The power of storytelling to drive business growth

Cynthia Bell, senior planner at Propaganda and MCA Young Consultant of the Year 2015, gets to the bottom of why storytelling matters for business.

A common mistake, made by many businesses, is to believe that brand is something that only lives in the marketing department. It doesn’t. It’s more than a logo, more than a visual identity. In fact, your brand is at the heart of your business. With this in mind, how do you create a powerful brand? The answer is to root it in truth and insight to build an authentic brand story.

Start at the start – define the plot

Plot is the driver of story. It gives it momentum, and is the motivation behind all action. The main driving force in branding is insight – which is the most essential customer need that you can fulfil, the reason that they buy you rather than anyone else. To find this out, you need to ask, what is the emotion behind why your customer buys your brand? Do you give them confidence? Do you make them feel accepted? Emotionally connected customers buy more, spend more, and are loyal. So get to the heart of what they buy, when they buy you.

Make the end worth waiting for

All good stories have a clearly defined goal. In business, this is the promise you make to your customer. To make it credible, ask yourself:

1. Do I believe we can deliver it?
2. Will customers care about it?
3. Will it inspire my employees?
4. Is it different to what my competitors are offering?
5. Will it still matter in 5, 10, 15 years from now?

Your customer promise is at the heart of your business. It’s the fundamental driver of business growth and it needs to be grounded in truth. So improvise, edit, re-draft and revise yours until your answer to all five questions is ‘yes’.

Bring your characters to life

Bestselling stories are built on strong characters that mesmerise an audience. And at the heart of character, is a set of core values. So, clarify your business values, make them meaningful, and share them with your employees. Then lift them off the page! Create processes to make sure that your values are lived throughout the business.

Storytelling is the unsung hero of business success. Ask yourself, how strong is your brand story?
To make sure yours is well told, build it on truth and insight, make a compelling promise, and empower your employees to live it every day.