is what differentiates them from their competitors. Um, and I think that's always kind of a sticking point. Um with my clients. Yeah, that's the quick answer.

01:56.60
gidgey
Well okay, so when I hear and I'm like the biggest Bruce is like I don't give a crap about the story I want to know if the product works but that's a difference ah between a story and a use case or a case study. So.

02:10.78
Warren Laine_Naida
Um, yeah.

02:12.89
gidgey
For me a story is this hypothetical. It was a dark and stormy night I tried this beauty cream ten days later I looked amazing and I had a boyfriend so that story to me I don't care or why you started your company I don't care I know some people care. But let's talk about the case study because case studies are marketing gold. How can we get those case. Studies.

02:36.47
Warren Laine_Naida
Um, yeah, um, you mean specifically for the products. Okay, so yeah.

02:43.22
gidgey
Yeah I did this I Then did I do this and now they reuse this service and these are the results.

02:51.39
Warren Laine_Naida
Um, okay, well I um, you know the way I go about it is kind of a mashup between those two things I I don't I'm not a big case study person I think people are smarter than case studies. Um, at the same time I think people love a story and I think that's really what they want. Okay I mean if you look at the Netflix numbers that will tell you that people want stories over case studies. Um, so I try to combine that and I think probably like the most recent example I I had was with a client who sells a very exciting product industrial air filters and it's really kind of hard to get that sort of um, you know. Fun story going around a product like that. So you know what we did and what I was really you know pushing my client to do was to really look at the benefits of this like why? why? buy industrial air filters. And you know straight away the answer comes like well you know it keeps the workplace clean and it's like well why is that a good thing you know so you know we sort of we tried to. We tried to look at 3 different um use cases of this. You can call them case. Studies be legs. Ah yes, we've got the happy worker you know. But the happy worker you know is not just going to be happy in the workplace. They're also going to be happy at home. You know and the happy worker might be the factory worker but they also might be the happy worker in the hospital in the schools. You've got a lot of different people. Um, and so you know this this this story we have 3 different you know people? um and you know it went all the way from you know the the clean factory floor to you know um, good health clean health. And um, and then especially when it came to covid was health and protection so security so we had clean workplace. We had happy healthy people and we had an element of security and those are three stories that you know you could easily tell. Um, and then the case studies you know, just you know, dovetailed right? to that you know, um, how many days did the healthy worker lose compared to the and the unhealthy worker or the happy worker to the unhappy worker. Um.

05:26.85
Warren Laine_Naida
How many man hours were lost or women hours were lost so you know this this this air filter. Um, in the end can come down to you know you say as a business owner saving money because your workers are happier and healthier and not you know, sick and grumpy.

05:41.93
gidgey
Well yeah I mean but when I when I hear the word story I think of fiction. Maybe that's my problem. Yeah.

05:44.13
Warren Laine_Naida
Um, yeah.

05:48.97
Warren Laine_Naida
Um, that yeah, that's well I I think there's there's nothing stranger. Um you know, ah than than truth. Ah and you know if you can mix the fiction and the truth because that's all advertising is you know I mean most. Advertising most marketing has very very little to do with truth. It's not what we what we? What we get. It's what we want and that is all about storytelling. That's really you know I don't think. You know I think you mentioned something about ah was it your hair or or lipstick or something and getting a boyfriend. You know the reality of that is probably far removed. Um you know from what you really Want. Um and I think these sorts of stories they sell everything from Fitness Club Memberships to. Trousers to cars and they always have you know? Um, what we think is going to happen to us is is you know our dream The fiction. Um, and I think you know it's It's important to find that sort of middle ground. Um, especially with small businesses because. You know they don't have the big budget. They they're not going to be making you know long-term commitments into this. They want to keep something short and sweet. You know, no, but but.

07:08.52
gidgey
Yeah, they don't have money for Don Draper so I mean that's why they're listening to this podcast of trying to figure out how to do it themselves like when you're yes, psychology is a big basis in advertising. And if you buy this ferrari you're going to get that hot Chick. We know sex sells right? We know that you know if I rentse and repeat my hairal be cleaner or like all this stuff right? But you you'll also have to stray away from false claims. Ah.

07:39.44
Warren Laine_Naida
Um, yeah, you do and you don't need to have false claims because I mean there's you know if I think this is the important part especially for for small businesses and storytelling is that you just need to be truthful. You know.

07:51.89
gidgey
Yeah, yeah.

07:55.51
Warren Laine_Naida
And small businesses are very very connected with their um customers much more so than large businesses. They probably know their customers names they know where they live. They know how many kids they have so the stories are are real life and um, you know the fiction. Ah, the wishes. The desires are very tangible and it could be something very so very small like you know well they would like to you know, have a product that enables them simply to save money and if they save money they'll have more money for something. They really want. Shell make them Happy. So I think this you know we can. We can think fiction but we can put it into very very easy. You know you know real life. Um connections. Um.

