Have you got a story for your company?
It's one that your audience gets; it's one that your customers get; it's one that shares/encapsulates/whispers/shouts why your company is different, why and how it adds meaning to your customers day, goes beyond merely providing a solution...
No? Well get ready to compete on price, price, price. Forever.
AdAge's article Storytelling: Escaping the Price War profiles how how Perrier and other marketers have elevated product value with authentic narrative.
I love marketer's verbiage. ( I regularly fall into using it.) Consider the phrase "authentic narrative". What the hell does that mean to anyone? Putting on my translation hat, it means your product or company has something unique about it that differentiates it from all the others in your commoditized industry. To the extent you can spell that difference out to your customers and why it matters to them is the difference to which you can expect their loyalty, their passion, their interest, their referrals, their WOM for your business, the customer evangelism on your behalf, and their willingness to pay or even pay a premium for your service for that sump'n extra you bring to their day...
Bubbly water is about as commoditized as you can get. our local grocery chain has its own brand. But Perrier has a legitimate difference...it has a story based on its long-running history as a source for sparkling water that users claim have health-givin properties. That history, that story, started in Roman Empire times. Now granted those health-giving qualities may be as much from its cleanliness as anything else. But still...it's a long-running (from Roman Empire times) and a real (authentic) story (narrative).
And it's their brand. the story is the brand. That they've created a recognizable logo has less to do with the designer than with the story behind the design and the consistency they've built in delivering this experience. Yes, it's an experience. You're buying Perrier.
Back to the point. Find the story of your company, what makes you different. Promote your story. That's what makes you unique.
End of lesson. Let's get some coffee.
Thanks to Michael Chaffin at Star in the Margin blog for the link.
Source: http://life.ducttapemarketing.com/2006/07/have_you_got_a_.html
