The advert at the tram stop tells passers-by to use this brand of mouthwash if they want to ‘wake up with a bang’. How did the company make the leap from their product to that story—the one they believe their prospective customer wants to hear?

Every brand story or marketing strategy starts a question. That question is the foundation upon which your story is built. When you begin by wondering how to sell more mouthwash, you get a different answer than if you start by asking what makes people buy mouthwash in the first place. It’s only by starting with the right question that you can tell a story that resonates with the customer—one that connects your product or service with the customer’s wants and needs.

Your marketing will succeed when you understand the answers the customer is hoping to find when he looks in the mirror. Your brand story should help him to find them.

Image by Jonathan Kos-Read