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Why All Companies Need a Story

Why All Companies Need a Story

Think about the last time you and a friend raved about a product or a service. Did you talk about the company's motto or its whole product line? Of course not, more than likely you told a story about your experience with that company. You might have had a personal anecdote about the person you dealt with or their stellar service. Maybe you found their product out of this world!

Stories capture our attention quickly. They are more entertaining than straight facts and allow us to take a complicated topic and explain it in such a way that it is appealing to a listener.

So why does a company need to tell a story? Simply put, it gives you control over what and how people talk about you, your products and services.

A story:

• helps you to build credibility and trust
• simplifies a product, service or a process
• builds a case with the emotional buyer
• differentiates you from your competition

Choosing your story

In his latest bestseller "All Marketers Are Liars," Seth Godin talks about choosing a commonly held viewpoint in the marketplace and then aligning your story to that viewpoint. Your story MUST be consistent with what you can realistically deliver.

If you can relate with a commonly held viewpoint and then deliver on that viewpoint, your story will be successful. When your story is successful your audience will embrace it and spread the good news by word of mouth.

While having a story is important for all businesses, it is doubly important for the small business. Stories and testimonials are your two strongest ways to build trust and credibility affordably.

Recommended Reading

This is a book about doing what consumers demand— painting vivid pictures that they choose to believe. Every organization must understand that the rules have changed again. In an economy where the richest have an infinite number of choices (and no time to make them), every organization is a marketer and all marketing is about telling stories.

Our Review
Seth Godin's book is an easy and entertaining read. While it focuses mostly on business-to- consumer marketing, the principles are very similar for business-to-business products and services.





Why All Companies Need a Story - To learn more about this author, visit Cidnee Stephen's Website.

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John Power
John Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website

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Stephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals.

She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com   Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences.  Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University.

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David Barr is the President of Venture Opportunities, Inc. David has been a professional business broker/intermediary since 1980 focusing on General Business Brokerage and Mergers and Acquisitions representing client transaction value from $400,000 to $20,000,000. Mr. Barr has handled the sale of over four hundred and fifty companies. David earned a university degree from the State University of New York majoring in economics and business. David holds the Mergers and Acquisition Master Intermediary and the Certified Business Intermediary designations from the International Business Brokers Association. He is also a Senior Business Analyst and a Texas licensed Real Estate Agent. For more information about David and Venture Opportunities, visit www.bizdealmaker.com. - Visit David Barr's Website

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John Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website

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Jay Kubassek
(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek)  In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.

 

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Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper.  Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website


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Cidnee Stephen
(Visit Cidnee's Website) Like this article? Subscribe to Cidnee's FREE bi-weekly marketing tips at (http://www.strategiesforsuccess.ca /tips.htm) for small businesses and also receive a special report on the 7 Steps of Marketing Success. About the Author: Cidnee Stephen is the owner of Strategies for Success - a marketing company that focuses on the needs of budget minded small businesses and professional services. She has helped hundreds of small businesses get out of their peak and valley ruts to finally achieve that next vital level of success. Cidnee is also a sought after speaker, writer and blogger on marketing topics that affect small businesses and B2B service based operations. Feel free to use this article as long as you include the following: by Cidnee Stephen of Strategies for Success http://www.strategiesforsuccess.ca

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