Behind every great business, there’s a great story.
However, when it comes to telling it, many businesses fall short.
They fail to grasp who they are, what they stand for, and what makes them unique and special.
These are all things that customers look for when they’re choosing a company to buy from, whatever the product or service.
Chances are that your business has a great story to tell. However, do you know what it is?
And if so, how well do you think you are telling it currently?
Read on to find out more about how you can create a compelling brand story to help your business reach a wider audience and attract more customers.
Be authentic
The vital first step in creating your brand story is understanding who you are and being true to yourself as a business.
Brand relates to the value that your customers, or potential customers, attach to your business, so your values and your audience’s values need to align.
How and why did your business start? What were you looking to achieve when you first started out? What journey have you been on, and how have you changed along the way?
What sort of problems were you looking to solve, and for who?
These are some of the essential questions you’ll need to answer to understand what makes your brand unique and special and why people should care.
Have a vision
The above questions will help you create an authentic identity for your brand. Once you’ve figured this out, use this insight to create a clear vision for your business.
What’s your mission statement? Why does your business exist? What difference do you want to make in the world?
These are some of the questions your vision needs to answer.
If you have a clear vision, people will buy into that. Vision is how you get people interested in your products and services to trust you over your competitors and come along with you for the ride.
You can’t just tell people what your vision is. You have to show them.
When your words are backed up with actions and behaviours, people will start to listen to, and connect with, your brand.
Know your audience
The key to good storytelling is knowing your audience and playing to your strengths.
Unless you’re a brand like Amazon, Coca-Cola or McDonald’s, chances are you’re not going to have mass appeal.
So, understanding your audience segment, where they hang out online, how they like to be communicated with and, crucially, what they want from your brand is vital.
How do you find this out? Do your research. Listen to social signals. Find out who’s buying your products and why.
When they come to your business, what are they looking for, and how do you solve their pain points?
The goal here is not to be all things to everyone. It’s more about knowing who your audience is and becoming so valuable to them that they won’t want to look elsewhere.
Define your ‘sweet spot’
Closely linked to the above is working out what makes your business unique.
Not everybody is going to be interested in what you sell. If 90% of the market falls into this category, so be it. You’ll have far more success focusing on the 10% that will, rather than chasing people who won’t and trying to change their minds.
Working out your niche or sweet spot is key to this.
Unless your business is highly specialised, chances are there will be many competitors who do what you do. If you only communicate your ‘what’, you’ll just get lost in the noise.
However, communicating your why – why do you do what you do and why is it different? – is what connects will people and makes them sit up and take notice.
This is how you move your customer relationships from purely transactional arrangements into valuable long-term partnerships. Shifting your focus from reaching out to people who want what you do to attracting people who believe what you believe will pay dividends in the long run.
Have a strong message
Your message lies at the heart of your brand story. If it’s not consistent with your vision and values, if it doesn’t get across why people should join you, your story won’t connect with your audience.
So, take things back to the first point above.
Is your message authentic? Does it reflect your business in the right way?
Does it communicate what you need it to? If you looked at your message through your customers’ eyes, would you like what you see?
If you understand your business, your sweet spot and your audience, you should have no problems tying these together to create a brand message that is authentic and resonates on an emotional level with your customers.
Create connection
The key to creating an emotional connection with your audience is to keep things simple.
When people come to you, they are looking for three things:
- Does your business solve their problems?
- Are you credible and trustworthy?
- Does your brand align with their beliefs or values?
If you can tick these boxes by understanding your audience and how your brand offers the answer to their pain points, you’ll go a long way towards creating a deeper connection with your customers.
Be human
Building on the above, it’s important to let your brand personality shine through in all your communications and marketing touchpoints.
It’s not just about what you say. It’s about how you say it. Language, messaging style and tone of voice all play a part in connecting with customers and communicating with them on a level they understand.
If your brand talks like your audience talks and shows a deeper understanding of their problems and the solutions they’re looking for, they’ll find it easier to connect with your business.
This is especially true with your online content.
While marketing to robots is essential when it comes to winning the SEO game, you should never lose sight of the fact that your customers are humans, so treat them as such.
Live your values
The final – and perhaps most important – element of telling your brand story is to ensure you live and breathe your brand values.
Consumers are a savvy bunch. They’ll spot it a mile off if your business says it is one thing but acts the complete opposite.
Remember, the whole point of telling your brand story is to be authentic, to show your customers who you are and make it easy for them to join you for the journey.
If you deviate too far from your values, it can tarnish your brand and turn your customers off.
So, once you know who you are and what you stand for, be proud, not apologetic.
But above all, be consistent.
Let QBD help you find your voice
Whether you’re looking to take your brand in a completely different direction or refresh what you’ve got to ensure your messaging remains compelling, consistent and relevant to your customers, QBD can help.
The key to ensuring your brand message continues to resonate with your customers is to put yourself in their shoes and look at your business through their eyes.
What do they see when they look at you? What are their problems, and how do you solve them? What value does your business add?
We can help you create a strong brand message that answers those questions and gives your customers something to buy into.
To find out more, get in touch today.