What's Your Big Story?

 

CHAPTER THREE

 

 

It was impossible to get a conversation going,

everybody was talking too much.

~Yogi Berra

 

There was a man who owned a small store in a small town. The store had been in his family for three generations, one of those mainstays of Main Street, a cornerstone of the community.

 

One day, he got a call from a big executive from a big corporation who said, "I want to buy you out."

 

The small store owner said, "Well, this business has been in my family for a long time, and we're a part of the community, so I don't think I want to sell."

 

He listened to the icy silence on the other end of the line. Then, the executive growled.

 

"Then we're going to run you out of business. We're going to buy the building on the left of you, and the building on the right of you and you'll be bankrupt in 3 months."

 

So the time came, and the executive was true to his word. They bought the store to the left and the store the right and hung huge banners that said GRAND OPENING on either side of the small business owner's store.

 

The night before the grand opening, the small business owner, who, as it turns out, was a very smart business owner, went out and put up his banner. It read MAIN ENTRANCE.

 

See, that man knew the power of WORDS and using the right words to tell your story can ensure your success in a world full of competitors.

 

 

 

WHAT IS YOUR STORY?

 

          Stories are all around us.  It’s how we learn, how we remember.  From the time we were children, stories have been used to teach lessons and to reinforce those lessons into our subconscious.

 

 LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD means don’t talk to strangers, THE GRASSHOPPER AND THE ANTS is about saving for a rainy day, SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARVES is about how a young girl shouldn’t live in the house of seven dirty miners!

         

We use stories to build memories.

         

Remember the last time you saw a comedian up on stage? 

 

          They told stories to make you laugh.  Politicians use stories to make you empathize, and Uncle Joe uses stories to convey his ideas about last week’s hunting trip.   Everyone has a story to tell.

         

The BEST way to convey a marketing idea is to use a story; testimonials from customers create a bond with the prospect to showcase a commonality,  a back story about the company to showcase a particular element about the company.  The point is that we all use stories to illustrate our points, like the business owner who refused to go out of business, and outsmarted his competition.

         

The Store owner posted a banner above his store that used the right words to direct customers to a specific action.  That’s the power of branding.   

 

Branding can be a word, like Xerox, that instantly calls to mind an action, making copies.  A brand or brand identity is essentially a recognized symbol that represents and calls to mind what the business is about.

 

Fed Ex has become a part of the vernacular, as in “I’m going to Fed Ex it.” Or “I’ll Fed Ex it to you.”  The power of the Fed Ex brand extends to the subconscious.  How many people think of Fed Ex when someone says “I’m going to send it to you overnight.”

 

          That’s the power of the Fed Ex brand, and it’s the result of a carefully choreographed story.  You have to remember one of the most famous branding phrases in advertising history;

 

WHEN IT ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY HAS TO GET THERE OVERNIGHT

 

          That’s the power of story.

 

          Do not mistake brand identity with logos or slogans though.  Logos and slogans are just devices used to convey or support brand identity.

 

          Brand identity is about IDEAS.

 

          The main idea is to enter into your customer’s everyday decision making matrix as often as possible and connect with the customer.  When you develop a brand identity, it’s best when you develop a customer culture with it. NASCAR is an incredible example of the power of sports branding.

 

          Every week, millions of fans tune into a race during the race season to cheer on moving billboards!  They root for the HOME DEPOT car driven by TONY STEWART or the AMPED car driven by DALE EARNHARDT JR.  That’s a million viewers who cheer a brand to win.

 

          They have even done studies to show that brand loyalists spend an average of 23% more on the product or in the product store than non-fans.

 

          But the best way to connect with your audience and build your brand: 

 

The STORY.

 

WHAT’S YOUR STORY?

Essential Tool for Telling Stories

Journal to capture thoughts

Write 10 ideas per day about any industry

Set Big Written Goals