You’re keen to convince your team (or the holders of the purse strings) that getting support from a brand agency like Make Us Care will be a game-changer for your business, but you’re struggling to explain to them just what they’ll get for their investment. Don’t worry, we see that a lot. In fact, we hear businesses say: “we don’t do/we’re not doing brand storytelling” so much that we’ve created this blog post to help you go to that all important meeting and show them what it’s really all about.
It’s time for you to get to the heart of connecting with your customers through brand storytelling. Because everyone should know about your hero’s journey.
Simply put, brand storytelling is essential to connecting your brand with the people you exist for. Human beings are intrinsic storytellers. It’s how we’ve been forging deep, lasting connections with each other since the dawn of language.
Just as we see ourselves in other people’s stories – whether that’s referring to ourselves as a Hermione or a Hercules – your customers also look for themselves in your story. And they look to see how your brand or product fits into their story.
When they do see themselves in those stories, you provoke lasting relationships with your customers that go far beyond your product or service. Do you feel like your brand story is making meaningful connections with your customers right now?
There’s nothing like an origin story to forge connections, is there? So, let’s begin at the beginning, with the basic principles of spinning a good yarn. Every story is – ultimately – broken down in the same way, and looks a bit like this:
Once upon a time, there were two men named Steve.
Every day they went to work at Atari as game designers.
But one day they experienced something that sparked a need for change.
Because of that, they created the Apple II in 1977, an 8-bit home computer, one of the world’s first highly successful mass-produced microcomputers.
Finally, Apple was able to give the everyday person access to the computer. Apple is now the world’s largest technology company
This connects with how people began. Where they’ve started. It allows them to look back and makes them feel like they’ve been with you from the beginning.
This connects with the struggles your customers are probably experiencing. You started your journey with a problem you were looking to solve and you identified that other people have that same problem. People relate to you as you’ve gone through the same challenges and they feel like you understand them.
This is the moment of change. The rallying call that allows your customer to support you. By this point, they’ve seen where you’ve come from and the problems you’ve faced, and now you’re giving them the reason to cheer you on.
This is the point where the work you’re doing starts to come to fruition.
This is where you can see the impact you’re making, the real change you wanted to make from the beginning.
Yes, your brand story can be broken down using this same formula. But how is your brand telling its version of that story right now?
You’ve probably already realised by now that you are not the main character of your brand’s story. That starring role goes to your customer. They should be at the heart of everything you do. They are why your business exists. So you need to make them the protagonist of your brand story.
That can look a bit like this:
At the beginning of your customer’s journey, before they find you, they are in need of ___________________.
They realise something needs to change.
They take their first step on that journey to find you. And, whilst they may not know what exactly they’re looking for yet, you know that your product is the solution.
They see your story and see themselves. That’s when they get clarity on what it is they’re looking for. Now they understand what has to change and the actions they need to take. And then, they turn to you.
Can you see how brand storytelling support could make all the difference and place your customer back where they belong – at the heart of your brand story?
In every unforgettable story, the main character faces some issue, problem or conflict; a.k.a the villain. This is, of course, also true for your customer as the protagonist of your brand story.
That “villain” might be a person, a situation, or a personal struggle. The villain’s main goal within the story is to hinder the progress of your main character.
Enter your hero (that’s your brand). You have the kryptonite ready to solve your customer’s problems. And Pow, Bam, Boom bye, bye villain!
Your brand and ONLY your brand can be the one to defeat your customers’ villain.
When you position your brand as the hero that saves your customers you become irreplaceable within their lives. Since you entered their story, they can’t imagine their life without you.
At Make Us Care we sometimes call ourselves “creators of heroes”. We know how to tell your brand hero’s journey; positioning your customers as the main character with their biggest challenge that only you can solve as the villain of the piece. That’s how we create heroes. No capes or tights required. Your brand is there to save the day for your customers. But are they hearing those unforgettable stories?
Stories tie all of us together. From verbal campfire folklore to social media. It isn’t a lost art. Or a fluffy nice to have. It’s a fundamental human experience. Your brand story is the heart of connecting you with your customers. And it’s the crux of making us care.
Ready to join the hero club? Book a call with the Hero Creators today and let’s reveal your superpowers.