You want to stay ahead of the competition, attract the right customers, and turbocharge your growth. Then you need to tell a story that connects emotionally with your audience.

But, what if you already have a great product or service? Shouldn’t that be enough?

The truth: No. Here’s three reasons why. 

First, even the most innovative product or service is going to become commoditized quickly. Just look how fast the AI landscape filled in. When a good idea proves to be profitable, competition is quick to follow. No industry has proven to be competition-proof, and it happens faster than you think. 

Second, buyers don’t have a way to measure the difference between solutions--and they don’t care to. They base their decisions on their personal experience and preference - which you can’t control. If I think Jif tastes better than Skippy, all the marketing in the world about how Skippy uses better peanuts or roasting process isn’t going to change my mind - so stop wasting the time and money.

And third, people don’t buy the best products, they buy the products they like the best. Most times, that’s a combination of the messaging, package design, user-experience and perceived value. Each counts. 

Simply put: if you want better sales, create a better Brand Story.

What Is a Brand Story?

A brand story is a strategic narrative that conveys a company’s values, message, and identity to a specific target audience. Most importantly, brand stories build emotional connections through storytelling techniques. 

But the simple answer that will actually grow your business is: A story that makes them notice and care about you. 

Read that sentence again, and refer to it often--because if you fail on either point, your marketing isn’t making you money - it’s losing you money.

With that in mind, it’s important to address a common misconception: a brand story is not a timeline of your company’s history OR a description of your product or service.

Take this (horror) “story” for example: 

“We created our first product more than 50 years ago. Based on our founder’s belief in providing good products at a fair price to everyone, we have created a brand people can trust. Our goal is to become the global leader in [enter industry here], which we will achieve by continuing to deliver world-class solutions that lead the industry."

Not all that interesting, right? But this story can be found on almost every website you’ve ever visited.

“Stories” like the one above lack relevance to the target audience  (the “why should I care?” the reader needs to stay engaged). They don’t create any emotional reaction other than boredom. They fail to show an understanding or concern for the audience’s wants and needs. Worse still, they break the cardinal rule of good communication: never talk about yourself. 

Why Does a Brand Story Matter?

The importance of having a compelling brand story comes down to one key principle:

People buy emotionally and justify logically.

A brand story matters because it connects with people on an emotional level first, making them feel trust, excitement, or belonging. Then, they use logic to justify their choice. But without that emotional connection, even the best facts and features often won’t win them over.

For example, Dollar Shave Club didn’t talk about how great their products were. They talked about how ridiculous it was to pay $20 for a razor. Poo-pourri didn’t focus on the chemistry behind their product, they talked about the embarrassment of bathroom odor. Apple’s I’m a Mac, I’m a PC campaign didn’t talk about processing speed or storage capacity, they pointed out how stuffy, out of date and flawed/vulnerable PC systems are.

This approach made each business’s Ideal Customer (that is, the people who would benefit most from your solution, would most appreciate your solution, and would be most likely to repeat buy your solution) stop what they were doing and pay attention - because it spoke directly to what they cared about most.

So how do you get people to care enough about your brand to actually feel something when they’re browsing your products?

Strategic storytelling.

With an emotionally resonant story, you can develop the essential emotional connection your target audience needs to care enough about your business to engage with it.

How to Create a Brand Story: The 6 Steps for Success

Ready to learn how to create a brand story with your target audience at the center? Follow this six-step story brand guide.

1. Understand the pain point you solve for your customer

Before you can tell a compelling story about your brand, you have to understand your greatest value to your target audience. Despite what you may have heard, advertising doesn’t really sell things to people they don’t want or need. And a brand becomes most valuable when the thing it delivers is crystal clear to the audience. 

For example, Volvo focuses only on selling safety—and for 80 years they’ve stayed consistent with that messaging (ever since they invented the 3-point seatbelt we all use today and changed automotive history forever). 

Both Southwest Airlines and Harley Davidson sell freedom. Nike sells progress. Disney sells feeling like a kid again. 

