It’s obvious that storytelling is the subject of almost every communicators’ lips. Companies need to work more on selling dreams, visions, and solutions rather than products and services. How can product-oriented companies work more with storytelling? In this blog post, we list three issues that can help you get better at storytelling.
What kind of feeling do you want to convey?
Why do we buy some brands instead of others? What makes us prefer a particular product over another when they are almost identical? Of course, there are several aspects to this, but one of the reasons is linked to what feeling you as a consumer get for the product. It can be so simple, and a little tragic, that you think you will be perceived a little cooler if you own one brand over another.
There are many companies out there that are good at looking beyond their products. Look at Apple, for example, they don’t just sell phones and computers – they sell status. Apple has managed to penetrate the noise and managed to convey a feeling about their products. Some dislike them and don’t want to be identified with Apple products, but Apple’s loyal crowd pre-orders their products before they even come out. It says something about the loyal audience have in the brand.
What problems does the product solve?
Even the simplest products solve a problem. Everything is about how to look at things and how to formulate solutions. Take a wristwatch as an example, what problem does that solve? Well, for example, the feeling of being more present by still keeping track of time without having to look at the mobile. By building stories about the feeling and the solution rather than the product, trust in the company increases.
You can also use data to create a good story. Take Google Trends as an example, they gathered data from the past year and created a video of it. Today, the video has more than 15 million views on Youtube. Watch the video below.
Would you buy your own products?
This issue becomes interesting in the same second as you think about what it actually means. If the employees of a company are the main ambassadors for the product, they will spread like a ripple effect. Take the Patagonia clothing brand as an example, they have become a movement towards the climate and the effect we humans have on the environment. They also have an obsession with producing the best clothes of the best material.
By regularly informing about the problems that exist in the world, they actively take a stand for the issues they care about. Patagonia encourages people to wear their clothes for as long as they can and that every garment can tell a story. Just think of an old jacket that has been around for years, through several adventures – why should you replace it just because the norms scream that it’s good to change your wardrobe?
Key takeaways
- Think about what feeling you want to convey
- Think carefully about which problem your product solves
- Think about how you can make your employees your top ambassadors
