I was introduced to a winemaker at a marketing conference last week. He asked a simple question.
Tell me your story.
He didn’t ask me what I do or my job title. He didn’t ask me where I went to school. He didn’t ask me to share information about companies and industries where I have worked. He plainly asked, what is your story? This encounter made me think of a consumer meeting a brand for the first time.
How Simply Does Your Brand Tell Your Story?
When a consumer meets a product or service in the form of a brand, how succinctly does your brand tell your story? Can you communicate in short, crisp words or phrases what you do, what you care about and how you exist in the world? Do you have graphics and imagery that instantly flashes that message to someone who comes to brand in a store or online?
A brand story needs a few components.
A Hero – No, you are not the hero in your story. Your customer is. (Luke Skywalker in Star Wars fighting the Evil Empire)
A Guide– You (and your company) may be the guide helping the customer overcome a problem or need. (Yoda or Obi Wan Kenobi in Star Wars)
A Plan – The plan to trust the force, call to action to fight the death star. The guide provides the direction.
The Resolution – The benefit that your hero derives from the experience.
Donald Miller from StoryBrand runs a workshop on this very topic for brands to uncover their story. Although I haven’t attended the workshop, I’d urge you to consider it if you have $2,000 and are struggling to communicate your brand’s benefit. Learn more here.
Learn to Tell a Simple Story
When you harness the power of a simple story, you can get everyone in your organization aligned to explain your brand’s key message consistently.
The story is the powerful vehicle for delivering that theme. As Miller talks about in his writing and workshop, think of the difference between noise and music. Both are sounds, but one leads you on an emotional journey. The difference is that music has a structure to frame the communication.
How does this framework help you grow your business. Miller provides two great examples to consider. Look at Allstate and Car Max as examples of a story.
ALLSTATE: The customer has a problem they need insurance. The problem they encounter is mayhem. Mayhem is personified through an actor, Dean Winters who represents all the issues you may encounter from a flood, fire, damage to your car and on and on. The guide in their narrative is Dennis Haysbert, the actor who was the President in the T.V. show 24. The guide provides the plan, The Allstate Value Plan giving me a 40% discount if I buy their plan. Then they call you to action to buy the plan. With their plan, you will be protected from mayhem. This isn’t noise, it is music.
CARMAX: In this brand story, the problem is the customer’s desire to avoid dealing with used car salesman. Buying a car is a need, but their story is built on avoiding the typical car buying experience. The guide is the brand, solving this problem for the consumer. They deeply understand this internal customer problem. Their plan is an agreement plan, creating mental triggers. No price negotiation. Commission-free sales people. The call to action on their website is simple and easy to find. You avoid the problem of buying a lemon or dealing with a sleazy salesman.
Try this Simple Exercise Get together several of your key senior team members and ask them each to tell the story of your brand. The story you tell shouldn’t be the history of your business. Initially, a new customer doesn’t care about you. It is the story of how your brand helps the hero in your world. You need a hero, a guide, a problem and the benefit.
Let each person present their version of the story and then with a facilitator, see if you can take pieces from each person’s approach, and weave it into one clear story.
A brand’s story is a potent method for sharpening your marketing communications. You can tell a story in multiple formats (words, pictures, graphics, and videos). When everyone in your company aligns around the same tale, a brand comes into focus for new customers. The result is growth.
What story does your business tell to help you grow your company?
Once upon a time there was a brand who needed a guide to help them tell a story. Learn how the story ends. Let’s talk.
