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Telling Your Story for More Profit

Written by: JW Dicks

Article Overview: Telling stories is not only one of the oldest forms of communication; it is also one of the most effective. Accepting this statement as true should help you see why creating a business story is a reliable way to connect, and to create a bond with your customer that helps you rise above your competition in their eyes.

Telling Your Story for More Profit

Telling stories is not only one of the oldest forms of communication; it is also one of the most effective. Accepting this statement as true should help you see why creating a business story is a reliable way to connect, and to create a bond with your customer that helps you rise above your competition in their eyes.

Your business story should be real and personal. The more you can connect your story to your customer, the more it will help your business. This is why we often talk about the importance of finding a niche market with which you can identify. Telling your story to your niche market helps them identify with you. Sometimes the stories and the identification become so strong, that customers will not even consider going somewhere else for their business. Doing business with you at that point becomes more than buying a product, it is a relationship.

Using the power of storytelling is easy to see in the political arena, and we are being bombarded by it the closer we get to the Presidential election. Both Senator Obama and Senator McCain are masters at the art of telling their story. Obama’s is the classic story of the struggling hero who overcomes obstacles and finds himself on the hero’s quest. John McCain’s story rests more on his past successes, and the experiences of a hero who is now able to step in and solve the crises the country faces.

You and your company should learn from the lessons we are seeing in the political arena to create your story and sell it to your customers. By create I do not mean make it up, but show people who you are, what you have learned and how this relates to your business and your customers. I still remember Lee Iacocca’s personal appeal on television to get people to do business with his company. His challenge to the American car buyer was bold and simple, “If you find a better car . . . buy it!” Surely no one would make that kind of statement unless they were supremely confident in their product. Consumers bought the dare and it saved the company.

Other stories have been used to put a face and an image on a company. Disney did it twice; once with Walt himself, and later with Michael Eisner -- both of whom came into your living room via television to tell you a story and create an image. They don’t call Walt Disney ‘Uncle Walt’ for nothing. It was done to create a particular image and it succeeded.

Although stories are unique to the company and individuals running them, they do follow themes. Examples are the “Mother” (Oprah), “General” (Iacocca, Jack Welch), “Statesman” (all former Presidents), “Wizard” (Steve Jobs), “Explorer” (Richard Branson), “Faithful Servant” (Al Gore), and “Wise Man” (Warren Buffet). Naturally, these themes rise and fall with the times -- as heroes sometimes turn into villains then goats and back again to hero -- ala Martha Stewart.

What is your story? What is the story of your company and your brand itself? How did it all come about and what is the connector to your market and customer base? The more you are able to answer these questions, and more importantly, the more you understand the importance of the story and constantly reinforce it, the stronger the bond you will build with your customer.

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  Presentation Secret: Tell a story
  Trust is a Story

Article Tags: branding agency, branding and marketing, branding companies, branding consultants, branding strategies, business development, business growth, business marketing, celebrity agent, client development, expert agent, JW dicks, Personal branding, personal branding expert



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Which kind of industries are you interested in? - Ecological or E-business or Investment or Finance or Management or Non-Profit or Retailer or others.
More Profit Women! - I really enjoyed the stories of Lisa Shepherd and Julie Mitchell - More Profit women CEOs would be great!
Re: Social Media Marketing - Corporate Vs. Small Business - [quote="WebBizIdeas.com":y4tmwxf6]Telling your dorky friends at school you are having a big party does nothing...having the coolest kid in school tell some people about your party is all it takes...that is Social Media Marketing. Jeff[/quote:y4tmwxf6] Hi Jeff, So what recommendations do you have for influencing the most popular "kid in school" (i.e. the person with the most influence in your related industry) to promote your products/services?
A ton of Great Women - You might want to profile Teresa Cascioli of LakePort Brewery. She has an amazing story! I met her at at the celebratory luncheon for the Profit/Chatelaine Top 100 Women Business Owners. The Top 100 list is also a great resource for inspirational stories of Women Entrepreneurs.
profit line - I recommended Profit Line to one of my clients and they were not 100% satisfied with the service. Apparently one of the profit line people got a parking ticket while serving my client and then charged them for it. I haven't heard the other side of the story yet but the fact that I recommended them and it didn't work out makes me reluctant to recommend them again.


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