Why you should stop telling people your brand’s origin story
The moment you write the story that represents your company, you’re telling people how they should evaluate it.
Good stories rely on structure. In a movie, there’s no concept as simple as the three-act structure: setup, confrontation, resolution. In sequels, the acts are basically the same, but they repeat in a loop at each new chapter. (Big fandoms such as Star Wars or Harry Potter know all about this.)
But, at some point, the story reaches needs a wrap-up. In the entertainment industry, the reason may vary from audience ratings, budget cuts, or cast unavailability. No matter which streaming service you love the most, it will cancel your favorite series if the numbers are not satisfactory.
However, when we talk about brand narratives, there’s a different situation to deal with: the story we’re telling is part of a larger brand identity, and its success depends on consistency.
You can’t mess with the script, change the leading roles, and invent new turnarounds in a brand’s story. They’re made of facts, not fiction. What you can do is change focus and develop the narrative, but knowing the right moment to do it can be challenging.
The origin matters — until it doesn’t
In many cases, we love an origin story, don’t get me wrong. When you have a new brand in the market, is extremely important to tell how it came to be.
As a reporter, I’ve interviewed many startup founders who had very similar speeches, although having distinct businesses. They were organized in this structure:
Why should we expect anything different from this story if the business is just starting? Indeed, there’s nothing wrong with it. But at some point, the heroic journey of people who quit their corporate jobs to be their own bosses will wear out, and that will be the time to get a new perspective, reflect on the future and update the character’s purpose.
If your audience already knows about your origin, what else do you have to say? What have you learned so far, how do you plan to put that into practice every day, and what do you want to share with them? What kind of obstacles did you find and how did you manage to overcome them? These questions can freak founders out, and that’s why so many of them adopt megalomaniac narratives about their businesses.
I’ve lost count on the number of times I heard “We wanna be the best in the world”, with no clear plan or even real potential to take the company to that utopic level.
I understand that it must be tempting to leap at the starting point of the story straight to the vision you have for the future, where success is almost certain. That’s exactly what countless articles say about entrepreneurship and storytelling, after all. Yes, you should be bold and inspiring. But there’s a long way to travel until you hit your biggest milestone, so there’s no reason to ignore the ride.
Sharing what you’ve learned leads to empathy
Before the epic success, you’ll certainly find many hurdles. There’s gonna be some controversy, maybe launch a nonsense campaign, tease a competing company for no reason. Or maybe an employee will hurt the brand’s image by saying non-flattering things on LinkedIn. We know all the infinite possibilities.
During a crisis, the brand’s story will be questioned, and the heavy scrutiny won’t go away with reassuring videos with ukulele soundtracks.
In the hero’s journey — a narrative template that involves a hero who goes on an adventure, and then comes home changed or transformed — the learning path represents 80% of the story. So why should be different for a company?
The way you deal with problems becomes part of your brand
Not every business comes from a great passion, or the will to solve a pain point in our society. Some of them are simply money-oriented, and there’s no shame in that (except when there is, okay?).
The problem is that the moment you write the story that represents your company, you’re telling people how they should evaluate it. So, knowing your value proposition (the no-filter version, not the ideal version) is a humbling exercise of self-criticism that precedes any marketing or content work, and requires active listening to understand how the business impacts people.
A nice starting point to develop your brand’s story is the Value Proposition Map. This can be an important guide to create a narrative that reflects the company’s reality (as much as possible, considering this is just the first step towards a self-awareness journey) and aligns the expectations between you and clients, partners, and employees. Because the higher they are, the stronger will be the fall when things go wrong.
It may sound like I’m jinxing your business, but I’m really not. Eventually, some promise (related to a product, service, or work conditions) will be broken, there’s no running away from it, the best in the business have faced this. And what can you do about it, besides taking care of the issue at hand? Sharing what you’ve learned from it, and move on to the next chapter of your story.
The Value Proposition Map can help you fill the blanks in this narrative where your brand is the hero, going beyond the origin story and showing how you’ve transformed after a crisis.
No wonder this template is so successful in mainstream narratives. Following the footsteps of someone towards challenges and learnings is compelling, and it makes people more willing to give you the most valuable asset they can give to a brand: their trust.
To earn that trust, though, you have to be transparent. Even if showing your weaknesses gives you goosebumps. Even if you wish some mistakes get swiped under the rug. Because it’s easier to forgive the lack of knowledge than the attempt to hide a screwup.
