Monday, May 6, 2013

Storytelling within a Consumer Journey


I have touched upon storytelling in the past and why it is so important to all business. People are drawn to a good story and will literally pay more for something that comes with an exciting tale. What’s important to remember is that consumers are going to enter your story at different chapters along their voyage. It is crucial to connect your story of how you solve the customer’s problems at each step of their journey with your company.

First, ask yourself where the customer is in the buying cycle: Awareness, Consideration, Purchase, or After-Sale. From there, create content that is relevant to the needs, issues and requirements for each buyer stage. Buyers at each stage are interested in different types of content. For instance, a prospective buyer (awareness stage), does not need a list of cool features of your products. You need to reel him or her in with a story of why the ‘change’ from a competitor to your company is worth it. A customer that has been a solid customer of yours for years (after sale stage) hardly wants to view generic content that lists product benefits; they already know. They need engaging content to continue the story with your company.


Louis Vuitton, luxury retailer, employs the art of storytelling in a BIG way. They offer an iPad app just to tell their history and legend. It is a narrative of what made them famous: luggage and trunks. Each has a visual chronicle. The app is $16.99, which may seem like a lot to us ‘regular people’, but pales in comparison to what the brand’s devotees typically pay for the products – and, oh how it expands the consumer experience!

This app is intended for Louis Vuitton’s brand loyalists (after sale) - consumers already enthusiastic with the products. They are proud of the luggage they travel with and now they have a sense of historic luxury to go along with it. Louis Vuitton found a way to tell their story and create brand ambassadors.

This is how I see it, if your product or service seems quite similar to a competitor, your story can help your product rise above. I love the idea of storytelling because it brings products and services to life and shows consumers how your products or services can benefit them and maybe even change the way they do something. Consumers will learn to trust your company if they are involved in your story — enough trust to do business with you consistently. Storytelling and content marketing will generate new leads, drive brand awareness, create brand ambassadors, and in due course, drive sales.

2 comments:

Verena said...

This is cool!

June Bisel said...

Thank you! Storytelling in marketing is one of our favorite techniques- really gets consumers to know a brand or company.