Their mouths dropped open, and their eyes remained glued to the screen. Transfixed by the…
I bet you want to know what comes next. So do I. Sounds like the beginning of a thrilling story.
But how do you tell stories in a small space? Like a product description? Or on the side panel of your product packaging? Or in a message insert?
The answer is quite simple.
When selling products your stories may not have a beginning,a middle, or an end. You may only have space to tell a part of a story leaving your customer to write the end themselves. This is NOT the time to be writing novels, with villains, heroes, hard choices, and surprising plots.
The story you tell begins online, and it ends when your customer receives the product and lives happily ever after. Because hopefully you’ve solved whatever pain or problem they were experiencing. Or you’ve brought them pure pleasure and enjoyment, that they didn’t even know they were missing.
Everything you do in your brand tells a story…
It’s the eye-catching headlines you use on the product page that gets the customer to read more.
It’s the mini customer stories you share on social media.
It’s the imagery and brand visuals you use.
It’s the micro copy on your packaging and of course the actual unboxing experience.
And finally it’s the story the customer tells their friend when asked about your brand.
Will they rave about how amazing you are? Or will they forget about you the next day?
To take a leaf out of Apple’s book
“Apple attempts to ensure every element of your experience of any part of the company in some way reflects the central tenets of the brand.”
They don’t just have one brand story, they have an experience to sell and a story they want you to become a character in.
So, go ahead – tell stories! Short stories, micro stories, or snippets of stories, share them anywhere and everywhere, but don’t forget to keep your customers at the front and center, and keep your stories in-line with your central brand values and narrative.
More on brand narratives coming soon.
