What's Your Story?

– Allan J. Katz

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT TO KNOW YOUR STORY AND SHARE IT TO ATTRACT & KEEP CUSTOMERS

I’ve just begun studying storytelling and recently discovered an age-old secret that can be universally applied to business.

Storytelling is the most effective tool in your persuasion arsenal as a retail marketer. Yes, retail marketer. Think about salt. What makes one brand of salt outsell another brand? It’s the same stuff. Salt. Or coffee. Coffee is basically the same. Some varieties are stronger or weaker than others. But basically coffee is coffee. Or is it? Take Starbucks for example. How did they become the largest retail marketer of coffee in the world?

By telling effective stories. People go to Starbucks in droves. Not just for the coffee but to live the story of the Starbucks coffee experience with their friends, business associates and family.

What’s Your Story?

What’s your story? If all dry goods are practically the same, why should a potential customer invest their money in your business instead of your competitor down the street? Why do customers shop at one store for one brand and another store for another brand, when they’re practically the same?

Nearly every retailer has a storefront, front counter, signs in the window, a logo and tagline. We all have employees. What sets you apart from every other retailer?

Years ago it was a whole lot easier. You lived in a small town, went shopping in a local store where the owner knew you by name and bought your favorite foods in bulk. And the local dry cleaner cleaned your clothes. People bought what they needed and people with skills provided for these needs and made money.

The Death of Mass Media

Marketers used to enjoy great success advertising in the mass media to masses of people who basically needed the same commodities. That’s why Henry Ford said, “You can have any color car you want, as long as it’s black.” Our society purchased what they needed, rarely everything they wanted… just for wanting sake.

Today things are different. Marketers tell us stories and we believe them . Like the story that wine tastes better if you’re drinking it from a $200 glass instead of a Dixie Cup. Or flying first class from Memphis to Los Angeles is actually worth $2000 more because you get an extra drink at five in the morning!

All Marketers Are Liars

According to Seth Godin in his new book, “All Marketers Are Liars” (Portfolio, 2005),

“Marketing is the story marketers tell to consumers, and then maybe, if the marketer has done a good job, the lie consumers tell themselves and their friends.”

“Some marketers focus so hard on the facts of their offering, they forget to tell THEIR story at all and then wonder why they failed.”

Positioning Isn’t Enough Anymore

It actually goes beyond how you position yourself in the market, whether you’re a discounter or a full service boutique. There is no connection between what our customers actually see and the “lies” they tell themselves. It’s the story you tell about your service, and living your story that truly sets you apart from your competition.

“The successful companies,” Godin continues, “will be those that stop spending their time dealing with the day to day crises or reacting to emergencies.” Better to offer a remarkable service with a great story, instead of doing what everyone else is doing, only a little bit better.

You see, from a marketing standpoint, in today’s society everyone is not created equal. Each of us has our own view of the world born of beliefs, hopes, dreams, past successes, failures and experiences. So to throw all of your potential customers into one big stew pot and expect them all to believe your story equally is just not going to happen.

Your Ideal Customer’s View of the World

To succeed, you’ve got to attract people with a view of the world that fits your goals, dreams and aspirations. By telling a powerful story you inspire your target market to embrace your business, and they tell others with similar worldviews about you and your story.

To me, the industry that does the best job of this is the liquor industry. Every successful brand of whiskey has a story to tell. Each a little different… some personal…some historic…some corporate. Take Jack Daniels, for example. Travel to Lynchburg, Tennessee, visit the Lynchburg distillery and you’re automatically whisked back into the past, when horse and buggies carried tall oak barrels of Tennessee whiskey. Enter the fermenting room where visitors crowd around the huge vats, bubbling with fresh Jack Daniels whiskey. All of a sudden, the guide lifts the top of the vat and slams it down, tantalizing our senses of smell forever. But in each case the magic of the story is what captures the heart of the connoisseur…who in turn spreads the word like magic.

Can A Retailer Tell Good Stories?

You may think your industry isn’t sexy enough to tell compelling stories people care about. I disagree. You see, the art of storytelling is rooted in the personal and emotional side of the brain. We’re all interested in personal stories …of good and evil…failure or success…overcoming struggles…helping others.

So begin with your own personal “Who Am I” story and let it naturally evolve into your own personal “Why Am I Really In This Business” story. And try to think of something besides, “My mother told me to.” Here’s an idea!

Imagine developing a brochure with pictures of the family in each generation, what the store looked like and what the people looked like. Then intertwined among the pictures a story of courage and determination struggling during war time, the steep learning curve of technological advances but always a family creed of honesty, personal service, quality and excellence…

Marketing is much more powerful and persuasive when you tell the story about how your family has been in the business for four generations, instead of just saying, “XYZ Company, Since 1951” in your tagline.

What’s Your Story?