Storytelling as a Marketing Strategy
How to use stories to engage, persuade, influence, and entice.
Storytelling as a Marketing Strategy. Some psychologists encourage their patients to write their life experiences as stories to promote understanding and open the door for a greater sense of self-acceptance.
As a marketing expert, I recommend the same form of therapy for brands. Through storytelling, a brand can bring customers into its inner circle and offer a greater understanding of its purpose.
Every business has a story. Don’t know where to start? Consider these tips to uncover what your brand has to share:
Never Forget Where You Came From
Everyone loves an underdog story, and most brands, even the biggest today, start out as one. Companies like Amazon, Spanx, and Facebook all started with crazy ideas that no one believed in.
Even for a well-established company like Amazon, it pays to bring customers back to the beginning. The more customers know about a company’s history, the more connected to the brand they will feel.
Establishing an emotional connection creates long-term customer loyalty. Studies show that 82 percent of consumers with high emotional engagement with a brand will always buy that brand when making purchasing decisions. For small business owners, the story has just begun–so tell it well now and get customers hooked early.
What Makes You, You?
Anyone can open a business, but what sets a business apart from the rest is its people and purpose. One of the most valuable parts of telling your brand story is digging down into the roots of the business.
Maybe it’s a pie shop inspired by a famous family recipe or a pharmacy passed down through generations. It could be anything. Capitalize on the unique characteristics that make your business different.
For The UPS Store, we are a franchise network so all of our 4,800-plus store locations are individually and locally owned and operated. Each owner has a story to share, from the retired CEO who wanted to start his second career, to the veteran who is using the skills developed through military experience. These stories bring each owner closer to their local communities in which they do business.
