How to Tell Your Brand Story

Every company is trying to tell a better story today about its business. Why? Because storytelling is the best differentiation any of us has!

And that story has to include the stories our customers and communities tell; actually, those are the most important stories in any storytelling strategy.

So how do you tell a better brand story? By romancing your customer. What does that mean? Read on!

How to tell a your brand story. Source: www.gratisography.com

How to Tell Your Brand Story: A Case Study

Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) published a great piece on this topic last year that remains highly relevant to the way consumers learn about new products and services: from each other.

Entrepreneur Alyssa Rap, founder of Bottlenotes, had to change her plan when the company experienced a financial crisis after 2008. She originally intended to sell beer and wine to consumers. Things changed; and so did her business model. And for the better. Now she sells to partners including vintners, OpenTable and other places. She says selling to a whole new generation of wine enthusiasts requires a different approach. And that means storytelling in a new way.

Romance Your Customer

If you are selling a luxury brand, Rapp says, you need to provide learning and guidance. That means romancing and educating your audience. That means a story around the power of the brand, great content, and building community. It involves ongoing education and suggestions around what else they may want to buy.

How to Tell Your Brand Story. Source: www.gratisography.com

Rapp makes a really powerful point about community – especially with luxury and aspirational brands. Self-identity is the key to community and creating events that foster community around a brand, lifestyle and community interests strengthens the loyalty to a particular brand. One example that everyone loves is Harley-Davidson. They have built community by bringing advocates together for offline, face-to-face events. That is powerful.

Part storytelling, part content, and part community, how to tell your brand story more effectively involves romancing your customer.

You can see the GSB video here.