Here’s a recent morning Headline:
“Mad Dash for Shoppers: Stores Stay Open for 100 Hours”
Well – if that doesn’t scream desperation, I don’t know what does. What do you think?
Each year the holiday shopping season gets louder. This year it’s evolved into one long, shrill message from companies, “Sale! Buy! Sale! Buy! Sale!”
Telling Your Story vs. Selling The Scream
Think about the customers who buy the scream. They’ve been given zero reason to care about these businesses. So they’ve learned to buy from the ones who scream loudest about the lowest prices.
For many retailers, this is the only way they think they can make money at this time of year.
But over time, the scream can actually work against them. As they continue to sell the scream their customers get into the habit of paying attention only when they have a price to scream about. Then they disconnect because hearing from the same companies repeatedly at top volume creates shoppers’ fatigue.
Businesses who sell the scream aren’t actually interested in their customers; they’re interested in their customers’ dollars. Unfortunately, this approach comes across to consumers as a disagreeable blend of greed and desperation. That’s a loyalty-killer cocktail right there. Customers no longer think twice about shopping for lower prices at competitors. So now, in order to get anyone to pay attention, these same companies scream the “Sale!” message repeatedly, hoping it will increase profits. For many, it works, at this time of year.
Do you ever wonder exactly how many sales these businesses will continue to advertise before they realize the law of averages is starting to work against them?
It’s one thing to have a great sale that offers real value to customers. But it’s another thing to always be on sale.
Apple is a company that understands the difference between selling the scream and telling the story. In fact, their storytelling is so engaging they don’t need to scream “Sale!” in order to get the attention they want. Even at this time of year.
Take their latest holiday commercial. Did they make a lot of noise? Actually, they were pretty quiet. They let the story do the telling. Because they know that people the world over use smartphones in the same heartfelt way the kid in the commercial used his. They let us see how technology is not some separate mechanical entity by quietly saying, “We do this with our smartphones, too. We get it.”
And it’s not just Apple that knows how to connect with us. Hallmark stays focused on the meaning of their message through storytelling. Most people will admit to experiencing that “Hallmark” moment at least once. They’re a company that understands what’s truly valuable to us regardless of all the shopping bags. Over the years they’ve stayed consistent with their story and we rely on it, engage with it, and trust it.
Small businesses can have the same success with storytelling as their larger counterparts. The rules are simple and human: Don’t succumb to the scream. Treat customers like people, not credit cards. Learn what’s important to them and why they keep coming back to you. And when you tell your story, turn down the volume and let your customers be the main characters in every chapter. They will absolutely help you make it a bestseller.
Do you have a great story, told well? We’d love to hear about it! Drop a link and a comment below and we’ll share your successes!
