The idea that your product or service can speak for itself is a romantic notion, but it just doesn’t hold true these days when there might be a hundred similar products to choose from. Brand storytelling is essential.

As a business owner or executive, you know that your customers are the ones that keep your business alive. You must repeatedly win them over to gain their loyalty, and your marketing strategy must be all about them. With increased accessibility and globalization, it’s much harder to stand out in a crowd—even in niche domains. This is where brand storytelling really shines.

Differentiate or be forgotten

Facts and testimonials have their place, but engaging your customer at an emotional level is what makes you unforgettable.

Interestingly, our brains are more likely to focus on stimuli of emotional significance. In fact, emotion plays a part in memory encoding, consolidation and recall. Emotions drive purchase decisions too.

Storytelling can move people emotionally, connecting in a deeper way than plain information. Tell your brand’s unique story—its history, success, challenges and values. Share the impact it’s making, the causes it supports and what it cares about beyond just making a profit.

What do you want your audience to remember and feel when they think of your brand? What value are you offering them every time they engage with your content? What does your brand mean to them, beyond what you’re selling? How do you touch and transform lives? These are the questions that begin the story-crafting process.

Brand storytelling to a targeted audience

Building a strong, emotional relationship with your audience requires your brand to exhibit an authenticity, a personality. And that personality may not resonate with everyone. Tell your story in a way that is true to your brand and that resonates with your target audience. Forget trying to appeal to everyone—that kind of blandness sinks in the competitive sea of sameness. On the other hand, focusing on your specific brand story can foster connection, engagement and trust that results in not only customers, but brand advocates.

Everyone wants to feel connected

Many consumers express their values through their purchases. They consider their favourite brands as extensions of their identities, and want to feel like they are part of a group that shares their ideals. Brand storytelling creates this connection. Ready to tell your brand story? Done right, it can create loyal clients that have a lasting positive impression of who you are and what you stand for.