How Emotive Storytelling in Business Brands Builds Client Loyalty

Success depends upon our ability to persuade others to adopt our ideas. If we can’t convince our customers to buy our products or services, we can’t move forward in business. But how best to do that? Storytelling in business is probably the best way you can persuade your customers to purchase your products or services.

What does a story mean? A story is how we make sense of the world. We organize details according to our experiences and interactions in the world and make a story out of them which helps us find our place in the big picture. Storytelling is a novel and innovative way to engage with people emotionally, win their hearts and captivate their minds. Storytelling is as old as human life and continues to be relevant today.

In the words of Peter Guber, former CEO of Sony Pictures, Academy Award Producer, and author of Tell to Win, “There’s no business without story business. To connect, persuade, and triumph in business, you need to ‘tell to win’ with the hidden power of story. Stories create a relationship rather than a transaction. Stories open the heart rather than alert defenses and trigger resistance.”

There is nothing new about brand storytelling. It is as old as business. But with the dramatic growth of social media and content marketing, the scope of telling stories as part of the direct and indirect brand marketing maneuvers has become a vital priority. See how emotive storytelling rather than rational corporate language in business helps build client loyalty:

1. Building Trust through Truthful Stories. When you tell a story about your brand, it should be rooted in the reality of your brand, products and industry. Honesty, transparency and consistency are indispensable in brand storytelling. If your brand stories lack consistency, consumers will be confused and will look for other brands that meet their expectations. You can ask satisfied customers if you can share their stories. If you have a blog, correctly cite your sources. Share who you are and who your team members are as regular people that your customers can relate to.

2. Characters in Stories Should Appeal to Audience. Your audience should love the characters in your stories. You can create buyer personas and tell stories from their point of view or tell stories from your employees’ perspective or from a third-person point of view. Creating characters that enable your audience to become emotionally connected to them and follow them will go a long way in building client loyalty. An example of this would be the Gecko in the Geico commercials.

3. Your Story Should Have a Proper Structure. Your brand story should have a well-defined beginning, middle and end. Start strongly with your characters and setting. Come to the conflict the main character faces in the middle and resolution in the end. Take your audience on the journey of your business along with you. If it appeals to them, they will adhere to your brand, spread word of mouth and strengthen their relationship with you. For instance, in 2013 Chipotle created a video that became an online sensation.

           

Technically, it didn't qualify as an ad. It never aired on TV. But the cute story of a little scarecrow in a dystopian world of processed foods creating a beautiful oasis of a farm and a little burrito stand in a dystopian world of processed foods got over 11.6 million views on YouTube and was a spread across social media. Chipotle's gamble paid off, especially considered they didn't have to pay for placement.

4. Perpetual Marketing through Storytelling. Your stories should always open door to the next ones. Make your audience want more and continue association with your brand. Keep releasing teasers through Facebook, email, or Pinterest, and post updates regularly on a specific space on your website or Facebook page.

Given the power of effective storytelling in business to woo customers and ensure their loyalty, every business needs to look into seeing how they can apply storytelling to their brand. For start ups and small business, brand marketing is a tough but rewarding task.

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