The best success news tells a story that makes it clear why your customer’s application is an obvious improvement over whatever it replaced. The goal is to have the story impact a key buying decision. It must be more than a listing of events; it must convey how the new system is enabling the company to achieve its business goals. The story must be able to explain the company’s success as it relates to widely understood financial metrics, key business processes or the quality of the company’s results.
People have different definitions of success. A wildly ambitious corporate executive might see success as having big bucks and prestige, while another employee might define it as enjoying high levels of family satisfaction and having the ability to take time off to indulge in hobbies. A successful marketer might think that winning the big account is crucial to his or her success, while a construction worker might consider the completion of an extraordinary bridge a major achievement.
Trying to achieve all of these aims at once is like shooting in a kaleidoscope of moving targets. No one person has unreserved success, and even the most highly rewarded individuals sometimes question whether they really want all that status and power, or if there are better ways to achieve their personal desires.
The best way to generate success news is by talking with your customers directly. The ideal success story is based on a candid interview with a senior executive in your customer’s company. It is important to find out what they view as the biggest challenges and successes, so that you can present a story that reflects their perspective. The best stories also contain a theme that is consistently emphasized. Typically, the theme corresponds to a ]po[ process that is especially important for your customer’s business. This is especially important for search engine optimization, because Google recognizes documents that discuss themes and gives them an extra “usefulness” score. Themes also serve as a useful guide to the overall structure and content of a success story, making it easier for you to write the story. The theme can also be included in the title of the story for SEO purposes. If possible, you should collect quotes about the hero’s experience already during the rollout and use them in the story to improve its authenticity. These quotes can be a valuable source of inspiration for the hero’s journey.