The Power of Stories: How to Tell Your Company’s Story
- What is the “story” of your company, department, organization, and team?
- How about YOUR personal and professional story?
The fundamental role of “story” in business is to create a method by which audiences (customers, prospects and colleagues) understand and emotionally bond with a brand, organizationally and individually.
Because of our entertainment culture, stories are more powerful than ever.
Yes, your “company story” has the power to make an emotional connection with your clients and colleagues. They can captivate your audience and cause them to stick around, waiting for the next chapter.
What do you think happens next? Your customers and employees become so invested in your story that they want to be a part of it.
- For your employees, that means thinking long-term and staying loyal to the organization.
- For prospects, that means converting into paying customers.
- For existing clients, that means having loyal brand advocates.
- A great story can inspire years of purchases and organizational loyalty!
Whether it’s politics, sports, professional wrestling, or your business – we are ALL in “show business!” Therefore, we must tell our story!
But how? Where do you start?
Whether it is a movie, television program, or your corporate story, certain fundamental elements are found in all stories. Let’s examine the ingredients that create a compelling business story:
The Hero
Companies get started because they fulfill a need. They offer a product or service that helps their customers overcome some sort of challenge.
When your business solves their problems, you become the hero they seek…and a story is born.
Strong Narrative Tension
Every story needs some form of dramatic tension; without it, we lose interest in the story. Your audience wants to wonder what happens next. They love the thrill of watching the hero’s journey and how they overcome all odds. The journey is perhaps the most captivating part of any story; it’s where the hero shows the audience what they’re made of.
We typically see these kinds of dramatic tension build up in a “three-act” format. It starts with “act one” – the setup or introduction. It is followed by the “second act” where the effort to resolve the conflict is established. Finally, we come to the “last act” – the resolution.
Because your business is “show business,” craft a three-act story that will have your customers cheering for you!
The Memorable Conclusion
There is almost always a well-defined, heroic resolution in every movie. The guy makes it to the airport in time to profess his love, or the lone survivor defeats the bad guys.
Take a hint from Hollywood: don’t terminate your business story with a definite end. Instead, conclude it with the hint that something new and exciting may follow.
The Marvel Universe has done an exceptional job at this. Each superhero is like a different product, each with their own story to tell. Sometimes they branch out and do their own thing, and other times they come together to tell a story together. The point is — because we’re all so invested in their journeys, the studios can keep telling us new stories, reinvent old ones, or go back to their origins, and we’ll be just as captivated.
- Are you ready to tell the story of why your business does what you do?
- Do you have a compelling reason why your story is worth telling?
- Does your story create distinction?
