Important: Your Brand Tells a Story

 

You've probably heard it before: your brand should tell a story. The story behind your brand tells your customers why you do what you do. Stories engage your customers and connect them to your company. People remember stories more than facts and figures, and are most often affected by them more deeply.

 

Your story must be more than a disguised marketing message -- consumers will see right through that. Instead, your brand's story must stand on its own as a good story. Your story gives your company an emotional context and an authenticity that attracts like-minded consumers.

 

Your company's story should be told not only through text, but also photos and visuals. As social media becomes more relevant in the marketing mix, your business can use your story to relate to your customers on a more personal level.

 

Take the shoe company TOMS, for instance. TOMS has a great story to tell -- for every pair of shoes purchased, they give away a pair of shoes to a child in need. They invite customers to be a part of their mission. TOMS also prints their story on each shoe box, and stamps it onto the insole of every pair of shoes. TOMS also shares the stories of their employees delivering shoes to children around the world.

 

Yet TOMS' main goal is not altruism -- it's actually to build a successful business and make a profit. TOMS has discovered a great formula to being profitable using their brand story as their main selling point. 

 

The customers of high-end outdoor clothing company Patagonia literally tell the story of their brand. Patagonia's website, catalog, and blog feature photos of customers doing the things they love while wearing Patagonia gear.

 

There are thousands of customer photos taken in places with crazy names such as Horseshoe Hell and Suicide Rock. By retelling customer stories in their marketing materials, Patagonia shows customers that they get them. The brand is a natural part of their customers' world and one they know they can trust.

 

More Important: Others are Telling Stories about Your Brand

 

What makes these brands even more successful is that each of their stories extends beyond itself. People are proud to be a part of something bigger. Customers share the company's story with their friends and family, who in turn become new customers, and the story spreads.

 

Look for ways to encourage your customers to participate in your story by telling their own stories about your brand. At the heart of your story, you want your potential customers to think, "This is a brand for people like me. They stand for what I stand for." This builds a strong bond with your customers, and turns them into marketers who spread your brand's value.

 

 

Sincerely, 

 

Mona Graham
 
Monogram Communication Services

798 University Avenue

  

  

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