Storytelling is today’s currency: How brands guide customers towards deeper connection
When it comes time to buy everyday items, like a pack of batteries, a bamboo toothbrush, or a new phone charger, Amazon excels at getting you exactly where you need to go. Product reviews, suggestions, descriptions — it’s all there to help you price compare and identify what you need with little effort before hitting the “checkout” button. In fact, the site guides online shoppers through the consumer journey with such ease and predictability that over 60% of internet users start their product searches on Amazon.
And, as much as Amazon simplifies the process, some purchases, like those made in major consumer categories (fashion and other lifestyle products), require more inspiration before a customer feels comfortable making an informed purchase. In these instances, consumers seek a guided tour that demonstrates how products and purchases empower and enhance the aspirational life they want to live.
To tell a story in this way, brands often lean on their brick and mortar footprint to guide customers towards purchases. Nike, for example, looks to their flagship stores to inspire athletes and pushes them towards products that help them achieve their goals. For brands looking to tell their story in a deeper way that inspires customers and creates connection, expansion beyond their online store proves a crucial move to make.
Here’s how they’re doing it.
Storytelling beyond the .com
Having already found success as a digitally native, direct-to-consumer lingerie brand, Third Love recently stretched into brick-and-mortar territory in order to give consumers an even closer experience with their products.
How?
Known for offering a wide range of products to accommodate the different needs of their customers, Third Love recently opened their first ever physical retail location. Located at 347 West Broadway in New York City, the new store devotes 60% of its floor space to changing rooms — a move that encourages customers to try on any of the 78 different sizes and styles carried by Third Love. The rest of the store features product displays that, again, allow visitors to come into closer contact with products they would otherwise only get to see from behind a computer screen.
Some purchases require a bit more information to make than what you find online. And, while brick-and-mortar has its strengths, it’s not the only method brands employ to tell their stories.
Cultivating community through online storytelling
From San Francisco to Austin to New York City, activewear brand, Outdoor Voices, has brick-and-mortar stores on lock. In order to extend its reach beyond these physical locations, the brand recently took the opportunity to tell their story by launching a new website called The Recreationalist. Separate from the brand’s main online store, The Recreationalist reads like a magazine and subtly promotes both the lifestyle surrounding Outdoor Voices along with its products.
Interviews, playlists, travel tips for various cities, how-to guides, forums, and social media posts featuring #DoingThings can all be found on the website. For its own part, the site gives an example of a brand willing to go further in the value it offers to its target market. In doing so, the brand creates another touchpoint to interact with fans and tell its story in a way customers can relate to.
Why stories matter to modern brands
The thing is, there’s power in a story. Stories allow us to relate and empathize, especially those with emotion behind them. When we empathize and relate to the emotion of someone or something, we begin to connect on a deeper level. Ultimately, deeper level connections drive loyalty. They leave an impact. When you get a profound connection between an audience and a brand, you find customers sharing, on their own, the stories of brands that speak to them. That’s the best marketing there is.
In today’s saturated market, stories function as the new currency. Today’s customers seek out brands with stories as much as yesterday’s consumers sought out brands willing to offer them the biggest discount. Brands that deal in stories told successfully tend to win, especially when they deliver their stories in ways that offer additional value and deeper connection.
In order to do that, here’s what you need to know.
The Takeaway:
- Surround your products with aspirational storytelling. How do you depict the true meaning of your brand to your consumers?
- Find a medium the resonates. Where can you meet your customer? Where are they already?
- Tie to commerce. Use new tech in ways that allow you to tie innovative storytelling to the end goal of customers making a purchase.
Want to learn more? Feel free to reach out at any time. We would love to chat!
The above piece was written by the Latitude Supercharge Research Team, which includes Connor Beck and Carter Jensen
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Resources and original reporting of the above points covered by the following publications — Retail Dive & Business Insider
At Latitude, we love taking incredible brands of all sizes and elevating them through tech-fueled experiences that add true value. From pop-up retail to permanent build-outs, our team brings brand stories and modern-day commerce together to truly stand out. Want to learn more? See our case studies. Give us a shout.
Additional Resources
Want to learn more? Our 2019 retail report is now available and includes a long list of case studies and insights from Shopify, Dollar Shave Club, and much more.
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