Business of Story

How does a customer experience your brand? Do they leave an interaction feeling enlightened and empowered? Or do they leave feeling disconnected and disenfranchised? Understanding consumers' personas and journeys is critical because at the end of the day, brands need to truly connect. Because if you don't, you're likely losing customers and employees for life. Any business with customers needs to focus on the journey experience and work to constantly improve it. But customer-centricity needs to be built into the culture of the organization from the start. If you're not always considering your customers' next step in the sales process (even after they've purchased) and retaining them, then you need a champion for your customer experiences. Your business leaders and employees should be asking, "How do I make sure that everything we do incorporates the customer and their thinking?" And, don't think that the customer journey ends after a purchase. A customer journey map analyzes all the interactions the customer has with a brand, including emotions, feelings and perceptions throughout every step of the sales process and beyond. Ultimately, you should connect your brand story to your customers' stories to elevate, empower, and enlighten them, and hopefully retain them for life. Designing customer journeys demonstrates that your business understands what your stakeholders are all about. Annette Franz is the queen of customer journey mapping. She is the CEO of CX Journey Inc, a boutique customer experience consulting firm. And on this week's episode, she will help you frame and design your experiences to provide better journeys for your customers and employees. Become a Master Storyteller Grab your free copy of The 5 Stages of Grief in Telling YOUR Business Story: http://bit.ly/StorytellingTools Like what you hear? Bring Park to your next event.

Nowadays, businesses are starting to realize how truly vital it is to have a purpose-driven brand. That's because when your brand has a true purpose behind it, your potential for success increases dramatically. Co-founder of China Mist Tea, John Martinson, saw that success firsthand in his very own business. He saw an inconsistency in the market and took advantage of it. Now, fast forward 36 years and China Mist can be found in just about any place that you can dine in. John has since developed a strong passion for sustainability and finding ways to incorporate it into every aspect of life. In light of his passion for sustainability, he and his son, Neo, are in the midst of a 6,000 mile road trip to spread the message of sustainability. On today's episode of Business of Story, John shares with us how he built his company from the ground up and made it into the purpose-driven, sustainable brand that it is today. Become a Master Storyteller Grab your free copy of The 5 Stages of Grief in Telling YOUR Business Story: http://bit.ly/StorytellingTools Like what you hear? Bring Park to your next event.

Have you ever overheard a conversation between two teen girls gushing over the latest and greatest Kylie Jenner Lip Kit and you think to yourself "Wow, those girls are not even speaking my language." But maybe those girls simply aren't your ideal customer. It's not that you're disconnected from them, it's that you don't know their lingo. To know someone's lingo is to know their values and emotional triggers. And when it comes to your customers, if you're not speaking their secret lingo, then you're probably leaving sales, margins and loyalty out to dry. Not only is Jeffrey Shaw the king of lingo, but he is also the author of LINGO: Discover Your Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible. He has truly has mastered the art of identifying and understanding the lingo of your ideal customer. And on today's podcast, he shares how to get into the head and heart of your audience by understanding how they tell themselves their stories. And the hope is that, at the end of it, you too will be the king (or queen) of lingo. Become a Master Storyteller Grab your free copy of The 5 Stages of Grief in Telling YOUR Business Story: http://bit.ly/StorytellingTools Like what you hear? Bring Park to your next event.

There is a raw energy in narrative and evolved leaders use story to empower people a catapult them to action. But we often look just upon the surface of a tale or anecdote without appreciate the story elements, like protons, electrons and neutrons, that power it. Until today's show. Our guest is Paul Skah, who specializes in the "why" behind what really makes business storytelling work, and the actions you can encourage your audience to take through story marketing. He knows how to engage the psychology of decision-making that nudges us to choose washing powder "A" over washing powder "B". This knowledge helps companies sell more, or sell the same products at higher price points. His expertise even ventures into the unknown world of AI and how that will impact our storytelling in the future, which he shares with us on this episode. Listen now to hear Paul's fascinating, scientific approach to brand and business storytelling, and some of the ideal elements formulated in "Goldilocks" conditions to help you craft and share stories that have real power to shape your universe (and your customers' purchase decisions). Become a Master Storyteller Grab your free copy of The 5 Stages of Grief in Telling YOUR Business Story: http://bit.ly/StorytellingTools Like what you hear? Bring Park to your next event. Plus, he shares three tests that ensure you have a good story. If you want to learn more from Paul, he's also the author of three best-selling books (as in "Marketing Book of the Year" best-selling) and a public speaker sharing his story wisdom all over the world. Three chapters of his upcoming book, Narratology, are available for free on his website.

