Every organization that has made a name for itself has a story to tell. And we all love stories, don’t we!
A story captures people’s imagination, compels them to delve more into how the company evolved, its journey through the years and how it managed to survive several ups and downs. This creates an indelible impression on people’s minds and portrays the company as a strong brand that is worth doing business with.
Let’s check out the importance of good storytelling in expanding your business and brand value.
Storytelling as an Art
Storytelling is an ancient communication art that has always been considered as an excellent medium to convey information, improve people to people contact and fire the urge to know more. Apart from simple entertainment, stories have certain inherent meanings, convey certain messages and inculcate certain values among people.
The same applies in the commercial world. Telling a good story is one of the best ways to connect with people and communicate your legacy and vision.
Storytelling Helps You Sell an Idea
You can use storytelling to pitch an idea or a product in a completely new way. If you are about to introduce a new product or service, you would want the public to be curious about it.
A string of glitzy ads won’t always work because there is nothing actually ‘new’ unless it’s a whole new invention. So essentially, the product or service is already there and YOU are introducing it for the first time.
So you need a good story for people to take notice of. When you are using a story to tell them what sets your product or service apart, it creates a more powerful impact than just tedious facts and figures.
Storytelling Communicates Real-life Situations
When people choose a particular company over another, they look for reasons for doing business with you. Whether it’s a service or a product, you need a story that communicates your USP. Through a story or several stories, you force people to take a serious look at your company.
Too many companies focus solely on their services or products but what they should ideally do is focus on the customer instead. All those customer reviews you post on your websites are nothing but stories from real-life situations.
They are the experiences of people who are already using your service or product. The way they perceive your company or how your product has really changed their lives, all these are stories in themselves. Such stories compel people with similar requirements to care about your company, which ultimately leads to conversions.
Storytelling Helps in Developing Your Brand
Simplicity is great and basic facts and figures are easier to comprehend. However, when you want to really develop your business and create your own space in the competitive market, you need more than dry figures and statistics.
Business development is a long-term vision with a focus on creating a strong bond with your customers, business associates and the market. For that, you need to effectively convey the value you are bringing for your customers. You need something to generate interest among all the stakeholders and storytelling does just that.
Through storytelling, you explain to your consumers, in an interesting and engaging manner, the value your services/products will add to their lifestyle or change the way they live.
If you are foraying into a new segment, consider how you will make a difference in the market. When you are introducing a new product, think beyond just the basic features. Tickle your customers’ imagination through a good story that will really make them think about your product or service.
Storytelling is Integral to Good Marketing
Glitzy ads are just that – all glitz and glamour with great graphics but nothing more. Have you ever noticed how people walk by huge billboards without even giving a second glance?
That’s because there is no story in those billboards; nothing that people would want to stop by and read. So no matter how much money you spend on such expensive ads, they do little to add to your balance sheet.
An effective marketing strategy should always go beyond great graphics and a single punch-line. Yet, many businesses, especially start-ups and small businesses consider traditional advertising as the only way of marketing themselves. Research indicates that people love simple ads with a fascinating story rather than expensive ones that have little else to say other than just the image.
This is because those simple ads with little stories help people relate to your product or service and they start thinking about how it will make a difference to them.
Storytelling Makes Your Corporate Brochure More Effective
Having your own corporate brochure is a great way of enhancing the image of your company. But a brochure that has just the basic details or a few images of your office or product will hardly have an impact. Add a story to it and the brochure immediately becomes more interesting, something that people will really leaf through.
Storytelling creates a bond between you and your customers. Through it, you can tell people all about your journey, how you started and your struggling days, your milestones and achievements, how you overcame challenges, your long-term vision, work culture, how you plan to make a difference, new innovations in the pipeline and so on.
Such stories create a vision in people’s mind regarding your business. The same story can also be used in the ‘About Us’ section of your website.
Storytelling Attracts Talent
Employees are the backbone of your company and you definitely want the best talents to work for you. But talent just doesn’t flow in through high salary or free snacks.
The best always like to work for the best so talented people love to be associated with a company that has a unique history of its own. Through storytelling you can attract the best talent out there by sharing your journey; your achievements and your long-term vision.