Search Results: why this, why you, why now
Why You Need To Build A Story-Driven Business
filed in Storytelling, Strategy
What drives our desire to get better at telling the story of our products, services and companies? We’re used to thinking of story as a way to create and communicate value. We know the running shoe with a tick on the side is more valuable than the one without because of the expectations and meaning we have attached to the story of the Nike brand. And who doesn’t want their company to be more meaningful and valuable?
What we really want from our story, though, goes beyond the need to be better known, sell more stuff or make more money. We are yearning for a deeper understanding of what we’re here to do and the difference it might be possible to create. The story, not of what is, but what’s at stake and what could be is what drives our desire to succeed.
The most inspired entrepreneurs and successful organisations know how important and powerful understanding the significance of your story can be. What drives Elon Musk, for example, is not building more cars for the sake of selling more cars. Tesla Motors and SolarCity (the energy company Musk is Chairman of) exist to ‘accelerate the advent of sustainable energy’.
If someone were to ask you to tell them the story of your business you’d likely explain what you make, who you serve, where and how long you’ve been doing it. It’s unlikely you’d begin by telling them why any of it matters in the grand scheme of things (even though it does). What’s at the heart of your story? What’s the reason you got out of bed this morning? It isn’t just pride in the product you made, the need to launch the website you coded or the hope of selling the service you designed. It’s the deep desire to change someone or something you care about changing and the belief that it’s possible.
The intended impact of your work on the world and in the lives of the people it touches is where your story begins.
Elon Musk knows what he’s setting out to do over the next ten years because he and his companies are built on a story-driven business framework. Their vision of a sustainable energy economy which helps to avert the collapse of civilisation is the reason they are setting out to;
‘Create stunning solar roofs with integrated battery storage, expand the electric vehicle product line to address all major segments, develop a self-driving capability that is 10X safer than manual and enable your car to make money for you when you aren’t using it.’
THE STORY-DRIVEN BUSINESS FRAMEWORK
1. PURPOSE: Why we exist.
2. VISION: Where we’re headed.
3. VALUES: The beliefs that guide us on that journey.
4. PLAN: How we will deliver on the vision while staying true to our values.
When your business or organisation is story-driven, it’s grounded in a framework of purpose, vision and values that inspire commitment, create momentum and lead to a solid plan for achieving success. This enables you to adapt in times of change because you understand that your story is bigger than the scene that’s playing out in the moment.
What’s driving your story?
Image by NRMA
Why You Need An If-Then Storytelling Strategy
filed in Storytelling, Strategy
It was a slow Thursday evening at the iconic sportswear store. There were more sales assistants than customers silently wandering through the displays across polished black tiles. Alan decided to approach a customer who had just picked up a premium shoe, turning it over to check out the price.
‘Can I help you?’ he said.
‘No, I’m just looking, thanks.’ she replied.
‘It would be good to get out of those Nikes. Have your tried our SuperBOOST shoes?’ said Alan.
‘No.’ said the customer, as she hastily put the shoe back.
‘They’re really comfortable and last longer.’ Alan said to the customer as she started to walk away.
We would never say half of the things we say or ask many of the questions we ask if we stopped for a second to think how the customer was likely to respond. What if instead of following a script that leads us to a dead end, we anticipated where our questions would lead the customer? We know that 99% of the time the response to, ‘Can I help you?’, will be, ‘No.’ So how can we do better?
An if-then storytelling strategy invites us to be more empathetic towards the customer and more discerning with our questions.
If the customer is browsing for more than a few minutes, then I will ask how I can help.
If the customer is looking at running shoes, then I will ask her what kind of training she does.
If the customer picks up an item, then I will ask her if she’d like to try her size.
If the customer asks for her size, then I will try getting to know more about what she needs from her shoes.
Better brand stories, marketing and sales conversations always start with understanding what unmet need or unspoken desire brought the customer to us, rather than with our need to say something when it’s convenient.
Image by Amira A.
Why Do Your Customers Buy?
How thirsty is the college student who pays almost $5 for a Caramel Macchiato at Starbucks?
Did the fitness instructor really need to upgrade his iPhone 6 to a 7?
Can the mother who religiously gives her kids vitamins each morning prove that they work?
When the CEO hires a contract lawyer is she paying for the piece of paper or the peace of mind his expertise will give her?
The Oxford English Dictionary defines value as; “The regard that something is held to deserve; the importance, worth, or usefulness of something” and its “material or monetary worth”. It turns out that the immaterial—the perception of value that’s created by wants not needs, feelings, not facts, and beliefs, not proof is what drives people to act. We recognise this behaviour in ourselves and witness it in the choices we make every day.
And yet when it comes to marketing our products and services—because it’s harder to do the work of understanding our customer’s motivations than it is to talk about what we want to sell, we lead with features, facts and proof. If value is a story customers tell themselves, then our innovation and marketing must acknowledge and respond to that internal narrative.
Image by Jack Fussell.
What Are Your Words Designed To Do?
filed in Marketing, Storytelling
How often have you read website or marketing copy that uses words we’d rarely use in conversation? The real estate agent’s copy describing homes as abodes or residences. The jargon in the consultant’s brochure. The officious tone of the notices in the dentist’s waiting room. We’re often left wondering if the purpose of the language is to confuse when it should be to connect.
