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Storytelling as a Product Management Tool

1. Challenge

As a Partner Product Manager and Product Evangelist of a web conferencing product some of main  responsibilities include: increasing the internal and external product adoption and product

knowledge, releasing new product versions throughout the year, train staff, create and deliver  compelling messages about the product in terms of differentiators, value proposition, strategy and  vision. All this happens through different forms of direct and indirect communication, from in-person  meetings and presentation to virtual seminars.

The biggest challenge in performing all these was the fact that the product I was in charge of was  not proprietary of the company I was working for (it was a partner product the company wanted to

resell and have in its portfolio) and it was initially hard to get all the excitement around it from the  internal stakeholders whose focus was on the “in-home” products.

Another challenge consisted in the fact that my product, at first glance, seemed to be very similar  to the other existing products that made up the company’s product portfolio and some of the most  asked questions at the beginning was “Why do we need another product? We’ve already have too

many products. In what this product is different from the existing ones? How will we sell it to our  customers?” These questions were asked not by the Senior Management who were already  convinced about the product’s value and ROI, but by the hundreds of internal employees from the  different departments I had to work with on a constant basis. Useless to say that no one was

motivated to work on “just another product” when they were already having such high-pressure with  the existing hundreds of other projects.

Therefore, to sum-up, the challenge for me consisted in: capturing the attention, stimulating the  desire for change and convincing by using reasoned arguments.

2. Selection

Facing so much internal resistance with regards to the product adoption, the Storytelling tool almost  imposed by itself. I selected it as I knew that people love stories. I knew that with so many other  products within the company’s portfolio, talking just about the product’s features and benefits was  not enough.

What people wanted to hear was about success stories. Success stories and different narratives

that will create a strong link between the product and the internal stakeholders seemed to be the  key that will help me differentiate the product from the existing one, build a “sympathy” capital among  the teams I had to work with, promote strong employees’ identification with the product and capture

their attention. I also wanted the Sales Teams to be inspired by these stories and use them with their  prospects and customers in order to capture even more sales.

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3. Application

Therefore, the way I decided to apply the Storytelling tool was through almost all the relevant

product and company written and non-written supports such as: customer testimonials and stories,  product presentations and launches, the sales elevator pitch, product sheets, springboard stories,  website and social media content, different speeches, product workshops and product training  depending on the department I was working with … and the list can go on.

However, it’s good to mention that before starting to use this tool, a real groundwork had been done

on the key messages in order to create good momentum and engagement. The idea was to appeal  to the stakeholders’’ emotions so that they can build themselves the path that will lead them to the  logic of the arguments, become more receptive and especially active players.

With regards to the several storytelling elements, I used different elements depending on the factors  and circumstances, the supports used and the audience:

-  dynamic user stories in simple, accessible and fluid language, action, beautiful images,  colour and other elements that stimulated their 5 senses

-  I made use of emotions such as passion, joy, curiosity, suspense and surprise  -  I gave examples of experiences that were similar to their own experiences  -  I used a confident, positive and/or humorous tone  -  I used movie scenes, legends and even stories for children

The use of metaphors and anecdotes when discussing about the product became a second reflex  in all the conversations I had with ALL the internal and external stakeholders.

The results with the product were fantastic: the product has been adopted at 100%, it became the

n°1 product in the company with a monthly and year-on-year triple-digit sales increase but  moreover, everybody in the company became an active player and gave their best in terms of time  and effort when working on several product projects. Everybody in the company was happy,  motivated and proud to be associated with the product. In fact, they became story-tellers  themselves.

4. Insight

Even if I somehow intuitively knew it before, storytelling is an extremely powerful tool. As children

we love stories and as adults… nothing actually changes. As adults we enjoy stories as much as  children do the only difference probably consisting in the degree of awareness. Maybe this is the  reason we enjoy stories even more as adults, because it appeals to our childhood and our child  dreams. And because of the emotional link stories create.

And today, the opportunities for storytelling are even greater thanks to blogs, websites, social

networks and other platforms that keep the emotion alive by allowing direct interactions with the  social communities.

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In my case, the storytelling tool helped me also to appeal the intrinsic motivation of people by making

them feel like are part of something bigger. What I also like about stories is that there are easier to  remember and to transmit further. Thus, the storytelling, along with the sharing, the community and  the emotion involved create such beautiful synergies at a workplace. They have an impact in creating  meaning and purpose in people that no other tool really has.

For meetings and different presentations, storytelling has also the power of acting as an ice-breaker  which instantly creates a friendly and permissive climate among participants.

Storytelling is an art and the secret ingredient to storytelling is empathy. The more empathy the

better the story. Or, without empathy there is no story. This is where storytelling as design thinking  tool finds all its meaning and integrates perfectly at all level of the design thinking approach.

5. Approach

Because storytelling can be applied at all levels of communication and with different audiences, the  next time, the idea will be to link everything together in a very deliberate and fluid way: the  visualisation tool and the storytelling, then the storytelling with the projective techniques, the mind  mapping, the brainstorming and the learning launches tools for example.

I am strongly convinced that making use of the storytelling along with all the other design thinking

tools will create powerful synergies as all these tools build in fact upon each other. And when  integrated within the clear sequence of design thinking steps: “what is? what if? what wows? what  works?”, this sequence of steps is what will move the story from the beginning to the end, just like a  smooth process where everything falls into place.


