Tailoring Your Stories for Every Step of the Customer Journey

Discover how to craft the perfect sales story for every stage of the customer journey—awareness, consideration, and decision—to drive conversions.

Tailoring Your Stories for Every Step of the Customer Journey

Not all customers are in the same place when they interact with your brand.

Some are just learning about you, while others are on the edge of making a purchase. But if you tell the same story to everyone, you risk losing engagement.

That’s why storytelling should be tailored to where your customer is in their buying journey.

So, how do you craft the right story for every stage of the funnel? Let’s break it down.

1. Why Storytelling Needs to Change at Each Stage

Your customers go through three main stages before making a purchase:

✅ Awareness – They realize they have a problem but aren’t sure what the solution is.
✅ Consideration – They’re exploring options and comparing products.
✅ Decision – They’re ready to buy but need reassurance.

Each stage requires a different type of story to keep customers engaged and moving forward.

💡 How to apply this:

  • Use engaging, high-level stories for awareness.
  • Provide educational and value-driven storytelling for consideration.
  • Use emotional, trust-building stories to close the sale at the decision stage.

2. Awareness Stage: Capturing Attention with Emotional Stories

🔹 What customers need here:

  • They don’t know much about you yet.
  • They’re searching for solutions to a problem.
  • They need engaging, relatable content that connects with their pain points.

✅ Best storytelling approach:

  • Tell relatable problem-solving stories (so they see themselves in it).
  • Use emotion-driven storytelling to create connection.
  • Keep the content light, engaging, and easy to digest.

📌 Example: A fitness brand might create a short Instagram video showing:
"Meet Jake. He struggled with low energy and long work hours—until he found a quick, effective workout routine that fit into his busy schedule."

💡 How to apply this:

  • Use short-form content (videos, social media posts, blog intros).
  • Keep it focused on emotions and struggles—not product details.
  • Spark curiosity so they want to learn more about your brand.

3. Consideration Stage: Educating with Value-Driven Stories

🔹 What customers need here:

  • They know their problem and are actively looking for solutions.
  • They’re comparing different options.
  • They need proof that your solution is the best one.

✅ Best storytelling approach:

  • Provide educational stories that show how your product works.
  • Share real customer success stories that prove your credibility.
  • Use before-and-after storytelling to highlight the transformation.

📌 Example: A software company might create a case study:
"Before using our project management tool, Lisa spent 10+ hours a week organizing tasks manually. Now? She finishes her work in half the time and has more time for creativity."

💡 How to apply this:

  • Use customer testimonials, case studies, and explainer videos.
  • Share step-by-step guides that show how your product solves problems.
  • Position your product as the logical solution without sounding pushy.

4. Decision Stage: Using Trust-Driven Stories to Close the Sale

🔹 What customers need here:

  • They’re ready to buy but need final reassurance.
  • They might be hesitant about making the wrong choice.
  • They need a strong emotional push to take action.

✅ Best storytelling approach:

  • Use trust-building narratives to remove doubt.
  • Highlight fear-of-missing-out (FOMO) and urgency.
  • Show how life will improve after the purchase.

📌 Example: A marketing agency might use this approach:
"John was hesitant about investing in marketing, but after working with us, his revenue grew by 35% in just three months. Don’t let fear hold your business back—take the first step today!"

💡 How to apply this:

  • Use powerful testimonials and last-minute incentives (discounts, bonuses).
  • Focus on results, guarantees, and pain-point resolution.
  • Create a strong call to action that makes purchasing feel urgent and exciting.

5. Where to Use These Stories at Each Stage

📌 Awareness (Emotion-Driven Stories):

✅ Social media videos
✅ Blog posts with relatable narratives
✅ Short-form storytelling ads

📌 Consideration (Value-Driven Stories):

✅ Case studies & success stories
✅ Webinars & educational videos
✅ Product demos

📌 Decision (Trust-Driven Stories):

✅ Testimonials & real customer reviews
✅ FAQ sections with reassuring language
✅ Personalized emails with final purchase incentives

💡 How to apply this:

  • Identify where your customers are in the journey.
  • Match your storytelling content to their current needs.
  • Guide them from one stage to the next using clear calls to action.

6. Common Mistakes to Avoid in Customer Journey Storytelling

🚫 Using the wrong story at the wrong time: Avoid telling detailed case studies to people who don’t even know they need your product yet.

🚫 Being too salesy too early: Let customers connect with your brand before pushing a sale.

🚫 Lacking emotion in the final stage: People make buying decisions based on trust and emotion—don’t rely on logic alone to close the deal.

🚫 Inconsistent storytelling across platforms: Ensure that customers get a seamless narrative from first touchpoint to final purchase.

Start Using Customer Journey Storytelling to Boost Sales

Your storytelling should guide customers naturally through the buying journey.

✅ Ask yourself:

  • Am I using different types of stories for each stage?
  • Do my awareness stories focus on emotions, not sales?
  • Do my consideration stories show real proof of success?
  • Do my decision-stage stories remove doubts and build trust?

If you want to master sales storytelling and start closing more deals by guiding customers with the right stories, I highly recommend checking out my book:

📖 Storytelling and Sales: Secrets to Creating Narratives That Convert
➡️ Get your copy here!

Learn step-by-step techniques to craft stories that engage, inspire, and turn leads into customers.

Start telling stories that sell today. 🚀

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