You need a brand story. (Here’s why.)

Shakespeare, the greatest storyteller, said the eyes are the window to the soul. In business today, your brand story is the window to your organization’s soul. How clear is your brand story?

Brand stories tell your audience a lot about your organization, from its inception to its current position and everything in between. Great brand stories weave in the reason your brand exists, where you want to go in the future and how you’re different from your competitors.

A strong brand story is memorable, evokes an emotional response to create a lasting connection between brand and audience and answers the question of WHY.

People want to know what gets you out of bed every morning, what drives you to the office – or maybe your dining room table in the case of the pandemic – and puts you in the right headspace to do the damn thing.

When people believe in your brand, they feel confident that they are making the right choice by utilizing what you offer. 

Framing Your Brand Story

Well, when you break it down, a brand story is just that – a story. It’s a narrative tool that you can use to get your message across in an emotional and engaging way, while still keeping things simple. People tend to skim large portions of text, especially on a screen. You don’t want that. You want your audience to absorb every word of your story.

Every story follows the natural progression of beginning, middle and end, but when we’re talking about a brand story it looks a little different:

• Problem
• Solution
• Success

In a brand story, your audience’s problem is the problem. The middle is the solution you offer that your audience uses and the end is their success.

Making the most of it

Great brand stories take time and effort to get right. Once you have yours, use it everywhere. In marketing, of course. But also: use it to frame up your strategic direction conversations; use it to assess whether your operations are fully aligned; hire people whose personalities reflect your story and create partnerships with suppliers and organizations whose stories align with yours.

All of the value of your brand story is embedded in its credibility.

If you are going to tell your brand story, you have to make every effort to make it true, and keep it that way.