Using brand storytelling to get customers to fall in love with your brand is as simple as following the plot of your favourite film.
What is brand storytelling?
Unlike a brand story, brand storytelling uses narrative techniques to engage your audience and gain a competitive advantage. The concept draws on tried-and-tested techniques used by script writers in the film industry to mirror the hero’s journey: defining what the hero wants and how they overcome the obstacles in their way to get it.
With this technique, your customer is the hero and you are telling the story of how your business can meet their needs and change their life. (Eliminating the complexity from the buying process or slashing budgets can certainly be viewed as life changing.)
Every customer is a hero. Your website is their guide
Customers want something that your business can provide. The snag however, is that there are a multitude of other businesses out there that offer the same product or service. By using brand storytelling, you can illustrate how your product or service can cater to that need better than anyone else.
Your messaging needs to show the customer exactly how their needs will be met, problems solved and pain points addressed, with the least amount of obstacles. It should also illustrate how that customer’s life will be changed by the experience. Here at xneelo, for example, we see our customers as heroes, and recognise our role as the reliable partner they can trust to get them online and keep them there.
The intention is to build trust, inspire confidence and ultimately get your customer to take that next step. You need to guide your customers to their end goal, in the same way that Gandalf guided Frodo, or Obi Wan Kenobi guided Luke Skywalker. You can read more about how we’ve guided our customers online on our Customer Stories portal.
It starts with a website – your personal piece of Internet real estate to tell your brand story and differentiate yourself from your competitors. You don’t need to invest a lot of capital or hire a specialist to get your website up and running. A Managed WordPress Hosting site, for example, gives you a range of Starter Sites to choose from to best tell your story. The advantage is that you can get your website up and running quickly, without needing to worry about the technical admin.
Brand storytelling in practice
Establish the hero of your story – your customer, and define the problem they are currently facing. Next, establish yourself as the guide who can help your customer get what they want and explain how you’ve cleared the path for them to get it. Include a call-to-action to motivate them to take the final step.
John is running late for work and desperately needs to pick up a gift for his colleague. He Googles ‘florists near me’ and finds your business website. Your website promises a huge range of affordably priced flowers and instant turnaround. John also sees that your mobile-friendly website offers convenient in-store pick up for online orders. He clicks the ‘Order Now” button and places the order as he travels.
In this example, the customer’s needs have been met as promised and they leave a glowing review, essentially becoming a part of your brand story themselves.
You can also use brand storytelling to illustrate how the customer’s life will be changed at the end.
Sarah has a wedding planning service but fears she is losing business because her catering supplier is too expensive and unreliable. She sees a shared post on Facebook for a local eatery that offers catering and clicks the link. Sarah discovers that not only does the eatery cater for weddings, but they are vastly more affordable, the turnaround time is quicker and there is a gallery of photos showing satisfied customers alongside quotes about how reliable and professional the service is.
Tips to get you started
- Speak to your customers’ specific needs and pain points. Show them you understand their challenges and are here to help.
- Explain exactly how you’ve eliminated all the obstacles in their way.
- Use customer testimonials to foster trust.
- Share your values to show why you decided to start your business and what you’re about. (Add these to your About page)
- Be human and authentic.
- Remember that it’s about your customers, not you.
- Outline the benefits for your customers. In other words, how their life will improve after they’ve used your service or bought your product (the happy ending.)
Unlike your brand story, which is another important of winning over your customers, brand storytelling involves using narrative techniques to engage your audience, and convert them. Used correctly, your customer will soon be part of your story.
Creating a business website to tell your brand story is an essential step to finding and engaging with your customers. Check out our web hosting plans to get your business up and running today.
Image source: Getty
