You sell something that people want. I don’t know what it is but I’m betting that more people deserve to know about it, right? Because what you do makes life better/easier/nicer for your customers and clients.
So give them something to talk about as well as something to buy.
Give them real stories, stories that they want to hear and love to share.
Story telling in a big way
We see it over and over with the major brands.
Storytelling works for Nike, Coca Cola and Apple. They have teams of writers fossicking through the business to pull out gold. They create BIG polished stories that take a heap of money and lots of professionals to produce.
The end result is often stunning. Like the videos that Toyota makes to explain their research into alternative fuels like cow manure and lemonade. Suddenly, what could have been boring or confusing is simple and memorable. Their videos are all worth watching, especially this cutie about using lemonade to power a car.
It doesn’t matter that the car they feature, the Toyota Mirai, isn’t going on sale in Australia. Their video gets people talking about what Toyota is doing to develop cars of the future. Which is what Toyota wants. And they’ve done it with cute kids and lemonade stands – not the science behind it. Classic storytelling.
Small is memorable too
You might not have the big brand budget but that doesn’t mean you can’t tell your own shareable stories.
You can do it in lots of little ways.
Like the way Boa Hoang does to market Rolld, his successful Vietnamese food franchise.
His family came to Australia as boat people, bringing little more than their traditional Vietnamese recipes. When Boa started making takeaway based on those family recipes, he knew he had to include the story behind the food.
Food in Vietnam is always fresh. Every morning, thousands of people cram into their overly crowded local wet markets to buy fresh meat, fish and vegetables to take home and cook their morning meal. At every Rolld store, you will experience the very same home-made essence and fresh Vietnamese street food inspired taste with a twist for modern Australia.
There’s just enough storytelling for us to feel that the rice paper rolls and pho are authentic.
It’s based on truth, conjures up feelings, and comes back to why this story should matter to us.
Rolld knows Vietnam so we can trust them to make authentic street food.
Real stories mean real connections
Story telling isn’t all fiction and fairy tales. It can be about real stories told well — the story of how you got started, of how your products are made with care, of how people love what you do.
It doesn’t take a marketing team. It just takes you to uncover and understand what is memorable about your business.
Then write your story so your customers can see what your unique differences mean for them.
Rolld did it by showing that they know about Vietnamese food traditions. It wasn’t to show how clever they are but how we trust them to sell authentic street food. It also makes a story that customers can share – We get takeaway from this great little place where they really know Vietnamese food.
It’s about giving people stories they can get involved in.
Then your story becomes part of their story, and your marketing gets easier.
