Every business tells a story; your business paints a picture in people’s minds. Consequently, they buy or stay away. To succeed, entrepreneurs must understand that storytelling is an important business tool. Throughout history, great businesses have sold stories, and people have bought them. For instance: De Beers, the diamond company, sold the idea that "Diamonds are forever", and women got hooked. The fact is that: the stronger the emotional appeal of your story, the more people buy into it.
What is your business saying to the world? Are you winning with stories? Do you consciously or unconsciously craft great stories that make people emotionally connect with your offer? Is storytelling part of your product design strategy? These are vital questions to answer. So, how do you sell with stories? Here are three simple principles.
Target Specific Emotions in Product Design: What feelings do you want to sell to people? When people think of your product, what do you want them to feel? These decisions are made at the product development stage. It’s when you decide the emotional purpose of your product or service. Yes, emotional purpose – it’s the emotions you want your product to evoke. If you can create a product that tells a story that emotionally connects with people, you’re winning.
Deeply Understand Your Customer: If your story doesn’t emotionally connect with your customers (audience), it’s a waste of time. The essence of storytelling is resonance with people. To craft a great story, you must make the effort to deeply understand your audience. Who are they? What matters to them? What are their pain points? How can you solve their problems? Answers to these questions help you craft the plot of your story.
Co-create with Your Customer: In business, the art of storytelling is not an isolated event. To succeed, you must find ways to involve your customers in the product development process. It is important because people buy products that resonate with the stories that they tell themselves. It means that your story is their story. Therefore, as you design your product, it helps to constantly integrate customer feedback as you build an ongoing narrative. If the customer’s input is respected, then your story becomes their story.
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