Tell Your Story
For the past 11 years I have had a front row seat watching Consumer Choice Award promote the incredible companies that make up our winners. Local service providers across North America who consumers have said are the best at what they do.
The decade prior to CCA I also spent working in advertising but for many of North America’s largest brands. Financial, retail, and even non-profit. I can tell you with the utmost certainty: Small businesses, by comparison do not have the marketing might of large corporations to stand out from the crowd.
Big businesses create feature-led campaigns and back them with hundreds of millions of dollars. If you are a CCA winner….sounds familiar right? In fact, even if the creative idea behind the advertising isn’t unique, the repeated exposure through different mediums will make it memorable. How can small businesses compete with that? Without marketing departments, research teams, global advertising agencies, or public relations? I can also say with the utmost certainty: By telling their stories.
Consumers love a good story, and by comparison, a great story is what gives the “small guy” a clear advantage large corporations seldom have..
And the good news? Story-telling is the new marketing. Memorable brands tell memorable stories. If you are a small or independent business or manager, this is your differentiation, and here are three best practices that will help you tell your story.
Three best practices to tell your story
1. Be authentic
Your story should be about you. Think back to the origins of your business and look for inspiring stories. If it was started by you, talk about what motivated you back then and what motivates you today.
Why did you choose this business? What other opportunities did you say no to? The objective should be to make it as unique as possible and link that to your business.
2. Be inspiring
There’s a reason why people love sports dramas. They depict individuals and teams who overcome challenges. Those who lose but come back to fight against all odds. Everyone loves when David goes against Goliath. That’s a universally adored theme.
Your story should mention your struggles. Your business must have gone through some challenging times. Communicate how you overcame those dark days and where you found your inspiration.
3. Be relatable
This is the most important part of story-telling that most brands miss. Just because you’re genuine and inspiring doesn’t mean your story will find an audience. For that, you need to connect with the listeners. You need to strike the right chord.
When you craft your story, while the theme is yours, think from the point of view of your audience. Say it in such a way that makes you look human, fallible, and therefore, relatable. Don’t be arrogant or self-serving. Be empathetic, personable, endearing, and likeable.
In short
Once you find it, you should tell your story across all touchpoints. Your story should help you form your brand identity, from your website to social media posts to any advertising campaign. And so long it’s authentic, inspiring, and relatable, it will get your audiences to form a highly favourable opinion of your small business.
Want help?
Every day the team of “story-telling experts” at CCA are creating powerfully engaging videos for our winners. Custom videos designed to tell the incredible stories each of our award-winning companies have. Stories the consumer wants to learn, and the stories that our winners a part of the competition…. especially the “big guys”.
We know our winners have great stories to tell, we look forward to the opportunity to tell yours.
Jeff Havercroft, Vice-President at Consumer Choice Award
