Story is one of the most powerful tools available for branding your company. A great story is emotionally engaging, easy to share, and locks itself into your customers’ minds. When using story, however, it is critical to avoid these common mistakes.
Not telling our story.
Each person and each company has hundreds of stories. Your first day in kindergarten, your first kiss, and that thing that you did in college (but really wish you hadn’t). So with hundreds of stories, how do you decide which story to tell?
The critical part here is to focus on why you are telling the story. You are telling this story to connect with your clients, to show them why your solution is perfect for their problems, and to earn their trust. With these goals, it becomes critical that you select a story that is directly relevant to them.
Ideally, your story should focus on the problem that you will solve for them. The best stories help your clients to revisit and relive their pain. You want them to feel their problem burning. And then you want to show them that there is a way out. After exploring the pain, your story should end with hope. It should end with a powerful message that there is a way out, and that you are uniquely qualified to show it to them.
When you are deciding which story to tell, this should be your guiding light: I am not telling my story; I am telling our story. The best stories are the stories that your ideal customer could already tell for themselves. These are the stories that hook their attention, pull on their heartstrings, and inspire them to take action.
Telling it only once.
Think back to childhood and your favorite bed time story. Sure, you remember it well now, but how many times did you hear it? Or your favorite classic movie, how many times have you seen it?
Many companies think that telling their story once will be enough – that after one telling of the story all of their customers will remember it forever and start sharing it with others. But people have short attention spans and busy lives. Especially if you are delivering your story digitally, it is possible (and even likely) that they didn’t take the time to read that first email or watch that first video that you sent them.
This means that it is critical to tell your story multiple times. Of course you shouldn’t be sending customers the same email again and again (that’s an easy way to make enemies). But you should work your story into your sales pitch. You should refer to it on your website’s home page and then tell it fully on your site’s about us page. Make sure you reference it now and again in social media. And make it part of your bio when you are giving presentations and speeches.
Tell your story in a slightly different way each time, but remember that repetition is your friend. Keep it fun and interesting, and keep your story at the forefront of your customers’ minds.
Telling the story in the wrong way.
Let’s think back again to your childhood and your favorite bedtime story. Imagine if it had been told to you in Morse Code, or if it had been read every night at exactly your bed time in the public library. Either way, you would never have learned to love the story because it wasn’t being told in the right medium for you.
Your customers each have their own way of obtaining information, and you need to meet each customer where they already are. You need to present them with your story in a place and a manner that they will be happy to hear it, ready to listen, and eager for the information.
When customers are making a purchasing decision they will most likely visit your website to gather more information. This means that it is critical not only that your website look professional, but that it hits them front and center with your engaging story, distinguishing you from any potential competitors. In addition, your website needs to translate their engagement with your story into action, enticing them with a clear and compelling offer.
Another part of meeting each customer where they already are is running consistent email and social media campaigns. Many customers aren’t visiting your website on a regular basis (you could say that they are in their own bedrooms, rather than coming to the library for story time). So you need to actively share your story with them where they are hanging out: their email inbox, Facebook, and other social media platforms. When you are reaching out with these mediums, be sure to tell enough (but not too much of your story) and encourage them to visit your website for more.
