Everyone hates it when a story is told wrong about them, especially when it skews other’s perspective of you. While a business may not have feelings, getting its story wrong could negatively affect your business (and the people who may get laid off because of it do have feelings). Your business may not be a walking, talking human, but it has a mission, vision, values, and is beneficial to your community. Marketing is more than just selling products, it’s convincing people to believe in your company. While offering quality products and services is the primary way to do that, telling your story also plays an important role - especially for small businesses.
Just like people, most companies have a unique story. This story helps form their reputation which is a fundamental element in marketing. If a company has a poor reputation due to their quality or ethics, it will affect the decision-making process of potential clients. It is essential to know your business and ensure its story is told right. Here are some tips to make that happen:
1. Be Real. Be Honest. Be You.
People understand real. People can connect with real. If a company tries to over-dramatize what they do or tries to act like something they’re not, it gets weird. For example, Charmin’s bears in the forest commercials are cute and memorable, but when you find out they got an “F” by NDRC for their forest sustainability, the fuzzy woodland mascot is reduced to little more than irony.
However, no one is surprised when information like this surfaces about a major corporation, and in fact, it may not even change their minds about what toilet paper they choose. Big companies can get away with things smaller businesses can’t. For smaller businesses, people often need convincing. Being genuine is a form of vulnerability that invites trust, and you need people to trust your company. Without a backstory or reason why, people will often just choose what they are familiar with because that’s what they trust. If you want them to try your product or service, you need to get them to trust you, and you do that by being real. Explain why they should choose you, and make sure you live up to that promise.
2. Know Your Selling Point
The same way you sell a product by showing a customer how it adds quality to their life, you sell your company by showing how it adds value to their society. Do you employ people from the community? Do you offer a service the community benefits from? Does your company give back to the community through volunteer work or sponsoring causes? Is your product an alternative that is more environmentally friendly? Is your business a resource for other businesses? If so, let people know.
By letting people know you are beneficial to communities, it makes them want to choose you. It makes them feel good. By choosing your business, they too are helping with that cause. Supporting your company equals supporting your cause. People are well aware that if they expect societal change, they have to put their money where their heart is and support companies that benefit their communities.
However, your business's selling point may be its amazing taste, trendy style, sassy marketing, hand-crafted design, or original look. Whatever your selling point may be, make sure it is clear to your seller. Know what your strength is and boast about it enough so people know exactly why they are buying your product - give them a justification to purchase from your company.
3. Tell a Story
Stories stick better than facts. Sew your information together by weaving it into a narrative to make it memorable. Learning a person’s backstory gives you a deeper understanding of them, making them more familiar and easier to accept. The same way people appreciate sports they understand more than those foreign to them, if a consumer understands how the company operates or has learned its origin story, it adds a deeper dynamic to their decision-making process. An unheard-of yet more expensive product may seem like it doesn’t stand a chance against the giant brands who offer low prices and reliable products, however, if that same company explains that their products cost more because they pay their workers above minimum wage, use eco-friendly materials, or are a local business, this no-name company has now become a viable contender in the consumer’s mind as to what they should choose. Why? Because people feel defined by their choices.
People find identity in the products they choose. It is why social media influencers make sure their iProduct and coffee logos are angled towards the camera, because they want to be associated with those products. Your product is a part of their story, and your target audience is a part of your story. Letting people in on that story is how you help people relate to you. It is why companies like Apple, Microsoft, Disney, and Google don't hide their origins of starting in garages. Even if it is a far cry from what they are now, it is relatable and a testament to the hard work which they have gone through in order to make you a satisfied customer. So tell your story in a way where people can feel as if they know and can relate to you and your business.
4. Invest in Quality Media
If you want your brand to be defined by quality, everything about your brand needs to be quality. You may make the world’s greatest brake pads, but if your video ads are reminiscent of an 80’s B-movie, people will associate you with being outdated or poor quality. To sell your product, you have to sell your company, and to sell your company, you need quality media.
High-quality media is beneficial to your marketing strategy as it reinforces the type of excellence you want people to associate with your brand. From product photos and video ads to label design and social media posts, everything needs to look professional. Well-polished media is what makes your business’s story convincing. If you believe in your company’s unfolding story, then make sure it is told well. Unless your business is equipped with the resources to do so, you may need to outsource to a media company to ensure the quality reflects your company. This is where we can help.
Our media team’s goal is to make you look good, and we take our job seriously. We may be based in Nashville, but we will go the distance to ensure the business you worked hard to start is represented well. By learning who you are, what you do, and where you plan to go, our media team will help capture your company’s story to make sure everyone else can learn about them too. Contact us today to see how we can give you the quality media your company needs to enhance its online marketing presence.
Sources:
"Charmin's Toilet Paper-Thin Sustainability Claims." NRDC. May 2021. (visited 13 June 2022) https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/charmin-sustainability-claims-fs.pdf Gaille, Brandon. "21 Origin Stories of Billion Dollar Companies." BrandonGaille.com. 21 October 2016 (visited 13 June 2022) https://brandongaille.com/21-origin-stories-of-billion-dollar-companies/
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