The Power of Brand Storytelling

How does your brand stand out in the midst of a hypercompetitive, cluttered, commoditized, cacophony of a marketplace? With so many similar products and services vying for attention by piling on keywords, intrusive ads, and endless messages draining out authenticity, what can make a difference?

Perhaps surprisingly, a cohesive, credible, and humanizing narrative can transform your brand from a “me too” tapioca commodity into a vibrant, high-impact premium connection. We embrace, buy and consume products and services that work. But we embrace, buy, consume, and prefer products and services that connect to our values and help us make sense of an ever-shifting world.

Transcend marketplace noise

In short, brand storytelling – the art of transcending noisy promotional messages with an emotional narrative – represents a powerful tool to better engage audiences, build loyalty, and truly set your brand apart.

Here’s an example: a multi-county Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) delivers high-quality healthcare services in southern Indiana. It competes (in a friendly sort of way) with much larger and well-funded hospital brands for patients and market share.

What makes it stand out? The FQHC physicians and providers go way outside the walls of its clinics by quietly serving in the community. For example, in the spring and summer, it’s not uncommon to see doctors, nurse practitioners, and staff out in community gardens, getting their hands in the dirt and helping local families plant and nurture nutritious vegetables. Through these quiet engagements – where patients, families and community members can see a different side to their medical providers – the FQHC becomes humanized and more authentic. As a result of helping residents learn how to grow free and nutritious food (in an area dominated by boxed-up macaroni- and-cheese-type meals) and well as other community involvement, the region’s quality of life rises outside of seeing patients.

The FQHC’s Medical Chief of Staff regularly is joined by practitioners and staff in working to address community issues in local schools, advocating for and supporting various initiatives to address the challenges of rural life. What’s amazing? They don’t seek recognition. They lead through collaboration.

Reaching out to make a difference

When a major local hospital closed, they reached across traditional competitive aisles to work closely with other medical institutions and clinics to close the gaping healthcare gap torn open in a community.

All of the above demonstrates a selfless dimension that is attractive and brand-building. It encourages and reinforces the elevation of life, especially in a rural area that faces numerous challenges. It’s simply the way that Southern Indiana Community Health Care does business.

Did those background facts make the “community” element in this FQHC’s come alive to you? In a time when many healthcare operations are not well-received, did the brief summary help build curiosity to know a bit more?

This brief and simple account helps illustrate the power of brand storytelling.

The important fact? People are drawn to powerful stories. Apart from sterile brand attributes, stories evoke emotions, inspire action, and help build loyalty and trust.

Further, telling an insightful and inspiring story about a brand and its application can humanize both the brand and the company (or organization) that produces it.

A key point? In a world nearly devoid of trust, brand storytelling helps counter inherent skepticism, especially about the corporate or organization motives of a company.

Stand out or you don’t stand a chance

Brand storytelling counters commoditization. If you’re one of five brands that all do the same thing and basically look alike, how do you stand out? Is your brand lost in a sea of commoditization? Make your brand attributes stand out by building narrative that fosters and creates an emotional connection. Brand storytelling paints a vision.

When people buy into your brand with an emotional bond, they not only feel more satisfied in buying or consuming your products or services – they can become brand evangelists on your behalf, explaining to others why your brand, product, or service is truly superior. Brand advocates of this nature are priceless.

Embracing brand storytelling

So how do you create a brand story that elevates and illustrates your brand?

Go easy on the hype and heavy on the help

Validate product or service claims by telling real and authentic stories that match and resonate with your audience or market. Non-credible claims of being the best exist everywhere. They’re tiresome.

Isolate customer experiences and build a story plot about how there was a need, but your product or service went beyond. Make your brand name and logo come alive with believable – even inspiring – stories of how your product or service improved things, even lives. A strong brand story is about overcoming adversity and challenges. Good brand stories incorporate drama and conflict resolution.

Make it personal

Satisfied customers often want to reward the brands that consistently deliver beyond expectations. Give those customers a digital megaphone!  On our online world, star ratings and product reviews occupy an important – even critical – place in influencing customer decisions and brand perceptions. Don’t discount their power.

Deliver your brand story consistently

In our omnichannel world, consistency is critical. Take the time to ensure that your stories resonate across all platforms (traditional and digital) in a consistent way. Keep images, content, photos, and logos up to date.

Be meaningful to your customers and audience

Illuminate the connection between your brand and your customers by developing a foundational relatable story that identifies and elevates your values in a way that they can easily grasp. Create a strategic brand story roadmap that guides the development and promotion of authentic stories that tell how your brand attributes help customers meet real-life challenges.

Strong brand stories – of which you are one – show how the status quo was changed for the better. How did your company (or you) do it?

At its most effective state, brand storytelling integrates multiple brand, marketing, public relations and person-to-person tactics and principles. Be real, center your stories on authentic experiences, and cut through the clutter!

Want to know more about how to tell brand stories? Contact us today!