08:47.75
gidgey
Yeah I like to call that specific hypotheticals because like it's yeah so if I go and buy your shirt at $37 fifty cents instead of one that's eighty seventh and I have more money to go to brunch with my girlfriends.

08:52.65
Warren Laine_Naida
Oh yes, yes.

09:04.62
Warren Laine_Naida
Exactly so the shirt makes you happier simply because now you've got $50 to go and have brunch. Um, but back to your yeah it it is I think I am back to your to your first question I I think it's you know it's it's maybe.

09:06.11
gidgey
You know? yeah.

09:10.33
gidgey
Yeah I mean that's real life right.

09:23.60
Warren Laine_Naida
You know for the for the small business that don't have the capacity to to come up with um you know the storytelling they do have access to to things that everyone else has you know they've got access to a website with a blog. They've got access to social media and you know every small business probably has in a week. You know half an hour where they can connect on social media and ask the questions of the people who are following them like what what makes you Happy. You know what would you like to see from our products. How do our products change your life and then to write stories about that in in so in in their blog. Um, you know and I think that's a very simple easy way to. Combine storytelling with case studies because over time you're going to hear more and more success Stories. You're going to hear more and more questions from from people that you can then answer So It's a self-perpetuating process.

10:28.69
gidgey
I Mean it's great. Always to ask your customers What they think and how they feel um maybe that's a way to incorporate customer reviews.

10:36.30
Warren Laine_Naida
It's really important. Yeah, um, and I you know the the customer reviews are also you know on 1 part on 1 hand, there's success stories. Um, they're advertising for people who've never heard of your product on the other. But it also allows. Um you know any business to see how they can do better. You know it's like the what happened next part of any story you know so they bought the shirt they went to brunch what happened next? Um, and. Yeah I think you know we're constantly. Ah you know, evolving these these stories that that we have with products um and they can be happier sad stories. Um, but there's always a story there. Um, and I think you know if if there isn't then it's really hard to connect to a product. Because we need to visualize ourselves. Um with the product and how this benefits us and we can only do that by you know, either you know, imagining it or seeing exactly where our needs are um.

11:41.98
gidgey
In the in the launch with words starter pack. We have some prompts for these kinds of things including case studies and videos that kind of thing. What would be a good way for a small business owner to.

11:49.86
Warren Laine_Naida
Yeah.

11:58.62
gidgey
You know they're going to sit down spend 2 hours once a month writing something like this. What what would be some of their first steps. What should they have with them if it were if it were a cooking show and everything was ready. What should they have with them when they sit down at their computer to write.

12:00.17
Warren Laine_Naida
Um, yeah.

12:08.76
Warren Laine_Naida
Um.

12:14.88
Warren Laine_Naida
Um, um, have with them as in as in content or have in have with them as in direction yet both? Okay so I mean I.

12:25.63
gidgey
Yes, yeah.

12:33.95
Warren Laine_Naida
I think it's really important that they ask themselves 3 questions and and these 3 questions will then you know will help in in the creation of their of their content. Um, the first thing is you know they need to be able to put themselves in in the pants or of the customer and say. What problem does my product solve. How will my product make this customer happy make their life better because this is you know this is really why we why we buy anything why we do anything. You know, even if we're if we're looking at a Netflix thing. The problem is we're either bored or lonely or unhappy or we want to excite them so everything we do is to solve a problem so they need to identify how this problem is solved immediately. um and then they need to um to show um you know exactly where this product can be purchased. Okay is it something downloadable. Can they get a free sample who's using it you know and what does it cost and what does it cost does not have to be financial outlay. It could be any outlay of resources. So. How easy is it to get this. You know. Is it going to cost you something how long will it take for you to get it. Um, so I think you know and that these 3 things are very easily transferable into an image or a banner. Or a very small social media post. You know? So I think the first thing they have to have in their hand is the answer to these 3 questions. Um and that tells the whole story right? there you can then go, you know you can extrapolate that to you know to further levels. Um, but if you you need to have these the answers to these 3 questions. Otherwise you know everything else is just you know Gibber jabber.

14:31.26
gidgey
And what would you say to the small business owner goes. Okay, well I know what that is but I'm not that great of a writer quote unquote I barely passed high school.

14:42.34
Warren Laine_Naida
Well, you know I'm pretty sure that um you know the snake oil salesman of yesteryear. Um, never even went to high school but they were extremely successful because they were able to you know they had this empathy. They knew what people wanted to hear. And probably they were these people themselves I mean you have to start somewhere you know?? Um, so you know if you're not a very good writer. Maybe you're a good um orator. Maybe you can do a podcast. Maybe you're really Great. You know in your parking lot with these inflatable flying things and you could do a video you know.

15:04.80
gidgey
Yeah, so.

15:18.20
gidgey
Yeah, um.

15:21.37
Warren Laine_Naida
Maybe you can take a picture. It's got to be something if you can't do any of those things then you probably don't have a small business to begin with you know? yeah.

