How to transform your story into your BUYER'S STORY

How to transform your story into your BUYER’S STORY

How to transform your story into your BUYER’S STORY 369 217 Shlomi Ron


It’s a fact not a whole lot of people are aware of.

But half of all new business ventures fail in their first 5 years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

According to CBInsights the top reason is No market need. 

Translation: businesses don’t know how to craft and vet a compelling business story that resonates with their market. 

It’s as if founders fall in love with a product that is only connected to a nice-to-have problem nobody really cares to solve.

In our visual storytelling workshops, during our Story Making phase, we underscore the importance of clients vetting their customers’ core problems on several levels.



Building an authentic portrait of your top buyer persona profile requires:

1)    DIRECT interviews with customers, sales team, and partners to uncover their purchase decision process;

2)    INDIRECT social media research – to capture their hot topics, pain points, passions, and interests, including your competition.

This research is critical since your top buyer – like you – processes information on objective and subjective meaning levels.

Objective would carry the largest common ground with your customer segment, whereas subjective – is triggered by personal experiences and belief systems.

Moreover, your job as – the Chief Visual Storyteller – is to map out how your top buyer perceives the core problem your widget aims to solve.

You’ll find that what your top buyer thinks, feels, does and says – is not always in sync.

That’s why the direct and indirect research tactics are super important.

Yes, it requires investing more field work but it’s worth it!

Because the closest you can get to standing in your buyer’s shoes the more chances your story will authentically mirror her problem.

Your goal is to make your story feels as if it’s your buyer’s story, NOT YOURS.

Ideal reaction to your story:

“Wow! This [problem] just happened to me last week and that was exactly why I was so frustrated and discouraged [emotions]. I lost [X time] [Y money]. This [widget] is exactly what I need to get this [problem] out of the way”

How are you vetting your customer’s problem? Need help? Schedule an appointment!

Shlomi Ron

Shlomi Ron is the founder and CEO of the Visual Storytelling Institute, a Miami-based think tank with a mission to bring the gospel of visual storytelling from the world of art to more human-centric and purpose-driven marketing. A digital marketing veteran with over 20 years of experience working both on the agency and brand sides for Fortune 100/500 brands such as Nokia, IBM, and American Express. He started VSI to combine his marketing expertise with his passion for visual stories stemming from his interests in classic Italian cinema and managing the estate of video art pioneer, Buky Schwartz. At VSI, he helps brands rise above the communication noise through visual storytelling consulting, training, and thought leadership. Select clients include Estée Lauder, Microsoft, and Cable & Wireless – to name a few. He currently teaches Brand Storytelling at the University of Miami’s Business School. Thought leader and speaker at key marketing conferences. He is also the host of the Visual Storytelling Today podcast, which ranks in the top 10 best business storytelling podcasts on the Web. His book: Total Acuity: Tales with Marketing Morals to Help You Create Richer Visual Brand Stories. Outside work, he is a nascent bread baker, The Moth fan, and longtime fedora wearer likely to jive with his classic Italian cinema interest.

All stories by: Shlomi Ron
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