Everybody has a story.
And when it comes to business and marketing, the great companies understand this and develop their own stories too.
Think Toms Shoes. The entire concept is built around a simple pair of shoes and one man’s vision of being able to provide shoes to children in third world nations across the globe.
Or Coca-Cola. Over 1.8 billion times a day, people buy their products. And its not just a preference; its an emotional decision based on many things, including taste, branding, and ties to the overall feel of drinking a Coke.
Want to come up with your own story? Here is a list of tips to help get you started.
1. Think of your best customer. Why did they choose you?
2. How do you best represent your company? What do you stand for?
3. What is your number one cause?
4. What charitable contributions are closely related to your business ideas?
5. What makes your product/service unique?
6. What can you learn from other companies’ stories? (Start by spending 30 minutes going through Toms and Coke’s stories.)
7. What one word or phrase is synonymous with your company’s goals or values?
8. What would you write or publish a good on?
9. Define your audience; who are they and what makes them tick?
10. What do people not know about you, and if they did, they would become raving fans?
11. What are your prospects biggest pain points? What will turn them into a positive?
12. What would make people talk about you?
13. What would make people join your Facebook page in droves?
14. Why are you who you are today?
15. What is missing from your industry?
16. What concepts have past clients picked up on within your community? What blog posts do they read most? What marketing materials do they respond to the most?
17. Who are your employees and why do they work for you?
18. Why do customers come back to you again and again?
19. How do you want to be remembered? What is your legacy?
20. What images stand for who and what your company is all about? How can these images help you tell a story?
21. What story is easily told in a variety of format: text, audio, video, social media and through publicity?
22. How does your competition think of you?
23. Why did you start your company?
24. What would you like to do in the future?