Storytelling Techniques for successful B2B2C Products
Storytelling Techniques for successful B2B2C Products
In the last post on B2B vs B2C storytelling, we introduced Kwan’s Product Storytelling Framework, and broke down how product stories can quickly transform from a single story into dozens of stories as you add more customers and products. With how exponential product growth can be, product managers need to be prepared for this transition from B2B to B2C if they want to see their product grow. In this post we will explore another layer and the most complex storytelling model: B2B2C Product Storytelling.
In the last post on B2B vs B2C storytelling, we introduced Kwan’s Product Storytelling Framework, and broke down how product stories can quickly transform from a single story into dozens of stories as you add more customers and products. With how exponential product growth can be, product managers need to be prepared for this transition from B2B to B2C if they want to see their product grow. In this post we will explore another layer and the most complex storytelling model: B2B2C Product Storytelling.
What is B2B2C Product Storytelling?
B2B2C stands for Business to Business to Consumer. In this model, two companies work together to serve a common customer, and tell one complimentary story of how their partnership better fulfills customer needs.
B2B2C is an extension of that model, and you can see in our framework how it quickly builds on top of the B2B framework.
Let’s say you run a company called BooBikes, making sustainable bicycle frames out of bamboo. Your product story is simple. Your bikes help eco-conscious customers make their daily commute greener in a unique and stylish way.
At this stage, you have one story about your product. To tell this simple story, your webpage has one product photo and one price.
If, instead of selling directly at your online BooBikes shop, you decide to distribute through partners. That would turn your model from B2C to B2B2C. This means you need to add a story for each partnership, and how your offer works together to make customers’ lives better. This is simple if you partner with a single-owner bike shop that is supporting sustainable transportation in their community. When you add partnerships with large companies with committee-based decision-making, then suddenly your storytelling balloons as well.
A more complex example of B2B2C would be a health plan.
A health plan such as Blue Shield is sold to an employer such as Acme, while the actual user of the health plan is the employee.
The partnership allows Blue Shield and Acme to tell a complementary story to attract top employees: A career at Acme empowers you to do your best work, while Blue Shield protects what matters most.
Remember that in addition to the employee, Acme has a team that makes decisions, including committees, brokers, and channel partners.
In this case, the full decision committee can look something like this:
Acme decision-maker: Often the CFO or CHRO. Looking to fit a solution to their overall benefits strategy
Acme operations: HR or Finance director who sets up the payroll/eligibility integration
Acme’s broker: Balances the need to deliver the right benefit, the need to pay themselves, and the need to keep their customer
Channel partner sales: If the plan is sold through a channel partner. The plan needs to be easy to sell, make the partner look good, and make money.
Channel partner leadership: Wants to grow their overall book of business.
Channel partner operations: Wants to minimize operations.
User: the Acme employee who is the benefit holder. Makes the final decision across a number of health plan offerings that Acme provides.
In addition to the complimentary product story, each stakeholder needs their own targeted messages, making the need for a product story to “hang together” a much harder exercise.
How do I align B2B2C Product Stories?
Just like in B2B and B2C, you need to plan your story fractal for effective B2B2C storytelling.
Recall that for B2B, there are 6 steps to planning your story fractal:
List out your buyers and stakeholders
List out what each buyer cares about
Identify points of potential conflict in their care-about
Resolve the points of conflict in your story
Create stories that satisfy each buyer
Test your stories by running them by each buyer.
In B2B2C Storytelling the Story Fractal Plan is modified. The bolded text shows the changes.
Create your B2C story - why would the C buy your product?
List out your buyers partners (the second B of B2B2C) and stakeholders within
Refine your B2C story with your partner, make sure they can represent your story.
List out what each buyers partner and their stakeholders care about
Identify points of potential conflict in their care-abouts
Resolve the points of conflict in your story
Create stories that satisfy each buyers partner and their stakeholders
Test your stories by running them by each buyer partner and their stakeholders
Now you are ready to start building your B2B2C story fractal. If you need guidance, check out myproduct strategy workshop.
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