LimeStory, an AI storytelling marketing platform, partners with the Open University, the biggest academic institution in Israel and a pioneer in offering remote learning degrees. The martech company is creating a more personal way for academic institutions to engage potential students early and on an emotional level.
By identifying the education sector’s struggle with generating high-quality leads, the company provides its storytelling marketing solution to 7 of the largest educational institutions in Israel, including The Open University of Israel - the biggest online university in the country.
“We follow the data from the education sector. We see that students are more engaged, and we see that storytelling increases the reply rate, resulting in higher sales qualified leads,” says Afik Bar-Yoel, CEO and Founder at LimeStory.
The academic sector has been one of the early adopters of LimeStory’s technology but is far from the last. The company’s mission is to transform generic websites and lead generation processes, which have remained unchanged for the past 30 years. The average business invests 25-30% of its marketing budget on content marketing, often resulting in between 90%-95% of qualified leads unsuccessfully converted for marketers. Think of the boring sign-up pages or mechanical chatbots. These are exactly the kind of cold engagement channels that Afik and his company look to change with a more human touch.
Building your story
The company is leveraging AI storytelling technology to enhance critical sales operations, by deploying a robust NLP-based content management tool that creates a two-way online dialogue that uses traditional storytelling techniques combined with advanced optimization tools. A marketer’s dream; the platform helps structure and clarify their marketing content strategy, under a single hub across all of their digital channels.
“I believe storytelling impacts websites far beyond a simple online store window. It makes us feel. It connects us. It reveals the human personalities that make up a brand. A strong narrative leaves a mark, and with LimeStory, organizations can spark a sales dialogue and increase revenue,” says Afik.
The battle for customers has moved to the digital arena, and unprepared buisnesses can find themselves left behind. For example, the pandemic has shown incredible growth for eCommerce, telehealth, and other digital solutions. Today, the sales pitch isn’t simply done over the phone or face-to-face, LimeStory facilitates the digital transition and clarifies an organization’s online message.
“We feel the pain of our customers. We see budgets wasted on generic calls to action, as most people have experienced before, like sign-ups, buy now, and others… As a result tons of expensive disengaged leads are sent to their “CRM graveyard”,” adds Afik. Understanding that storytelling subconsciously interacts with the emotional part of the brain, where most of our decisions are actually made, allows LimeStory users to build meaningful relationships online.
LimeStory is a graduate of the SigmaLabs accelerator program, part of the Sarona Partners’ ecosystem. The startup has recently raised its Pre-Seed round of an undisclosed amount and plans to expand to global markets in the near future. Afik started the company out of his personal experience, as a business development professional in the sports tech arena. Later, he teamed up with CTO Tal Sheratzky, and together they developed the initial concept. Not long after, the duo reached out to Business Storytelling Coach and author of Amazon #1 best seller - ‘Sell with a Story’, Paul Andrew Smith, to create the MicroStorytelling Workflow that LimeStory uses to captivate a new generation of online users.
