Data is great.
Any small business owner involved in their own marketing needs to have a working knowledge of analytics. They should be familiar with unique visitors, bounce rates and lead generation costs, among other important data points.
But data isn’t everything. Your customers aren’t just numbers on a spreadsheet. And if you treat them like they, they won’t remain customers for long. Your customers are people, and many customers enjoy feeling some sort of connection to the businesses they support.
The best way to create that connection is to tell them a story: your story. Who are you? Why did you start your small business? What do you stand for? What do you believe in? What excites you? The answer to these questions will be the bedrock your story is built upon.
Read on as we explain why your small business story is so important.
Storytelling Feels Personal
From time to time, businesses can explode in size simply by undercutting the competition. Walmart and Amazon.com never really had to sell their story because they were able to offer customers what they wanted at rock-bottom costs — a luxury afforded to very few other businesses.
But most businesses don’t have the same selling proposition. Instead, they need to communicate the quality of their products and services, and otherwise explain to people why they should be buying from them.
The good news? Small business owners do have an advantage: They have stories, and stories are inherently personal.
When people buy from you, they’re not buying from a faceless corporation. They’re buying from a single mother who sells homemade fudge to pay for her daughter’s braces. They’re renting a room from a couple who always dreamed of opening a beachside B&B after they retired from the rat race.
By pairing that story with the quality of your products and services, you’re creating a powerful marketing message.
Stories Increase Engagement
Imagine you’re a customer listening to a sales pitch.
A half-hour PowerPoint presentation filled with graphs, charts and percentages would tell you a lot about what you need to know. But your attention might wane amid a barrage of numbers.
But you’d probably be a lot more receptive if, during that same presentation, the proprietor candidly asked you about your needs and discussed why his company might (or might not) be the best fit.
Facts and figures will always matter. The bottom line will always matter. But people are ultimately people, so you’ll typically find more success engaging them with an earnest back-and-forth that entertains, informs and invites questions that can lead to more dialogue (and thus more chances to make a sale).
You Can Tell a Story on Any Medium
Are you a blogger? A videographer? A graphic artist?
No matter what your preferred medium is, your story can be shared across them all.
Conversely, your customers aren’t all the same. Some people will connect best with an educational 2,000-word blog posts, while others will take the most away from a concise infographic that helps them visualize their problem – and how your business provides the solution.
So when you’re starting out, you can begin with your strengths. If you want to write, write, and as you expand, the right marketing partner can help weave your message into other mediums. What starts as a blog post can be continued as a video, then sprinkled into a podcast or series of social media posts.
This kind of storytelling strategy will allow you to reach every potential customer, no matter how they come to find your small business!
Everyone Has a Story. What’s Yours?
Chances are that your small business has a compelling story, even if you haven’t sat down to think about it yet. But it’s there, and unlocking it is the key to bringing your small business’s marketing message to a whole new level.
At Mischa Communications, we have a team of fantastic storytellers that love bringing new tales to light. Get in touch with us today and tell us about your unique story!