15:28.94
gidgey
Right? right? and and the thing is that if you're really comfortable with audio or video that can be transcribed because of course the podcast and the product is called launch of words the words are really important and I say this a lot because the internet is blind. There's a lot of people that put.

15:35.90
Warren Laine_Naida
Um, oh yes.

15:41.33
Warren Laine_Naida
Um, yes.

15:48.18
gidgey
Ah, image overlay on text when that's not accessible at all as Annamiica Bovalai wrote in our special chapter for our book that's coming out very very very soon as soon as I get my act together with Kindle ah, which is on my list today.

15:50.26
Warren Laine_Naida
No.

16:02.58
Warren Laine_Naida
Um.

16:07.53
gidgey
Ah, the only online marketing book you need for your school by Warren Leida and Bridget Willard that's us um I didn't even think about promoting it but just like that's the whole reason is to put these tools in their hands.

16:17.19
Warren Laine_Naida
Um, you just did. Yeah.

16:23.44
gidgey
Because you as a business owner you know your business more than anybody else and it's true I remember being a secretary I was one office wall away from the customer pain points that was so epic for content generation.

16:28.52
Warren Laine_Naida
Yep.

16:38.76
Warren Laine_Naida
Yeah, yeah.

16:41.22
gidgey
When I started doing social media because I knew exactly what the customer's pain points were and our sales process pain points I knew both now that I'm a vendor I have to extract that from my cut from my clients. You know it's not.. It's not there I'm not overhearing it. Okay, so um I recommend to my small business owners to keep a journal so that they can gather that with them so they have those things ready so that when they are sitting down at friday.

17:08.48
Warren Laine_Naida
Um.

17:17.39
gidgey
Two o'clock to do this. They're they're not like okay, what am I writing about you know you're gonna bake the Jenny Cake is Jenny's story Jenny got her lashes done. She's confident. She got the job interview. That's the Jenny Story with the eyelashes.

17:34.30
Warren Laine_Naida
Um, yeah.

17:35.90
gidgey
Right? Ah, Mark started going to yoga. His posture is better. His back pain is less. He met friends. that's that's Mark's story is that what you're saying.

17:47.72
Warren Laine_Naida
Um, yeah I mean there is no business person who is out of touch with customers because every business person is themselves a customer.. There is no B Two B there only B to C. Everyone who sells buys Everyone who buys sells. Yeah, is always going to be someone selling and someone buying. Okay, so even the small business owner. No small business owner and say I'm out of touch with my customers I mean this is just impossible unless they themselves are purchasing nothing anywhere you know.

18:13.36
gidgey
Mm.

18:23.73
gidgey
Ever. Ah.

18:25.75
Warren Laine_Naida
Um I don't think ever I don't think it matters if you are buying if you are buying you know turnips or a shirt or waiting in line to order lunch. It's the same thing you have a need. What is the need. It's the resolution of a problem. It doesn't matter what it is So I mean I think.

18:41.70
gidgey
Okay.

18:45.75
Warren Laine_Naida
You know, even you know doesn't matter what level business person you are you are going to have access to information from from customers. You're going to have faqs you're going to have emails. You're going to have heard from customers. You're going to have sat in the meeting and listened to someone who's who's heard from customers like olgilvi David olgavi said you know. The customer is not not an idiot. The customer is your wife so you always have a connection with people who are purchasing or selling. Um, you just need to be um, you know, empathetic enough to understand what that message is that they're telling you.

19:06.42
gidgey
Right.

19:24.56
Warren Laine_Naida
And it's I think it's usually quite simple. You know they're they're happy. They're sad you know or they're somewhere in the middle or maybe the complete disinterested. Well there is a problem that's a potential you know solution. So you know? Yeah yeah.

19:35.60
gidgey
Ah, awesome I mean that's it but everybody has problems ghost solve it. So ah, we wanted to keep these short. So let me know ah let the audience know Warren how people can find you on the internet.

19:44.52
Warren Laine_Naida
Yeah.

19:53.11
Warren Laine_Naida
Um, ah yeah, well I'm pretty much everywhere on the internet you can find me by looking for Warren Lane hyphen nia um otherwise I'm on Twitter at Warren L Naida um

19:54.67
gidgey
Or how you would prefer for them to find you on the internet.

20:11.92
Warren Laine_Naida
And yeah I'm pretty much actually'm the only Wornley Nia in the world. Um, so it's kind of an easy guy to find. Ah.

20:19.60
gidgey
And you have 1 book out 1 book coming out and a third book coming out this year so on http://amazon.com also look for Warren Lane hyphen nida l a INEHyphenN a I d a okay I'm gonna.

20:26.64
Warren Laine_Naida
Um, you go to Amazon yeah.

20:34.88
Warren Laine_Naida
Or if they look for you. They're going to find me there. you go thank you Bridget you have a great day.

20:39.33
gidgey
Yeah, vice versa. Thanks Warren.

 

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