Yes, you have an amazing website, your product is top-notch, and to cap it all off, you have a mouthwatering offer.
…But, when you look at the marketing reports, you discover that your business has been profusely bleeding sales. Why?
The likely answer – Your brand story.
What exact message are you communicating to your potential customers? Are you talking to them about the comfort of your product? Are you talking about your product’s durability?
If your customers don’t know how your product or service will help them, it’s likely you’ll be drowned out with the advertising coming from your competitors.
Why Your Business Needs A Brand Story
The success of your business lies in having a powerful brand story. If you can show your customers that you understand their pain point and truly have a solution for it, they will buy.
An effective brand story can do wonders for your business. It can transform a simple product into a valuable commodity. It is your ticket to online success.
If your brand story is powerful, you won’t be following the crowd. Your product will be the one that has the most visibility and loyalty around it.
What Really, Is A Brand Story?
A brand story is a set of guidelines, pillars that identify your customers, their problems, introduct you and outline the journey they will take from their pain point to success. It gives clarity to your marketing message.
A well-crafted brand story can help to differentiate your brand from the competition, build trust and credibility with your target audience, and ultimately drive more sales. When customers can connect with your brand on an emotional level, they are more likely to become loyal, long-term customers.
How To Blend A Powerful Brand Story Into Your Business
When you talk about your brand, you need to take into account one thing – to be as clear and concise as possible. According to a study by Microsoft in 2015, people have a concentration span of just 8 seconds (even less than that of a goldfish!) – so that means you have just a few seconds to get and keep them hooked.
Here are 5 tips that will help you integrate a brand story into your business.
1. Tackle The Important Questions At A Glance
What problem does your business solve? What pain points do you relieve for your customer? And, how can they take action?
These questions are important because they serve as guidelines to your prospective customers on your brand story’s direction.
Keep in mind, you shouldn’t start with your brand story by introducing yourself. You want to have the focus on your customer, and the problem they are wanting to solve.
Start by identifying the fact that you understand the problem they are having and that you have the solution for it.
2. Have A Call-to-Action That Stands Out
Your brand story should be crafted in such a way that your target customers know what to do next. It should include a call-to-action (CTA) that’ll leave your audience moving on a path for a specific destination.
Truth is, you may think you have a killer brand story, but without a CTA, it will be ineffective.
It’s not enough for potential customers to know what you do and what you offer, but you also need to guide them forward.
You want your CTA to be clear, short, sweet and to the point. Invite people to commit to buying your service so you can solve their problems.
3. Portray Success With Your Images
A picture is worth a thousand words. When you’re in need of communicating a powerful message, images are the way to do it. Ensure you use images that showcase your success.
The images that you use should reflect your brand, and feed into your brand story. They should tell people that working with your business is worth the investment.
4. Keep Your Brand Story Simple
People tend to be way to wordy when they write. Less is more when you’re communicating the elements of your brand story.
Your brand story is a marketing tool; a communication strategy. It must be easy for people to understand.
A good rule of thumb is to re-read content you’ve written to see how much you can eliminate and still have the message ring clear.
5. Always Stick To Your Story
Stick to your brand story for every single piece of content that you create. Think of your brand story as the beating heart of your business, as the central hub of your universe. Everything should emanate from this hub.
When you use consistency in your message, there will be a clear path to you from any point that someone comes across it.
The Bottom Line
We all know the value of a brand story. It breaks down the barriers between a product and its prospects. It provides context to your business.
Your brand story will tell your customers that you understand them, how you solve their problems and what it looks like to work with you. They will clearly see the success they will have if they purchase your services.
When you do this, you will stand out from the competition and the “noise” that floods the marketing world… and your potential customers will hear you, and respond. In the end it means happier customers and more income for you.
About Christy Kiltz
Christy Kiltz is the owner of Design! by Kiltz Internet Solutions and has been taking care of business owners online since 2001. Her high-touch digital agency is located in Southern Oregon and provides comprehensive online marketing services and technology solutions that free up business owners to focus on what they love to do instead.
According to Christy, “Service-based business clients come to us spinning their wheels trying to make money online. We form a partnership to turn their websites into lead-generating machines. Our White Glove Growth program is designed to help you get more leads and grow your business.”
In addition to building websites and offering technical support, Christy’s primary focus is education and empowerment. By toning down the “geek” and offering practical tools easily understood by non-technical folks, Christy opens the black box of technology with classes, webinars, and web tips developed to demystify digital marketing. With ease and a bit of humor, she reminds us that while technology continues to move forward at warp speed, many foundational marketing principles remain.
Christy Kiltz joins us as a regular contributor to share her digital marketing expertise with our business community. Enjoy her articles and commentaries!
Find out more about how Christy can help your business improve your online world.
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