Facts tell, stories sell. As business owners, each of us has great facts about our business and products. While it’s important to recognize and remember these facts, what actually sells our products are stories. Whether you’re telling people about customers who love your products, how you started your business, or the inspiration behind your product line, all of these things are stories that people want to hear. Stories create emotional attachment to you and your business and, in turn, help you to retain customers.
Push vs. Pull Marketing
“Push marketing” is sending your product messaging out to as many customers as you can. “Pull marketing” uses messaging to gravitate customers towards your business and generate demand for your products simply based on storytelling. While both strategies are useful and important, pull marketing can benefit your business the most. The more you utilize storytelling to be authentic, honest, and invite people into your life and brand, the more customers will want to work with you. I’ve even noticed this in my own business! I’m admittedly not an avid Instagram user—but when I’m posting in-the-moment video content on my Instagram Stories a few times a day, my followers are more likely to engage with me. I’m pushing messaging and stories out to my customer base in real time and, as a result, pulling these customers in and attracting them to my brand. You have to realize that, at the end of the day, people don’t want to just buy a product from you—they want to know the person they’re buying from.
Story Spine
Every product that you sell and everything that you do in your business should have a story spine or, as some writers call them, skeletons. They’re simple tools for creating memorable stories that break the narrative into segments—the “bones” of the story. Every popular movie has a story spine and Disney/Pixar uses a tried-and-true one to create theirs. Try it by following the prompts below.
– Once upon a time…
– Every day…
– Until one day…
– Because of that…
– Because of that…
– Because of that…
– Until finally…
– And ever since then…
– The moral of the story is…
“Once upon a time, I was very stressed out. Every day I would wake up with anxiety and nervous about what the day would bring, until one day, my colleague suggested I try a CBD oil. Because of that suggestion and my willingness to try the product, my life has changed for the better. My life felt like it was out of control until, finally, the CBD gave me the ability to calm down and take life one moment at a time. And ever since then, my life has improved substantially! The moral of the story is, be open to trying CBD oil to improve your anxiety and stress.”
The story spine is the skeleton of every great story. If you utilize the story spine for every product that you’re selling, these products will become more appealing to your current customer base and target market.
Storytelling should always be a significant component of your business. Many business owners find themselves in the “I don’t have any stories to tell” mindset. If this sounds like you, I encourage you to change that mindset today. All of us have a story to tell. Remember, people gravitate towards a good story more than features and benefits. Our job is to keep our customer base engaged. If they’re not engaged with your stories? You lose business. Remember the important facts surrounding your business, but ultimately hone in on the stories that make your business unique.
