Challenge and Selection:

Storytelling is a tool that we use to get connected emotionally with our customers, as  marketing gimmicks do not really work like it used to work earlier. All the exaggerated  marketing communications and marketing gimmicks are identified by the customers nowadays,  as information is at the tip of fingers for everyone. Under the elaborative likelihood model,  there are two routes to persuasion: a) The cognitive route and B) The emotional route. I work  with an insurance company, and I have to persuade my customers by using both of these  routes. While describing the features and benefits of my products, I am using the cognitive  route as my customers evaluate the alternative based on the feature of the products. But there  are so many competitors in the market who have similar products, so how do I stand out.

Application:

Here, I will have to convince my customers by being able to connect with them on an emotional  level. This is when storytelling comes handy when I go beyond explaining the best features of  my products, I narrate my customers about the essence of our brand and how our customers  have benefitted and grown with us over a period of time. I use real life stories, which is more  relevant and intelligible to them in their context, and compare how similar transactions have  made appositive impact on peoples lives in the past and present. This way, the customer  doesn’t just have to rely on the exaggerated advertisements raining on the television, rather  they will find it more authentic when they hear real life implications on the lives of people  created by this specific product or brand, that helped in easing the lives of developmentally  disabled individuals, senior citizens, and economically disadvantaged people according to the  contingency.

Insight and Approach:

Many of these people deal with depression and in their lives, they need to be empowered. I  spend some time in finding ways to inspire and improve their circumstances. About disabled  clients I share stories of their life in order to help similar customers visualize a state of  independence, I use their feedback, and sometimes indulge in a deeper discussion to better  understand their interests and thought processes. I use this information to develop different  strategies to find avenues that works for them to gain more independence in the areas they  find lacking in their lives. Application I have a story about using storytelling.

In discussing policy changes with an elder person, I was trying to explain to them the benefits of  taking a more future focused approach, among other things and addressing their individual  needs first and foremost. I was also explaining how sometimes addressing and explaining the  story of one individual can impact many for the better outcomes, even if it seems extreme or  out of the ordinary. I told a story about when I claimed insurances for customers after a natural  disaster. Everyone was doing really well apart for one man whose stress was making her very  indecisive. It turned out that his son had survived a pneumonia and was terrified that it will  return. It was time for me to open up with my story. I told him my personal story on how scary

it was when my friend had a pneumonia, and how he recovered well with a proper healthcare  facility. This empathizing ability worked really well. So I told this approach to the company and I  think it has become a trend now. The policies are being implemented widely now, because  sometimes a little story can do wonders.