Before you sit down to craft your marketing messages, it’s worth asking yourself what the words are designed to do. Are you inviting a customer to take action or hoping to persuade a doubtful audience? Are you galvanising your team around a shared goal or getting to know your customers better?
7 Questions To Guide Effective Content Creation
1. What does the audience already know?
2. What does the audience need to know and why?
3. What do you want the audience to do next?
4. What specific language, tone and calls to action do you need to use?
5. Is the copy relevant, clear and credible?
6. What’s the best medium to use in order to reach this audience?
7. How will you measure the effectiveness of your messages?
Clever copy shouldn’t simply make the writer appear smart; it should make the reader feel understood. Words are free, and they are the most potent resource every one of us has access to.
Image by Eka Shoniya.
Making Your Mark
filed in Entrepreneurship, Storytelling
Making a mark is not something we talk openly about that much, but it’s something we think about a hell of a lot. From the grandmother who hands down her legendary Christmas pudding recipe, to my Uber driver who, despite having held a managerial position with a big retailer for sixteen years, ‘wants to build something of his own’. From the street artist who feels like he has no voice, to the financial planner who wants to teach the next generation of children how their small actions today can impact their future.
The fear that we might run out of time to make our mark is one of the reasons we strive to get better at telling our stories. But if the truth is what’s at the heart of all great stories, we can’t begin to make a mark until we acknowledge and articulate what we’re really here to do. Once you’re honest with yourself about the real work you care about and why, you can begin to unapologetically make the mark you hoped to make.
Image by Steffi Lange.
When To Fall In Love With Your Idea
filed in Innovation, Strategy
Every business is founded on an assumption. We see a problem and propose a solution (maybe a new product or service), that we assume will be embraced with open arms. Before long we’ve fallen headlong for our idea, often without challenging our assumptions.
Even with all the data in the world, it’s not possible to know for sure how the people we hope to serve will respond until we give them the opportunity to do just that. When we skip this step, we get caught in the trap of trying to show people why they can’t live without the thing we created. Our ideas succeed when we do exactly the opposite.
Don’t fall in love with your idea without first giving those who will adopt it a chance to show you why it’s one worth pursuing.
Image by Kat.
Lucky To Have You
filed in Storytelling, Strategy
The customers at Estabar are lucky to have Bec and her team creating a welcoming space where they serve the best food, gelato and coffee in Newcastle with love and care.
Why are your customers lucky to have you?
You probably haven’t asked yourself this question in a while.
This is your invitation to do just that. If you’d like to share your reasons pop over to my Facebook page, (yes I finally have a home there) and add them in the comments.
It’s only when you know and embrace what you’re doing well that you can do more of it.
Why Do They Come?
filed in Marketing, Storytelling
There was a twenty-minute wait for croissants at Lune long before the New York Times announced that the best croissants in the world might just be made in Melbourne. Now you can wait for thirty, but people still get up early and hang in there just to try one.
Why would they take a tram across town for a $5 pastry?
Why does someone buy a Maserati, not a Tesla?
Why don’t cinema goers save the $20 and stay at home with Netflix?
Why do your customers come to you?
It’s not possible to tell your story effectively without knowing the answer to this question.
How many of the reasons that you list are reflected in your marketing?
Inage by Lars Ploughmann.
10 Questions To Ask Before You Do Any Marketing
It’s fun to think about getting our products and services in the hands of the people we want to serve. In our rush to increase brand awareness we often overestimate the importance and impact of short-term, tactical marketing decisions. It’s possible to put things in perspective by answering some questions about your objectives before you begin.
10 Questions To Ask Before You Do Any Marketing
1. Is the product good enough?
2. Why is this the best way to grow our business?
3. Does this type of marketing align with our brand values?
4. Is this the best way to delight customers?
5. Could we do more if we spent the money differently?
6. Are we proud to put our name to this?
7. Why are we doing it this way?
8. What’s the alternative?
9. How will we know if it worked?
10. What exactly is the return we want from this marketing initiative (campaign, sponsored post, leaflet drop, product giveaway, collaboration and on and on)?
If it’s the right thing to do you’ll know.
Image by Philip Bouchard
Why Are Your Customers Here?
The city centre bookstore manager complains to her colleague on the phone about people wandering in on their lunch break to browse because they have nothing else to do.
“They’re not coming in for anything in particular.” she sighs.
She’s right, for two hours every day hundreds of office workers with nothing else to do pass by her door. Contrast her story to that of Powell’s bookstore—a Portland institution. Powell’s is a destination, a treat for locals and visitors alike. The management at Powell’s understands that people don’t visit bookstores just because they’re short of something to read.
There isn’t a single beloved brand that relies on stacking the shelves and opening the door as its killer marketing strategy. That’s not how marketing works in the twenty-first-century.
Every store you visit, app you use or podcast you listen to, has given you a reason to come. The owners and creators know why you’re there and what you want deep down.
Why are your customers here?
Image by Florent Lamoureux.