With ‘invisible influencers’ posing a growing threat to B2B marketers, a global story selling agency is introducing a new way to reach out to powerful yet elusive users. Story Hero sets out to reinvent the traditional case study, supporting marketers as they create and publish engaging, persuasive, and shareable content with those who can get it in front of the right audiences.

According to the 2020 B2B Buying Disconnect report by TrustRadius, almost half of all people who can influence decision making are considered to be ‘invisible influencers’. Refusing to reach out to sales teams and preferring to self serve, they’re best reached through shareable content, like case studies. The problem? Influencers – and their audiences – are increasingly viewing case studies as little more than brand adverts masquerading as testimonials.

When done right, however, case studies can be a powerful weapon. Buyers love to hear compelling stories about similar businesses experiencing – and successfully overcoming – common challenges. That’s why Story Hero is reinventing the traditional case study with a helping hand from Hollywood.

“We can tell ourselves whatever we want to hear, but the truth is that customers really don’t care about what we have to say about our products and services, yet they love to hear stories they can relate to; stories that could almost be about them,” says James Rostance, Story Hero Founder. “Our mission is to reinvent the classic advertorial case study with innovative story selling alternatives, adapted from a successful Hollywood movie formula.

The formula Rostance refers to is commonly known as ‘Overcoming the Monster’; a framework that follows a linear threat-challenge-setback-victory journey that forms the foundation of pretty much every hero-based movie. By incorporating this formula into case study creation, Rostance believes that every B2B marketer can successfully connect emotionally with audiences.

Story Hero uses the Hollywood framework as the basis of its 9-step ‘Customer Hero’ formula which prioritises the emotional needs of the buyer while simultaneously disabling the inherent push-back triggers that generate distrust. Through storytelling – which is already playing a significant role in many other aspects of marketing – B2B sellers can tap into the previously difficult-to-access emotional side of influencers to boost acceptance of case study content and facilitate a notable impact on decision making processes.