How your story can impact and grow (or hurt) your bottom line and why.
Everyone has a story to tell, but are you articulating that story in the right way, is it really communicating what you’re brand or business stands for? Is it the right message? — Let’s dive into why storytelling is one of the most effective communication strategies for brands…
You’re at a bbq. A mutual friend from across the yard approaches. You panic. Reach out. Tell them your name. They tell you theirs and both of your eyes frantically dart from side to side. You’re filled with anxiety and suddenly, your new acquaintance breaks the ice-cold silence with a question.
“What brings you here, how do you know Jane?”
You respond with a minute-by-minute recount of the first time you met Jane, and then they ask something a little more personal, a little more profound. This puts us on the spot.
“And, tell me something about yourself…”
You respond with your job title.
Why do we do this? When people ask to find out more about us, we tell them so much about what we do or how busy we are, but often don’t hear what they’re actually asking. This would be my favourite question to ask when hiring people. To me, it speaks volumes about a person's ability to really listen, but also their self-awareness. Not that the above, is totally judge-worthy, but it’s certainly interesting.
I’ve found the same thing with a lot of businesses and brands I’ve worked with. They will often know what they do, but not truly know their story.
Storytelling is definitely not uncharted territory, it’s not new at all, but its effectiveness in brand and advertising communications is undeniable.
A story is merely a device we use to provide context to life, work, relationships and social norms. We use stories to shape cultures and societies but most often, we use them to create emotional connection and engagement between X and Y.
Everything has a story and even though it’s an age-old skill, very few seem to be able to use storytelling as a device to follow through into a transaction because we’re so caught up in WHAT we’re doing rather than WHY we’re doing it.
Really, when we ask someone, “tell me about yourself” we’re asking “why are you, you?” and I bet that if we spoke these words instead, it would leave people a little stunned, shocked even, by the vulnerability it leaves them in.
Telling our story may leave us in an uncomfortable and vulnerable state if we’re not ready for it, as a brand, we must constantly ask ourselves and be ready to be vulnerable and authentic to achieve sales and growth.
Dig deep into your brand values, strip everything back to your core reason for existence and ask yourself:
Why are we, we?
What makes us different?
What’s our identity?
What’s our story?
What’s our purpose for being?
Our Purpose and reason for being here at Maker Street, is to help the world’s most ambitious leaders realise their true purpose and have more meaningful conversations with their audience.
Maybe you kind of know your story, but have been so caught up in the ‘daily grind’ and haven’t given it the chance to really hone in on what your story is, or you’ve tried to give it life but haven’t yet found the best way to articulate it through your existing visual and messaging systems.
Having the resources to supercharge your story is extremely powerful.
Building a connection with your audience through authenticity is a surefire way to see sales become more consultative than transactional, which is especially useful if you’re in the professional services industry or your business model relies on creating on-going relationships with more loyal customers over a transactional model.
Storytelling is not only about how brands are connecting with their audience but also, and very importantly, how your brand is connecting with its people internally. This could affect how you hire, the suppliers you have and the business relationships you encounter.
Hatchet is all about Supercharging your Story, colouring your narrative in a way that appeals to your audience, using the DNA of your organisation to reflect its authenticity and connect the world with your product/services identity.
Remember, everyone has a story tell…
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This article was written by Casey, Founder and Creative Director at Maker Street Studios.
Maker Street is a brand and design consultancy helping disruptive businesses build impactful, changemaker brands.
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