
The Story Tells the Story
What’s your story? What reasons compel your customers to do business with you? What gets them excited about doing business with you? Consider this. If you’re selling a trip to Hawaii, you probably try to paint a vision of a day on the beach, an amazing luau and a beautiful oceanfront balcony that includes a gorgeous sunset. The story you don’t tell—at least I hope you don’t—is the one that includes the technical specs of the engine on the plane that’s flying you to that exotic location, the type of tires on the resort’s van that will be waiting at the airport or the number of parking spaces in the resort’s parking lot. No, you don’t share technical specs when you’re trying to sell a vacation. When you’re trying to get your customers to buy into the experience you’re creating for them, it’s the story that will do it. Create the image in your customer’s mind. If you really want to get them excited, get your customers to help paint that picture in the form of online reviews or testimonials on your website. For example, I was getting ready to buy something on Amazon recently. I thought I knew what I wanted, until I started reading the reviews for similar products from different manufacturers. For the most part, the product descriptions were the same; all had very positive reviews about the quality of the product and the fast shipping. That gave me confidence; however, it was the reviews that included a story that ultimately made me choose one product over another. It’s important to note that while you may have provided a story in the description, the reviews (or testimonials) were in the customers’ words, not yours. Customers love to hear from other customers. How do you get these types of reviews or testimonials? Ask for them—but ask the right way. Most people would ask, “If you are happy with (whatever the product or service is), would you mind leaving a review?” That’s going to get you a nice rating as long as you deserve it. But if you want the customer to tell the story, try asking a different way: “Can you please leave a review and tell everyone how you’re using the product?” Do you see the difference? One is asking for a rating. The other asks for a story. This may sound like common sense, but look at reviews for different products and you’ll see a big difference between ratings and stories. The point is that stories make you want to buy. Customers love the story.
Season 1 Episodes

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Customer Service Lessons From the Best Unknown Companies
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The Story Tells the Story
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How to Be a Customer Service Hero: The Mike Moment
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Winner! Winner! Chicken Dinner! The Versatility of Customer Service
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The New Executive Position: CLO, Customer Love Officer
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Compare Yourself to the Best
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Ritualize the Customer Experience
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A Recipe for Amazing Customer Service
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How Much Does It Cost to Give Great Customer Service?
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When Surprise and Delight Becomes Surprise Without Delight
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Does it Matter How You Refer to Your Customers?
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Customer Service Week: A Time to Celebrate Customers AND Employees
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Customer Service Training is Not What You Think it is
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Your Emergency Response Plan–Be Prepared
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Smile and the World Smiles With You – Unless It’s Fake
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Four Lessons from The Cult Of The Customer
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Do You Take Responsibility When Things Go Wrong?
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20 Ways to Improve Your Customer Service Part 2
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20 Ways to Improve Your Customer Service Part 1
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New Year’s Reflections: Celebrate Your Accomplishments
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Five Ways To Prepare For Your Busy Season
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Do Your Employees Get the Recognition They Deserve?
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The Survey Shouldn’t Be the Last Thing the Customer Remembers About You
I’m all for getting customer feedback. There are different ways to go...

Live Up to a Higher Standard of Service
How do you live up to your standard for customer service? A...

Simplicity Leads to a Convenient Experience
Shep Hyken explains how simplicity leads to a convenient experience. Dr. Jason...

Customer Service vs. Customer Experience
Shep Hyken explains how three iconic brands are delivering the complete customer...

That “Something Extra” You Offer to Make Customers Love You
In the realm of business—and especially customer service—we often talk about how...

De-evolution of a Business – How to Stay Relevant to Your Customers
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How Do You Drive Toward Customer Success?
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How to Make Your Customer’s Experience Even Better
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Why Your Customers Probably Hate You: Avoid the Customer-Free Zone
Why do some of your customers hate you, and how can you...

Five Tips for Creating Better Customer Experiences Just in Time for National Customer Service Week
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Customer Service May Not Be Your First Priority, and That’s Okay
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How Do You Deal with Difficult Business Decisions? A Customer Experience Lesson
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What You Should Do When a Customer is Wrong & Phrases to Avoid
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What Signals Are You Sending Customers – Customer Experience Training
What signals are you unintentionally sending your customers? If you want to...

Eliminate Friction with Proactive Customer Support
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How Can You Predict What Customers Want or Need?
Can you effectively predict your customer’s wants and needs? To create more...

How to Create a Friction-Less Convenient Customer Experience
Do you know how to create a friction-less and convenient experience for...

Be Able to Take a Punch If You Work on the Front Line of Customer Service
In customer service, you aren’t going to be physically punched out by...

Overcoming Business Challenges: Take a Walk in Your Customer’s Shoes
Shep Hyken, Customer Service & Experience Expert, shares why we need to...

The Concept of Starting Over – A Powerful CX Lesson
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How to Deal with Angry Customers – Customer Experience Lesson
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How to Tell Customers Bad News (The Right Way)
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Don’t Be Lazy – Go the Extra Inch for Customers
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Deliver on the Entire Customer Experience – Learn from 3 Great CX Companies
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Surprise and Delight – A Customer Service Lesson
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Why Do People Put Up with Bad Customer Service?
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Better CX with Open Communication
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