Today’s consumers are savvy. They have access to all the information available about your business and your competition, and in order to stand out, you need potential customers to understand not only what your product does or how it works, but also why it serves them. This “why” has been popularized by best-selling author Simon Sinek, and this concept has underscored the importance of storytelling.

A story personifies your business. Your selling point isn’t appealing unless a customer can align their values with the product and company. Customers more often than ever are making purchasing decisions based on the values a company represents. They purchase a service or product because they’re invested in the stories that these companies tell. Consumers have even used this purchasing power to influence businesses to take a stand on social issues.

Consider these story elements: characters, plot, conflict, and solution. Your business has many stories to tell using all of these elements. All it takes is one engaging story to motivate a prospect to want to dig deeper and learn more about the other stories your business has to tell. They want to feel invested in the narrative and see themselves as one of these characters. 

Take Ben and Jerry’s for instance. I had the opportunity to visit their factory in Vermont and I was truly impressed at their ability to transform a customer into a main character of a storyline. As they take you through the factory they elaborate their story of sustainability and social mindfulness by using local farms, values-based hiring, and taking stances on social issues. On its website, it’s immediately evident that they are not just an ice cream company. They stand for something. They’re transparent with their business structure and have clearly defined goals, ethics, values, and vision of the company. It’s in their Board of Directors’ mission statement:‍

“Preserving and expanding Ben & Jerry's social mission, brand integrity and product quality, by providing social mission-mindful insight and guidance to ensure we're making the best ice cream possible in the best way possible.”‍

As I read through its rich history in Vermont, I pretty much get a sense that this company has always stood for something. Start your first story with your business as the main character. Why does this business exist? Allow your audience to go through the traditional story arc. Develop the context for them and explain its roots. What was the situation the business found itself in as it opened its doors? Move on to what motivates the business. Every character in a story has needs and wants that drive them through the story arc. Why did the business want to fulfill a need in the market? Illustrate a problem and how your business provides solutions that align with its mission or its why. 

Apple is one of the best storytellers in the corporate world. When you enter a store, you become the main character that they have successfully profiled for you. The doors are wide open, and in fact, there are no doors. You own the store and the problem you have is not knowing what gadget you need next. As the main character in this story, you have a reputation to maintain. You’re trendy, high-tech, and a consumer of the latest Apple products.

Your business too needs a main character like Apple’s. Start with a buyer persona. A buyer persona is a fictional representation of your ideal customer, and you should have a handful of them. These personas have values, goals, and problems and are trying to understand why your company should be the one finding solutions to their problems.

When you place your ideal customer as the main character, you can start to understand what they truly want and need and how your business can help satisfy those needs. Storytelling creates alignment between business values and your prospects’ and it’s what helps your audience understand how your business fits in with their lifestyle. 

The conflict of a story brings out the hero. The journey leading to the resolution of this problem brings inspiration to your story. As your character navigates through its solutions, this character transforms into a better version of themselves. The need for resolution brings your character to action. This is where your call to action (CTA) comes in. Stories should be told for the different buyer’s stages: awareness, consideration, decision. In each of these stages there will be different CTAs that are specific to the needs in each stage.

Content creation has unfolded to become a powerful tool in storytelling. Whether it’s a video defining a problem a customer has or a blog educating a prospect on how your product solves that problem, it’s important to understand who your audience is and at what stage they are in the buyer’s journey. Don’t create content for the sake of filling up a blog site. Create stories that add value to prospects and current customers. A story stands out among the chaos of mediocre content. People remember stories, especially if they’re relatable.