Crafting positive, inspiring and practical value stories and messages should be done in teams with help from the best creative writers in your organization. I highly recommend you invite your marketing communication professionals to the value modeling sessions and to the value-based pricing training sessions. These experts can act as “value spin doctors” that can craft value stories that then can be used as part of a structured internal and external communication plan.
You should also consider these five tips when creating value stories and messages.
1) Customer Success Stories: Value stories should focus on successful experiences by existing customers with the use of your products and services. Compelling stories can summarize the overall positive impact your solutions might have in a segment or a sector but might also be targeted with individual success stories if you are authorized to use them.
2) Value Conversations: Value stories engage existing customers in value conversations. They might trigger some reactions or objections from the purchasing people. This is where commercial professionals cannot engage in pure negotiation interactions. They have to learn the skill of storytelling and use “yes, and…” or “yes, tell me more about this…” techniques to probe customers to describe their opinion and thinking. Telling value stories is as much about listening as it is about telling the story!
3) Positive language: Value stories and conversations need to include positive language of hope, success and achievement. They need to focus on the accomplishments and project future success for teams on the customer side. Good preparation for value selling will list all positive words that might be used in value selling, value messaging and storytelling.
4) Structured and Well Prepared Plans: Value stories and messaging cannot be improvised. They have to be carefully crafted and included in an overall value communication plan. A thorough stakeholder analysis will vary stories and messages based on the audience: engineering, purchasing, finance, or management.
5) Systematic and Aligned Messages: Anyone in your organization that has customer contacts should receive a copy of the value stories and messages booklet. That booklet should include information for customer service, training, technical support, supply chain, etc.
Repeating the messages consistently and systematically is essential. Be bold.
Join the value-based revolution! Want to learn more about value-based strategies? Listen to the on-demand version of Dr. Liozu’s webinar, “The Fastest Way to Begin Value-based Pricing.” on /resources/
About Dr. Stephan Liozu:
Dr. Stephan Liozu is a Pricing Evangelist and Thought-Leader as well as the Founder of Value Innoruption Advisors. He specializes in the design of innovative and differentiated business strategies for B2B firms, and the implementation of value-based pricing strategies. His acclaimed Customer Value Modeler (CVM®) certification program trains professionals in value modeling best practices. Stephan is co-author of Innovation in Pricing and A User’s Guide to Value Modeling as well as numerous academic papers. He holds a PhD in Management from The Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University where he is an Adjunct Professor and a Visiting Scholar. Stephan sits on the board of Advisors of PPS. Stephan can be reached at sliozu@case.edu.
