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Modern consumers are bombarded with product and service ads and promotional content from brands online and on social media. They’ve become immune to modern advertising, instead relying on human connections with brands that demonstrate their value.
Storytelling is a great way to establish an emotional connection with audiences and create an emotional response. With the right techniques, you can humanize your brand and give customers a reason to root for you – and by extension, build customer loyalty.
Understanding Your Audience
Effective brand storytelling isn’t about being the next great writer. It’s about understanding how your messaging can evoke an emotional response for your audience. The key is understanding who your audience is, what problems they face, and what they need from your brand so you can speak to them directly.
The top brands conduct market research to identify their ideal customers and understand how their products or services offer value to them. Effective storytelling takes it a step further than a buyer persona or audience segments, however. You need to understand the granular details about your target audience and how they feel about different topics relevant to your brand.
Psychographic and demographic information like age groups, gender, location, occupation, and income can target your messaging, but you should also know the values or interests of each segment and the pain points they face in their lives. From there, you can start building a compelling narrative that speaks directly to them.
Mapping the Customer Journey
Telling a story may seem difficult when you’re talking about your brand, but it’s simpler when you break it down. There are only seven main story types that all other stories are built upon, giving you a framework to craft your narrative.
The best-known story is the “hero’s journey,” which is seen in some of the most popular stories of all time: Star Wars, The Wizard of Oz, The Lion King, The Hunger Games, and the Harry Potter series. While your story will be different, it can help you include purposeful elements that affect every stage of the customer journey.
Here’s an example:
● Awareness Stage: The awareness stage is when the customer becomes aware of solutions to their problems. You can introduce your brand through engaging content that talks about who you are or your products and services.
● Consideration Stage: The customer has multiple options to explore to choose the best solution to their problem. This is similar to the challenges the “hero” faces in their story. You can provide in-depth resources like case studies and testimonials to help them understand the real-world value and impact of their choice.
● Decision Stage: The hero eventually accepts their challenge and begins their quest. The customer will make a decision and purchase a solution from a brand. This is where personalized experiences like free trials, first-time promotions, or product demos can sway them.
● Retention Stage: Heroes go through trials before they get their happy ending. Brands face similar challenges in satisfying the customer, such as shipping delays, product problems, or customer service complaints. Follow-up emails, personalized offers, and loyalty programs can create a positive experience that lasts long after the purchase.
● Advocacy Stage: The end of the journey is the happy ending. This happy ending is when your brand creates loyal brand advocates who are willing to share their positive experience with others with reviews and testimonials across different channels.
Creating the Narrative
An effective customer journey narrative should be structured and emotionally engaging. Using the hero’s journey, this positions the customer as the “hero” overcoming their challenges with the support of your brand. For example, a restauranteur opening a new location may need restaurant marketing services to create awareness in the community and generate buzz.
Another popular option is the problem-solution format. This presents a relatable problem and demonstrates how the product or service offers a solution. For example, a meal-kit company may share a story about a busy family struggling to make healthy meals during the week, but the service makes meal preparation convenient and nutritious.
Hitting the right emotional cues is an important factor in your story’s success. Use vivid language and sensory details to evoke emotions that align with your brand story. For instance, a travel agency could describe a tropical getaway with imagery that evokes wanderlust to audiences in the middle of winter.
No matter your approach, authenticity is the most important part. Share genuine emotions and genuine stories. You could include real customers to improve credibility, such as a customer sharing a DIY project using a home improvement brand’s products and services to transform their fixer-upper into a dream home.
Bringing It to Life
Combining storytelling with visuals and interactive elements can make an impact. Always include high-quality photos, videos, and infographics that reflect your brand’s personality and identity. For example, a luxury skincare brand may use slow-motion product application videos with soothing music to evoke feelings of relaxation and self-care in an indulgent spa experience.
If it’s relevant, incorporate interactive features like quizzes, polls, or calculators to actively engage your audience. For example, Sephora uses quizzes to help customers find the ideal products for their needs and skin type, helping them feel more confident in their purchases.
Another option is user-generated content (UGC) featuring customer stories, reviews, and social media content. GoPro is a great example of a brand that leverages UGC for success by featuring the customer’s own videos and candid moments to showcase their products through the lens of their audience’s experiences.
Over time, you’ll learn what resonates with your audience and you can fine tune your strategy. Keep gathering feedback and adjusting your approach based on the insights you gain.
Humanize Your Brand with Storytelling
Storytelling with a human touch is essential for crafting a memorable customer journey. When you understand your audience and speak to them directly at different stages of their journey, you can build lasting emotional connections that form the heart of your brand’s customer experience.
You may also like: The Strength of Storytelling: 7 Ways to Articulate Your Story and Make Your Personal Brand Stand Out from the Noise
About the Author
Chris Bretschger, Managing Partner at Bastion Agency, is a seasoned marketer with over 20 years of experience in integrated marketing. He has developed brand strategies, managed media campaigns, and built analytics tools for clients like Mazda, Adidas, Jenny Craig, and Kia. When not leading Bastion, Chris enjoys superyacht regatta racing on the open seas.
Image source: elements.envato.com
