Importance of Story Telling in Marketing

Stories have been the original form of entertainment for 1000s of years. We all are familiar with the Trojan horse story that has been passed on for thousands of years. Scientists and historians estimate that the battle took place around 1170 BCE. Another older civilization, the Indian civilization, has also been carrying the story of Ramayana from 5000 BCE.

Narratives are more engaging than basic facts. Today there are thousands of entertainment options, but our inclination toward stories remain the same. People can get their information from advertisements. However, they are not always trustworthy, and people are generally skeptical of persuasion attempts. Stories solve this problem. They provide a quick and easy way for people to acquire lots of knowledge engagingly.

You have to ensure the information you want people to remember and transmit is interwoven in your story. In the previous blog EVENT BRANDING, we discussed 5 important keys in marketing. So, you have to try that all those points must be present in the story that you create for your brand.

So, build a Social currency-laden, Triggered, Emotional, Public, Practical value story and include your message in that story. Make sure your desired information is so embedded into the plot that people can’t tell the story without it. Incorporate how our brand development company in Gurugram aids in shaping and amplifying this narrative, elevating its impact and reach.

Let us take the example of the subway to understand this properly.

The Subway sandwich chain offers seven subs with less than six grams of fat. This information is practically valuable if someone is trying to lose weight, but if weight loss is not the topic of conversation, nobody is going to pay attention to it. Subway brought up the Jared story.

Jared Scott Fogle is an American former spokesperson for Subway restaurants. He lost 245 pounds eating Subway sandwiches. When his roommate pointed out that his health was getting worse, Jared decided to act. So, he started a “Subway diet”. After 3 months of this regimen, he had lost almost 100 pounds. Jared kept up his diet. Soon his pants size dropped from 60 inches to a thirty-four-inch waist.

Jared’s story is so entertaining that people bring it up even when they are not talking about weight loss. The very astonishing fact is that he lost weight eating Subway sandwiches. A guy loses 245 pounds eating fast food? The summary alone is enough to draw people in. Its remarkable social currency (low-fat sandwiches that you make as per your choice), evokes emotion (surprise and amazement), and provides useful information about healthy fast food – practical value. From this story, people have learned that:

1. While Subway might seem like fast food, it actually offers a number of healthy options.
2. So healthy that you can lose weight by eating them.
3. Someone could eat Subway sandwiches for three months and still come back for more. So, the food must be tasty.

Listeners learn all this about the subway, even though people tell the story because of Jared. This is the magic of stories. Information travels under the guise of what seems like idle chatter.

Now let us look at the ways in which a nice story for your brand can be created. We have to link our brand story with some real life scenario. In any story, that we have heard so far, what is the basic framework that is maintained?

1. We have a character or a hero
2. Hero has certain problem
3. Hero meets the guide
4. Guide helps the hero to plan an action
5. Guide persuade hero to take that action
6. Guide also helps hero to avoid failure
7. Ultimately the hero gets a success

Donald miller in his book, “building a story brand”, has clearly explain the importance of this framework to make your brand story. We will look in short that how can you get help from this frame work.

Character

In your case, the hero is your customer. It’s really important that you must know what customers want. A real brand is created by not focusing on what you want but rather focusing on what customers want. You must focus on the desire of your customer and must connect with it strongly. If the products and services you offer help people make money or accumulate much-needed resources, that will quickly translate into a person’s desire for survival.

The goal of our branding should be that every potential customer knows exactly where we want to take them: a luxury resort where they can get some rest, become the leader everybody loves, or save money and live better.

Has a problem

A proper focus on internal as well as external problem is mandatory. You must know the root source of the problem that customers face. Every story needs a villain. Here the villain will be the core of the problem of customers. That villain must be singular. This means that you must focus on one villain at a time. But always address a real problem because enough of real problems exist. Do not try to be a fearmonger.

Apart from external problems, internal problems do matter. The internal problem means the customers lacks certain resources and strategies which can help them to grow. You are the one to provide them with the solutions.

Meets a guide

Be a guide for the customer. The story is not about us. So you need to express empathy. Once we have identified our customer’s internal problems, we simply need to let them know we understand and would love to help them find a resolution. Tell your customers that you care. Always remember, the guide doesn’t have to be perfect, but the guide needs to have serious experience in helping other heroes win the day. Build trust with customers and gain your respect.

Give them a plan

Plans clarify how somebody can do business with you. It removes the sense of risk somebody might have if they consider investing in your products or services. There are two types of plans that you can use.

1. Process plan: It describes the steps a customer needs to take to buy your product. You must mention that in your ads and website.
2. Agreement plan: You have to give three guarantees that will help customers to overcome their fear of doing business with you. It increases the perceived value of a service you promise to provide.

Call them to action

Donald miller says that the customers do not take action unless they are challenged to take the action. So you must ask customers to take the action. There should be a “Buy Now” button in the top right corner of your website. There are two kinds of call to action.

1. Direct call: Your ads must have direct calls to actions like, “Order now”, “ Call today”, “register today”, etc.
2. Transitional calls to action: It comes in all shapes and sizes. You can create a transitional call to action in the following ways.
   • Free information through PDFs, educational videos, podcasts, webinars.
   • Testimonials
   • By giving free samples
   • Free trials.

Helps them to avoid failure

As we all know that every human being is trying to avoid a tragic ending. The obvious question is: What will the customer lose if they don’t buy our products? Remember, if there are no stakes, there is no story. Fear is the salt in the recipe. We must make a customer know they are vulnerable to threat, so they should take action to reduce it. Then we should challenge customers to take a call to action. You must tell your customers what negative consequences are you helping customers avoid. Once we have identified the stakes, your customers will be motivated to resist the failure.

End in Success

Where is your brand taking people? Are you taking them to financial security? Never assume people understand how your brand can change their lives. Always tell them. The ending must be very specific and clear. A few ways you end a story is by allowing the hero to

• Win some sort of power or position
• Be unified with somebody or something that makes them whole.
• Experience some kind of self-realization.

You must be obsessed with the transformation of your customers. You must know the aspirational identity that your customers may be attracted to. You must participate in their identity transformation. Once we know who our customers want to be, you will have language to use in e-mails, blog posts, and all manner of marketing material.

Summary

In the pursuit of resolutions to external, internal, and philosophical dilemmas, individuals seek status, self-realization, and self-acceptance. Should our products facilitate these aspirations by circumventing failure, integrating this principle into our brand promise becomes imperative. Let’s weave a compelling brand narrative around this ethos, augmented by our small business startup consulting services.