Page 1 sur 3 Storytelling as a Product Management Tool 1 . Challenge As a Partner Product Manager and Product Evangelist of a web conferencing product some of main responsibilities include : increasing the internal and external product adoption and product knowledge , releasing new product versions throughout the year , train staff , create and deliver compelling messages about the product in terms of differentiators , value proposition , strategy and vision . All this happens through different forms of direct and indirect communication , from in - person meetings and presentation to virtual seminars . The biggest challenge in performing all these was the fact that the product I was in charge of was not proprietary of the company I was working for ( it was a partner product the company wanted to resell and have in its portfolio ) and it was initially hard to get all the excitement around it from the internal stakeholders whose focus was on the “ in - home ” products . Another challenge consisted in the fact that my product , at first glance , seemed to be very similar to the other existing products that made up the company ’s product portfolio and some of the most asked questions at the beginning was “ Why do we need another product ? We ’ve already have too many products . In what this product is different from the existing ones ? How will we sell it to our customers ? ” These questions were asked not by the Senior Management who were already convinced about the product ’s value and ROI , but by the hundreds of internal employees from the different departments I had to work with on a constant basis . Useless to say that no one was motivated to work on “ just another product ” when they were already having such high - pressure with the existing hundreds of other projects . Therefore , to sum - up , the challenge for me consisted in : capturing the attention , stimulating the desire for change and convincing by using reasoned arguments . 2 . Selection Facing so much internal resistance with regards to the product adoption , the Storytelling tool almost imposed by itself . I selected it as I knew that people love stories . I knew that with so many other products within the company ’s portfolio , talking just about the product ’s features and benefits was not enough . What people wanted to hear was about success stories . Success stories and different narratives that will create a strong link between the product and the internal stakeholders seemed to be the key that will help me differentiate the product from the existing one , build a “ sympathy ” capital among the teams I had to work with , promote strong employees ’ identification with the product and capture their attention . I also wanted the Sales Teams to be inspired by these stories and use them with their prospects and customers in order to capture even more sales . Page 2 sur 3 3 . Application Therefore , the way I decided to apply the Storytelling tool was through almost all the relevant product and company written and non - written supports such as : customer testimonials and stories , product presentations and launches , the sales elevator pitch , product sheets , springboard stories , website and social media content , different speeches , product workshops and product training depending on the department I was working with … and the list can go on . However , it ’s good to mention that before starting to use this tool , a real groundwork had been done on the key messages in order to create good momentum and engagement . The idea was to appeal to the stakeholders ’’ emotions so that they can build themselves the path that will lead them to the logic of the arguments , become more receptive and especially active players . With regards to the several storytelling elements , I used different elements depending on the factors and circumstances , the supports used and the audience : - dynamic user stories in simple , accessible and fluid language , action , beautiful images , colour and other elements that stimulated their 5 senses - I made use of emotions such as passion , joy , curiosity , suspense and surprise - I gave examples of experiences that were similar to their own experiences - I used a confident , positive and/or humorous tone - I used movie scenes , legends and even stories for children The use of metaphors and anecdotes when discussing about the product became a second reflex in all the conversations I had with ALL the internal and external stakeholders . The results with the product were fantastic : the product has been adopted at 100 % , it became the n ° 1 product in the company with a monthly and year - on - year triple - digit sales increase but moreover , everybody in the company became an active player and gave their best in terms of time and effort when working on several product projects . Everybody in the company was happy , motivated and proud to be associated with the product . In fact , they became story - tellers themselves . 4 . Insight Even if I somehow intuitively knew it before , storytelling is an extremely powerful tool . As children we love stories and as adults … nothing actually changes . As adults we enjoy stories as much as children do the only difference probably consisting in the degree of awareness . Maybe this is the reason we enjoy stories even more as adults , because it appeals to our childhood and our child dreams . And because of the emotional link stories create . And today , the opportunities for storytelling are even greater thanks to blogs , websites , social networks and other platforms that keep the emotion alive by allowing direct interactions with the social communities . Page 3 sur 3 In my case , the storytelling tool helped me also to appeal the intrinsic motivation of people by making them feel like are part of something bigger . What I also like about stories is that there are easier to remember and to transmit further . Thus , the storytelling , along with the sharing , the community and the emotion involved create such beautiful synergies at a workplace . They have an impact in creating meaning and purpose in people that no other tool really has . For meetings and different presentations , storytelling has also the power of acting as an ice - breaker which instantly creates a friendly and permissive climate among participants . Storytelling is an art and the secret ingredient to storytelling is empathy . The more empathy the better the story . Or , without empathy there is no story . This is where storytelling as design thinking tool finds all its meaning and integrates perfectly at all level of the design thinking approach . 5 . Approach Because storytelling can be applied at all levels of communication and with different audiences , the next time , the idea will be to link everything together in a very deliberate and fluid way : the visualisation tool and the storytelling , then the storytelling with the projective techniques , the mind mapping , the brainstorming and the learning launches tools for example . I am strongly convinced that making use of the storytelling along with all the other design thinking tools will create powerful synergies as all these tools build in fact upon each other . And when integrated within the clear sequence of design thinking steps : “ what is ? what if ? what wows ? what works ? ” , this sequence of steps is what will move the story from the beginning to the end , just like a smooth process where everything falls into place .