{"id":167492,"date":"2025-04-02T02:04:22","date_gmt":"2025-04-02T02:04:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/business\/marketing\/b2b-storytelling-with-matt-potter-the-cma\/"},"modified":"2025-04-02T02:04:22","modified_gmt":"2025-04-02T02:04:22","slug":"b2b-storytelling-with-matt-potter-the-cma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=167492","title":{"rendered":"B2B Storytelling with Matt Potter \u2014 The CMA"},"content":{"rendered":"


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In our data-driven industry<\/span><\/a>, businesses have become so laser-focused on how the content they produce affects the bottom line that the incentive is now more about the format and less about the function.<\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019s finding the best SEO keywords or riding on the latest social media trends, the focus remains on the success we can measure, not on the unknown potential of original content that can inspire and move people. <\/p>\n

Therefore, the function of engaging audiences has become a formula. A science. A proven methodology. <\/p>\n

Ditch creativity and interrupt your consumer at all costs appears to be the current consensus, and if we can incorporate AI to do the work instead, then all the better, right? <\/p>\n

However, the obsession with the format and the facts can force us to overlook what remains the most powerful form of content across all mediums. <\/p>\n

Storytelling.<\/p>\n

Stories are powerful because they stick in the memory and rouse emotions. <\/p>\n

As American scientist Jennifer Aaker states<\/span><\/a>, \u201cStories are remembered up to 22 times more than facts alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Measurement Trap<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are measuring the wrong things. They\u2019re measuring clicks on the one side and brand outcomes on the other.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Matt Potter believes brands need storytellers to help them evolve. Reversing a culture in the industry from interrupting what people are interested in, to being what they\u2019re interested in. <\/p>\n

How do we do this?<\/p>\n

Firstly, with an external focus back to the audience, away from our internal understanding of marketing formulas and formats. He found through an experiment comparing marketing professionals and the public when asking about their experience of the content they showed. <\/p>\n

On the one side, the marketers spoke in technical terms about formats and platforms. Things like “Short-form videos” and “50-word JPGs”.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, the public communicated with emotional references to the content. They said, \u201cIt was heartbreaking\u201d, \u201cIt stopped me in my tracks\u201d, or \u201cIt enlightened me\u201d.<\/p>\n

The public spoke about emotional moments. These were things that changed their minds and had nothing to do with platforms and formats.<\/p>\n

So, it\u2019s no wonder that ads with emotional content performed nearly twice as well (31% vs. 16%) compared to those with rational content.<\/span><\/a> <\/p>\n

However, emotional connection doesn\u2019t show up in our analytics. We can\u2019t measure the impact it makes, and that\u2019s the issue with storytelling in B2B because we struggle to prove its worth in terms of data and facts. <\/p>\n

A model for measuring the impact of storytelling in B2B doesn\u2019t yet exist or is much more complicated to integrate. However, the outcomes of good storytelling are real and much more impactful than we know. <\/p>\n

Stop Interrupting. Start interesting. <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cB2B consumers are not consumers. They\u2019re humans. Brands talk to consumers about their thing. Consumers want the brand to talk to them about all the parts of their lives.\u201d \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Matt Potter believes one way B2B brand storytelling can reengage with audiences and prove its value to clients and directors is through thought leadership. <\/p>\n

In his research, he detailed:<\/p>\n