A good story is a powerful business tool if used properly. Any business interested in creating a strong brand that lasts over time must know how to tell a story that reaches its customers’ very core. Humans have been telling stories since the beginning of time. They are undoubtedly an essential part of our daily lives. If done correctly, storytelling can work wonders for your business. It can:
- Strengthen your marketing strategy
- Generate sales
- Earn the loyalty and affection of your customers
- Turn your brand into one of those legends that remain on the market for decades or even centuries
Business storytelling gives a compelling reason for consumers to buy from you. A good brand should inspire trust between the company and its customers, employees, and suppliers. Knowing how to tell the story of your business should be a crucial part of your operation. The story of your brand has a strategic purpose: to attract people.
So, what does business storytelling have to do with your business? Well, everything! If you don’t have the ability to convey a story, your products will not attract the audience you want. You can captivate audiences with a compelling brand story in every form of content: blogs, e-books, and even the “About Us” section of your website.
You can also transfer the value of storytelling to other departments to grow your business. For example, you can train your sales representatives to tell your company’s story and use it to attract potential investors. Once you learn how to tell a good story, you’ll consequently leave your customers always wanting more. The latter has the potential of turning your readers into leads and your leads into customers.
Many companies entirely lack a clearly articulated story that positions their brand, vision, and values. Storytelling conveys purpose, and companies that have one stand out and win hearts over ultimately. Here are some recommendations that can improve your company’s story:
Set clear parameters
The story of your business must fascinate because otherwise, you will lose the interest of your consumers. The following questions must be obvious:
- Why are you telling the story?
- Who is telling the story?
- Who are the people in the story?
- When and where does the story take place?
- In what order will the story be told?
- What are the characters trying to achieve?
- What challenges do they face?
- What tone will you use?
Parameters will help you develop an engaging story that makes sense to your audience. Make sure to set the scene. Hence, consumers will know what you are talking about exactly. The most important thing is to establish why you are telling this story. It will guide the audience through the narrative and hook them until the end.
When it’s time to write your story, it´s essential to set up specific circumstances. Create a scene and provide vital information that will enable a context for your audience. Furthermore, use curiosity to leave the reader wanting more (this trick works on headlines, too). Characters and conversation go hand in hand. If you’re telling a story without people and dialogue, your readers will likely fall asleep. As we will explain in just a moment, the conflict could become the most critical element in your story.
Being honest is paramount
When it comes to sharing your company’s history, authenticity is essential. Don’t even think about trying to fool your audience with made-up stories. Clients tend to know when you’re trying to pull their leg, and they don’t like it. Keep in mind that your business history doesn’t need to be overly sophisticated. If your business doesn’t have an inspiring story, don’t force it. You are much more likely to connect with your audiences through an original and honest narrative.
Use honesty as a critical asset that speaks of how unique your brand is. This will consequently reveal its human aspect. It would be best if you weren’t afraid to admit that everything isn’t always perfect. As human beings, we can relate to the failures of others because we all have our flaws. Speaking openly about those flaws can create an emotional connection. It can also reveal some positive traits—for instance, innovation or the ability to land on your feet, despite the circumstances.
You can try to adopt a total transparency philosophy to communicate with your clients. For example, you could provide details about how things work in your business. Say your brand materials are produced with unique elements from your country. These are the types of pieces that have the potential of creating an exciting story.
Turn on the emotional side of your audiences
Who didn’t cry when Rose had to let Jack freeze to death in Titanic? Or who didn’t cheer when Andy Dufresne finally breaks out of prison in The Shawshank Redemption? Whether you feel sad, happy, scared, or angry, feelings let us know that we are alive! So your audiences should indeed get these emotions from your brand. Facts and figures don’t matter until you’ve made an emotional connection, and stories are a great way to achieve that. When building your business story, think about what emotion you want to communicate and then provide the information to support it.
Engage your audience through the senses
“The studio was filled with the rich odor of roses, and when the light summer wind stirred amidst the trees of the garden, there came through the open door the heavy scent of the lilac, or the more delicate perfume of the pink-flowering thorn.” – Oscar Wilde
Appealing to the senses throughout your story creates an immediate bond with the reader. It sets up the scene based on how it happened visually. What sounds did you hear? What type of scents filled the air? How did it feel? Once you mention feelings that most of your customers have experienced, there’s a way to include them in your story. And it’s something that involves your whole brain, as opposed to just a piece of it.
Chronological order is not always necessary
It’s common for storytellers or advertisers to share too many details in advance when they start telling their stories in chronological order. As a result, their audience loses interest before the real action takes place. And when you finally do reach that moment, your audiences are already engaged in their Instagram feeds or long asleep. Maybe they have already clicked on another website, never to come back again. Remember, you can begin your narrative from the middle or even the end, where things get more exhilarating or exciting.
Be organized
A brand story that´s all over the place will leave customers confused and uninterested. Make sure that your brand is consistent in every communication channel. Use the same colors, logo, and slogan for your printed and digital marketing materials. Repeating images associated with your company creates a specific consciousness towards your brand.
When you create a story to support your marketing strategy, each part of the content you produce must include an intention. In other words, a concrete proposal that feeds and endorses the company’s broad vision. Again, it would be best if you were consistent when speaking about your brand. The story behind your brand will help to simplify the complexities of its vision. It will also spread the company’s purpose to the whole world.
Companies that can communicate value and purpose have the edge over their competition. Moreover, finding the right narrative for companies requires practice. You need to study the company’s history inside out before exposing it to potential customers. As a result, this will help you tell your story more naturally. Having purpose and value as a business sells; however, that alone isn’t always enough. It would help if you delivered a narrative that grabs people’s attention.
Involve your customers
Use business storytelling to establish an emotional bond with customers. Don’t be afraid to talk about an event that affected your business and what you learned about it. This generates an immediate response, which makes your narrative more memorable and prone to sharing. People love being part of a story! You could even try thinking of your customers as characters of your brand. The more creative you get coming up with ways to involve your audience, the better!
Storytelling brings us together; it helps us make sense of this world and spreads our values and beliefs. A good story sparks our minds and speaks to us in ways that figures, data, and PowerPoint presentations just can’t. Brand loyalty for the long run starts because of companies that understand this need for human interaction. In the end, it’s in your best interest to make this your biggest asset. Let’s start writing a beautiful, fascinating story for your brand right now!
