You tell the story of your brand to help customers connect with you on an emotional level. You want them to trust and love your brand. When you put out a product, you want them to embrace it, rave about it and make it part of their lifestyle.
Emotional selling isn’t a new concept. Research on the human brain has consistently shown that humans tend to purchase products based on their emotional response. It’s certainly not an exact science, because we also know that many factors can influence a purchase – someone’s mood, the atmosphere in the store, their budget, etc. But ultimately, how a customer feels about your brand is still a determining factor in why they spend their dollars with you. Apple and Disney have created products that people feel passionate about because they love the story of the brand, what it represents and how it influences the way they see themselves.
Storytelling seeks to make connections by creating more than customer loyalty; this is about creating customer longevity.
Customer longevity requires a brand that people relate to, a brand that has never let them down, a brand that over time, becomes part and parcel of their lives and by extension, their identity. Think about people you know who consistently buy from Ford or Honda, Levi’s or Lee, Coca-Cola or Pepsi. The labels they sport whether on their car, clothing or beverage of choice, tell a mini-story about who they are, not just what they like. Storytelling is never a one-way process. The customer has always been part of the brand’s narrative by keeping it alive, adopting it, and editing it to suit their needs.
So as a business owner, take a moment to think about the brands you never waver from, the products you always reach for in the grocery store or department store or online. Why? How does a certain brand make you feel when you purchase it and use it? What is it about that brand which makes it your first choice year after year? Is it trust? Is it excitement? Is it confidence? What about familiarity? You know its story. You feel connected to it. It never disappoints you. And you don’t expect it to, do you? That’s customer longevity. That’s when your story becomes part of theirs and vice versa. You’re emotionally involved. The only way you would break-up with a brand is if it lied to you or died on you.
Maybe you think storytelling can’t give your small business real traction. Maybe you should reconsider. Small companies like Malaprop’s Bookstore and Café and French Broad Chocolate Lounge in Asheville, North Carolina are thriving by sharing their story with their customers and then including them in the ongoing narrative. In this instance, size doesn’t matter, story does.
So be the customer. What do you know / they know about your brand? How does it make you feel? Do you love it? Why?
Because a brand you love is a brand you want a long-term relationship with. You’re tired of dating.
That’s the power of storytelling.
(This is the first in a little series of wonderful ways to tell your story – share yours with us and maybe we will share it in an upcoming article! – Thanks! Mike Wolpert / Meagan Albury … and the folks at Social Jumpstart)
