Does your product market itself? Does it carry within something that a customer wants to share with her friends? Do you understand how you got your first sale and what story someone believed about your product? If not, you may to to rethink what story you want your customers to tell about your brand.
What’s Your Story?
A colleague came into my office and told me about his trip to Italy for his family. He said, “do you know that for $300 my family (of six) can stay in an AirBnB apartment rental where a hotel would have cost $800 for three rooms? My friend was marketing AirBnB even though didn’t realize it.
My daughter Fanny told me about a wonderful wine company that focuses on Millennials like her. Club W has you fill out a detailed profile of tastes and flavors you like, and then they send wines that match those preferences. Do you like dark, muddy coffee or weak tea? Do you like super ripe strawberries that taste like jam or subtle strawberry flavors? But the best part Dad, is that I don’t have to sort through the mystery in a store as they ship the wine right to our door each month. Club W made this so easy for me to get into wine. Fanny was marketing Club W on their behalf to me.
My employer, Nomacorc sells a wine closure that is made in part from sugar cane. It’s a revolutionary product in the wine industry and unlike any other cork that is sold. An applicant for a position in marketing was so taken by the story he learned, that he shared it with a friend who is a reporter who writes about innovation in North Carolina. This product is our marketing. Our story is encapsulated within the products distinctive features and benefits. You can watch the reporter tell our innovation story. Our Select Bio product was so innovative, that this applicant helped market our story to a reporter to help us get some coverage.
How have you built-in to your product a story that others want to tell? Ask yourself these three questions:
1. Can you tell a story about your product or service in one sentence?
“Nomacorc’s Select Bio is the world’s first zero-carbon footprint cork and the only one made in part from sugar cane.”
2. Is the story so distinctive that others will want to share it with friends, family or acquaintances?
“Jeff, did you know that you too can save a ton of money using AirBnB’s apartment rentals versus a hotel?”
3. Do you understand why they will want to share it?
“Dad, isn’t Club W a great way for those like me, interested in wine to get to taste a range of wines without having to sort through all the confusion in a wine shop?”
What’s your story?
If your brand doesn’t have a clear, crisp and concise story, you are missing the best way to market your business. To read more about this idea, check out this post I wrote last fall called Only We. It can help you find your story.
Does your brand have a great story you can tell me in one sentence? I’d love to hear about it in the comments section.
Interested in growing your business by telling a story? I can help you increase profitable revenue with marketing insights. To learn more, click this link.
