Scaling trust through shared customer stories

We helped a client unlock $1.7M in 90 days… without chasing a single new logo. Here’s how. Most companies think growth = more new logos. But what happens when you already work with 85% of the Fortune 500? That was the challenge one client brought to us. They had the logos. But most of those clients were only using one of their products. Millions in monthly revenue was just sitting there. Untapped. The real challenge? Finding a way to genuinely deepen these customer relationships and provide real value FIRST, before ever talking about a cross-sell opportunity. Because up until this point, a lot of these customers had already been “given” a lot of things: They had: - Been featured in big, flashy corporate case studies - Spoken on stage at “exclusive” events - Sat through the fancy ABM dinners - Been invited to Formula 1 and other VIP experiences At first, those offers did feel special. But when everyone’s eventually offering the same playbook, it stops feeling special and starts to feel transactional. So we tried something different. Instead of pitching harder, we gave their customers something no one else had offered: a platform. We invited their highest-potential customers to be guests on our top podcasts. They weren’t being “sold to.” They were being celebrated. Within weeks, we had a flood of customers saying ‘yes’ to being guests on our shows, eager for the spotlight because it was actually an opportunity that was bringing them value. It worked because: → Customers got the spotlight (relationship win). → these guests got an 11-star guest experience, many saying things like, “ this was the best media experience I have ever had”. → The content positioned our client as a thought partner, not just a vendor. → Product stories wove naturally into peer-to-peer conversations. No slides. No pitches. Just relevant, trusted storytelling. Within 90 days: - $1.7M in revenue expansion - Deeper relationships with their C-suite buyers - Our client went from vendor → trusted thought partner And the best part? The podcast content turned into a flywheel: living across LinkedIn, newsletters, YouTube, sales decks, and blog posts... everywhere their customers were already paying attention. Because growth doesn’t come from louder pitches or fancier dinners. It comes from repositioning yourself in your customer’s story. When you stop competing for attention and instead create the stage where the right conversations happen, everything changes. That’s the Mission + RELVNT playbook: - Turn your customers into thought leaders. - Transform their stories into content that lives everywhere. - Use that content to fuel expansion and cross-sell. DM me if you want to see how this playbook could work for you. 👀 #marketing #ABM #CX

5 Microstory Examples That Build Trust in Less Than 3 Minutes You don’t need long-form essays to earn trust. Most people don’t even read past the second paragraph. That’s why I use microstories: short, emotional, and specific moments that reveal who you are in under 3 minutes. Here are 5 types of microstories you can use to build trust—fast: 1. The Moment You Changed Your Mind → Trust is built when people see growth, not perfection.
Example:
“I used to think discounts were the fastest way to win customers.
 Then a client told me, ‘Your advice changed my business I would’ve paid 3x for that.’
I stopped undervaluing my work that day.” 🟢 Why it works: Shows humility + transformation. 2. The Vulnerable First Step → People don’t trust you because you’re an expert. They trust you because you’ve been where they are.
 Example:
“My first client didn’t even know I was charging them. I just wanted to help.
Looking back, that eagerness came from insecurity. But it taught me the value of service over selling.” 🟢 Why it works: Relatability + authenticity. 3. The Customer's Tipping Point → Tell the before, the doubt, and the aha.
 Example:
She told me, "I’ve tried every course. Why would yours be different?" Five days into the Microstory Journey, she replied:
 "You’re the first person who made me feel like this was possible.’” 🟢 Why it works: Builds belief through someone else’s lens. 4. The Internal Battle → Trust deepens when we share what we wrestled with.
 Example:
“I almost scrapped my launch.
 Not because it wasn’t ready, but because I wasn’t.
 Fear doesn’t disappear. But it loses power when you move anyway." 🟢 Why it works: Reveals the messy middle we all live in. 5. The Unlikely Lesson → Share wisdom from everyday, even odd, places.
 Example:
“My 4-year-old asked, "Why do you work so much if you don’t like it?"
I didn’t have an answer. That night, I mapped out the first version of the business I run today.” 🟢 Why it works: Surprising source + deep emotional truth. Bottom line?
 People don’t trust credentials.
 They trust moments.
 Moments that reveal your values, struggles, and growth. That’s why I built the Microstory Journey... a 5-day experience that turns tiny stories into big trust. 👉 Which of these 5 are you using right now? ♻️ Share if this shifted your marketing mindset 🔔 Follow Mike Hays for more strategic growth insights

Five years as a video producer and one thing will always be true about customer stories... Repurpose the hell outta them 🤹 I used to get pretty discouraged by the amount of energy that goes into a customer story for them to sit there in a case study library. The problem- they're mostly a BOFU asset. No one who isn't about to buy really cares. So here are 4 ways I've helped my clients re-use their best case studies UP the funnel: 📺 Paid ads (retargeting): Create a 30-sec Hero's Journey story with a few inserts of your product. Make sure you start the ad on pain & identity. "As a stressed business owner, I just couldn't find time for my marketing..." You'll want to use this ad to re-target because, to the uninitiated, it's a bit confusing. But to those who already know you, it's the perfect next step to build trust. 📱 Short-form snippets Make 3-4 snippets from the interviews that don't mention your product all. Instead, they talk about the problem in general & what other companies are doing. Have a founder or internal influencer post about these clips, adding their thoughts and value to their audience. Sometimes, staying top of mind and adding value is better than pitch-slapping with your product. 📈 One-pagers The lessons you learned from the interview can be turned into sales enablement. Bring together all of the ROI metrics, quippy one-liners, and images you can muster. Give that to your sales team to create an industry-specific tool that empowers your champions. This works better than a video because it's fast to read and easy to understand. 📩 Email marketing Once you've converted the pillar video into a blog post, shorten the story to fit into an email nurture. As always, start with pain and use the customer's story as a way to empathize with readers. Your CTA can point to the video itself or other helpful assets that solve this pain you just told a story about. I usually slot this into email #2 or #3 of the nurture. Earlier is better for building trust. 🎫 Webinar (BONUS) I think webinars get a lot of bad rep - it's a place for your community to gather. And it's very useful for finding hand raisers. Once you have 2-3 customer stories finished, invite them to a panel around a certain problem your product solves for. DON'T make the webinar about your product. Instead, use the panel as permission for these champions to share their stories & lessons. Your product may naturally come up. It might not. And that's ok. At the end, launch a poll to see if there is anyone interested in learning more. ------ In the end, a case study is only the base of the tree. There are so many ways for it to branch out :) New video on Thursday. Follow along for more. #videomarketing #b2b #saas #customermarketing