We have all seen that one commercial on television that, no matter how many times you’ve seen it, it still brings a tear to your eye, or makes you laugh, or even just puts a smile on your face. There’s a reason these commercials stay with us. It’s because they are telling a great story. It doesn’t matter if it’s told in one hour or one minute, a great story will stay with an audience for a long time to come.
This is why storytelling has always played such an important role in branding. You’re not just spreading a message or putting an idea out there to your customers. You are sharing an emotion. When your message brings out emotion, then it will stay with the people you are trying to reach and perhaps they will go on to share that message with their own family and friends.
What is your story?
What is the biggest motivator behind your business? Why did you decide to start this business? What change do you want to be a part of? How do you want to make a difference through your company? What is that end goal that you are trying to reach and why does it matter to your customers?
Have a clear definition of what it is you want to accomplish with your company and then help your customers get involved in achieving that goal. Including your customers in your plans for the future gets them excited about your brand and what it stands for. People are not just looking for a product and what it can do for them in the short term. Today’s consumers are drawn in by experiences and a feeling of connection to a brand that shares their core values.
Take a look around and you will see that a number of businesses have started aligning themselves with great causes. Look at the young startup Bombas. This is a company that was started because the founders learned that the number one most needed item in homeless shelters is socks. They came up with an idea to design a better-than-average sock and a promise that for every pair sold, the company will donate one pair. To date, Bombas has donated more than a million socks.
It is this kind of story that makes a consumer stop and listen and get excited about a brand. It gets them excited to be a part of that story and to play a part in what that company is doing for a great cause. This is what today’s consumer is looking for when they start looking to align themselves with a brand. It’s not just about what the company can offer them, but what the brand can offer to the world.
Your company has a story and that story can make an impact, not just on your customers but to the world around you. Do not filter down your message. That makes it harder to hear. Look at all of the things that set you apart from the rest of the competition and find a way to craft that story so that you can share it with your audience.
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