“Tell your story”.
It’s the intrinsic, number-one rule in marketing. It’s been beaten into our heads for years, from marketers and companies alike. If I was to remember one thing from undergrad, besides drugs are cool and flannels are in, its that your business needs to tell a story. I agree with the premise — consumers definitely want a story — but it’s not that simple anymore.
Story-hysteria.
The storytelling market is saturated. Delta Airlines gets you where you want to go, lululemon inspires healthy and mindful living, and the local coffee shop down the street offers good coffee and a great atmosphere. No doubt about it, these are valuable stories that symbolize the brand, but every business has one. My point is, telling a good story used to be what a business did to go above and beyond the competition. Now it’s just expected.
Be an asset, not a disturbance.
I remember not too long ago I was trying to watch hockey highlights on the NHL app. It was one of the more frustrating digital experiences I’ve ever had. For each 20 second highlight, I had to sit through the same 30 second Bridgestone Tire ad over and over and over. By the time I was done perusing the app, I had sworn to myself that I would never buy a Bridgestone tire the rest of my life!
Let’s take this example and apply it to business storytelling. Your story is important but my time as a consumer is more important. When I’m browsing your site, don’t interrupt me with a pop-up. When I’m streaming a YouTube video, don’t interrupt me with an ad. When I’m listening to my favorite podcast, don’t force your scripted promotion down my throat. Just leave me alone! Make your story accessible, but do not sell it.
Who’s story is it anyways?
There’s a popular t-shirt shop here in Grand Rapids that sells eco-friendly apparel. It’s a wonderful little shop — their culture fits right in with what they’re selling. For each t-shirt the shop sells, they donate $2 to a forest restoration program. I’m sure you can already picture the shop’s core audience.
Let’s think about that story and apply it to a core customer. A millennial stops in to look at graphic t’s. She likes the Jimi Hendrix t-shirt she saw in the display window but is skeptical of the price. Turns out she was right — the $28 for the shirt was more than she wanted to spend. But a little more investigating and she discovers that, not only are the shirts eco-friendly, but the shop supports a forest restoration program in South America. Boom, t-shirt sold.
Here’s the thing. Once the hipster millennial leaves the trendy shop with her new t in hand, the story is no longer the shops’ — its hers. She wears the t-shirt because She listens to Jimi Hendrix. She wears the t-shirt because She supports forest restoration in South America. She wears the t-shirt because She does everything in her power to save the environment. She wears the t-shirt because it tells a story about Her,
Don’t tell a story, empower one.
At the core of every step in the transaction, the millennial made a decision about herself. The shop’s story was never truly the shop’s story, it was the woman’s all along. And it will be a different story for the next consumer, and the next one after that.
It’s often said that a business needs to tell a story which is undoubtedly correct, but I think we as marketers need a more meaningful term. Something that puts the focal point on the consumer and not the business, because nobody really cares about the businesses’ story — they care about their own story. It’s a slight but incredibly consequential difference.
So maybe we need to shift the terminology a bit. Instead of needing to ‘tell our story’, we need to empower their story. What are your thoughts?
Mindful Marketing 