1. Storytelling for the BA
IBADD 2017
Renee Saint-Louis
Capstone Publishing

2. Agenda What’s Marketing got to do with Business Analysis?
Why is Storytelling Important
Basic Principles of Storytelling
How to Structure a Good Story

3. When Marketing is Done Well…
We connect with the story.

4. When It’s Done Poorly…
There’s severe backlash!

5. To Be A Good Marketer You Must:
Understand your customer or target market’s goals
Personalize by speaking to their needs or wants – Know the Why
Overcome barriers to purchase – by understanding the competition
Inspire your target market to take action to fulfill their needs/wants with your product

6. To Be a Good Business Analyst
You Must:
Discover your customer’s goals
Distinguish between their wants and needs
Discover obstacles that stand in the way of achieving goals
Know the competition
Inspire people to take action to improve or change through great user stories, process improvement, and change management

7. Why Are Stories so Important?
Our brains are wired for stories
Stories activate the whole brain, Straight Data activates only the Language centers of the brain
It’s easier to remember a story than cold hard facts!

8. When Do BA’s Need to Tell Stories?

9. How Do Marketers Tell Great Stories?
They get prepared!

10. Step 1: Use Data to Find the Story
When marketers need to tell a story, they often start by looking in their data to understand how people are using their products
You can learn a LOT by piecing together a customer’s journey through their data points.
By looking in Salesforce, I found this story on how marketing automation won a sale for Capstone
May 5th
June 3rd
June 13th
April 5th
April 15th
April 25th
Kim buys PebbleGo
Amanda Signed up for a Trial
Jodi Signed up for a Trial
Katy Signed up for a Trial
Kim, the Assistant principal signs up for a trial
Kim calls Paige at Capstone and asks for a quote

11. Step 2: Know Your Characters (Target Market)
As a BA your characters can be:
Executive Sponsors
Customers
Subject Matter Experts
Team Members
Create a Persona for each of them
Decide which characters are your target market for your story

12. Why Do I Need to Know My Characters?
If you want to be heard, you MUST connect with people in their own language

13. Step 3: Identify Goals & What’s at Stake
Create a Character Map that states each person’s goals and what’s at stake
Launch a beautifully designed, intuitive mobile app that will increase customer retention
Do as little as possible
Profitably deliver highly visible project to client. Future projects/consulting spend at stake
Design a beautiful app and increase repeat business with client

14. Step 4: Identify Wants vs Needs
Need: High Quality App delivered. Want: Delivered by June (it was April).

15. Step 5: Identify the Obstacles
Road blocks aren’t always obvious
Can be things like:
Long held beliefs or company myths
The competition
Time
Resources available

16. Now You’re Ready to Tell the Story

17. The Most Basic Story
Character
Obstacle
Goal

18. How My Story Came Together

19. Don’t Forget the ASK!
All good business stories end with an ask. Ask for what you need.

20. My Advice – Say It With Pictures

21. A little Fun Pixar and Disney use this technique when creating stories
This is the perfect template for a business case

22. An Example of a Story Spine
But One Day…
Because of that…
Once upon a time…
Everyday…
Because of that…
Because of that…
Until Finally…
Ever Since Then…

23. Let’s Give it a Try

24. Thank you! Contact: Renee Saint-Louis renabor@Hotmail.com

25. Storytelling for the BA
IBADD 2017
Renee Saint-Louis
Capstone Publishing