What is it about TV shows, movies, or those viral Facebook videos that keep you glued to the screen? The answer is quite simple: story. And if you are able to create a story that the audience can truly connect to, you've struck gold. But it takes hard work, focus and the ability to produce, edit and learn. Jason Ensler has mastered the art of striking gold with storytelling. On today's show, he shares his evolution as a film director and storyteller and what you can learn from his experiences as you grow as a brand and business storyteller. Jason has a resume a mile long. You have no doubt watched shows that he's has directed and executive produced including Hart of Dixie, Grace and Frankie, Brooklyn Nine Nine, The Goldbergs, and more. On this week's show, you'll learn what it takes to find those hidden moments in a story that will make your brand the brand that people are glued to. Become a Master Storyteller Grab your free copy of The 5 Stages of Grief in Telling YOUR Business Story: http://bit.ly/StorytellingTools Like what you hear? Bring Park to your next event.

Jen Dille wears many hats, she is a mom of four and project manager for Sure Spark Marketing. But one of her more recent hats that she has picked up in her "spare" time is that of the licensee and co-organizer of TEDxGilbert alongside her daughter, Mara. Maybe you haven't even heard of TEDx, so allow me to explain –TEDx is a local TED talk event that is put on independently by a member of the community. Just this past March, Jen put on the first ever TEDxGilbert event here in Phoenix. Sounds easy right? Well it's actually no easy task. There's more to it than just booking a venue and selling a few tickets. From finding speakers to getting permits, it is easy to feel like you're drowning. And no one knows that feeling better than Jen Dille. In today's episode, Jen shares with us what really goes into putting on a TEDx event. And I share what went into delivering my first talk at the TedxGilbert event and all of the trials and tribulations of making both of them a hit. Become a Master Storyteller Grab your free copy of The 5 Stages of Grief in Telling YOUR Business Story: http://bit.ly/StorytellingTools Like what you hear? Bring Park to your next event.

In 2016, Avantpage, a language translation company, set out to give their already successful company a revamp. They wanted to start standing for more in the world. They did this by redefining not only their brand strategy, but their brand story. Avantpage has been able to really hone in on their brand voice as activists in order to adequately spread their message and motto –empathy beyond words. On today's show we have Luis Miguel, international translation expert and owner of Avantpage, with his director of marketing, Sabra Rubentstein. We have had the opportunity to work with these two over the last couple of years and through that, have gotten to work alongside what I think is one of the strongest brand stories we have been involved with. They will show you how their business has improved by more than 30% as they found their activist brand voice to differentiate themselves from their competition, and how you can, too.

Parker Howell, award-winning virtual reality filmmaker and director of Red Bull's first stereoscopic first-person V.R. music video, shares his experience in virtual reality storytelling and how to push the envelope with your brand storytelling. Become a Master Storyteller Grab your free copy of The 5 Stages of Grief in Telling YOUR Business Story: https://businessofstory.com/telling-business-story-ebook/ Like what you hear? Bring Park to your next event.

Kylie Slavik, former slam poet gone "accidental digital marketer," shows you how long-form storytelling can generate millions of dollars for your clients in the fleeting online world.

You grow up in school writing stories paying attention to the structure of the stories you're telling. But when it comes to business, you may need to be doing just the opposite. Have you ever sat through a presentation that is packed full of statistics and numbers that it nearly puts you to sleep? We've all been there. Sometimes, no matter how passionate the presenter actually is, it gets drowned out by all of the numbers and statistics. And that's because they are too hung up on the structure of the story rather than the story itself. Today, Lynn Ferguson, self-proclaimed "Entertainment Mongrel," with her eclectic background as a comedy writer, stand-up comedian, playwrite, director, producer and sister of the former host of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, helps you go beyond that structure and find the heart and soul in your business storytelling. Lynn says that in business, it all comes down to honesty. Successful stories come from a place of truth. If you are honest in your storytelling, people will care. It's time you embrace your story and use it to dig deep and use your story to your business' advantage.