In each case, the brand has chosen a single pain point to make “go away.” (The ability to travel more often through a low-price option and escape from the pressures of societal norms/professional success respectively). And in doing so, has created a story that is easy to understand, easy to remember, and easy to share with friends. This focus and consistency are what makes brand choice, recognition and loyalty possible. 

Brands also stay current by keeping up with news of the day. Like Gap’s recent ad with KATSEYE which beautifully landed their inclusivity story in stark contrast to American Eagle Outfitters’ Sydney Sweeney campaign, for example.

Brands that don’t clearly align their values with their target audience pay for it dearly. Like Cracker Barrel’s recent brand refresh and remodel gaff (which left leadership feeling a bit like someone's grandma trying out Gen-Z slang she doesn’t truly understand).

Ensure your messaging (or brand narrative) stays consistent by asking the right questions. By taking the time to ask and answer a few key questions, you can more easily build a recognizable, unique, and consistent brand identity.

Questions to Ask While Developing a Brand Story

• Why does your business exist? (What does it make possible or make “go away”?)
• What makes your business unique?
• What does your brand fight for or against?
• What tone of voice best represents your brand??

Take your time answering these questions and discussing them with your team. Write the answers down. Look for answers that reveal inconsistencies, and then sort out whether these are complexities or inconsistencies. The answer is probably the latter.

2. Define your ideal target audience

Now that you know your brand’s identity, you’ll need to identify the story your brand will be telling. Below, learn how to define your target audience:

> Perform a Customer Analysis

This is all about ranking potential clients or customer types by a few key qualities that determine how good a fit they are for your company. The analysis you perform will change based on your market:

• B2C or DTC: If you run a B2B or DTC business, identify a list of 10 to 15 customer types. Next, use a 5-point scale to rank each of the customer types’ revenue profitability, customer engagement, ease of delivery/fulfillment, and brand loyalty/advocacy.
• B2B: A B2B business should list out 10 to 15 of its most significant clients. Rank each client based on the revenue generated, team enjoyment, ease of delivery, and appreciation of value. 

Once you’ve compiled the list and reviewed your rankings, highlight the customer types or clients that have the highest scores in every category. These top performers are your best targets, the protagonists of your brand story. They’re who your brand should be geared towards. No exceptions or contradictions.

> Identify gaps

After analyzing your customer types or clients, you’ll want to identify gaps in underutilized or untapped high-potential markets. A key question to ask here is “What audience groups or types are your competitors ignoring?”

> Define your customer’s psychological makeup

If you want your customer to feel like your brand story actually understands their needs, you should understand what they want first. 

Take one or two of your high-potential customers and identify their greatest desires, biggest worries, and the primary emotions driving their decisions.

> Define customer demographics

Beyond a customer or client’s psychology, you should also know their demographics to help better direct your story to people like them. 

> Create a customer profile

With all of the above information guiding you, create a customer profile for your ideal growth customer. This summary of your ideal growth customer should be short, specific, and vivid. Make sure it includes:

• Who they are (be specific)
• What they’ve struggled with
• What they value most
• Why your solution is the perfect fit

3. Uncover unmet consumer needs your brand can fulfill

With a customer profile created, it’s time to evaluate your competitors. While these might seem like the villains of your brand story, competitors are actually your alternative narrators. 

If your story can’t offer an alternative, more emotionally compelling vision for the customer’s journey, they won’t feel the need to switch to your brand.

In this stage, you’ll complete the following steps to fully analyze the competing narrators of your brand story:

• Analyze the category leader
• Take a direct competitor snapshot
• Determine your top five competitors
• Rate your competitor’s marketing savviness based on how well they:
  
  • Clearly define their audience
  • Utilize emotional message
  • Maintain a strong, consistent voice
  • Speak to customers’ relevant needs
  • Sustain a focused overall strategy
• Evaluate competitor positioning
• Assess how well each top competitor differs from the other competitors
• Assess how well the competitor differentiates itself from your company

4. Identify your ownable strategic territory

How do you encourage them to accept your brand’s help rather than a competitor's? In other words, what makes your brand different from others?

Ideally, your brand should have strengths that match your audience in a way that the competition can’t easily replicate. These strengths are your ownable strategic territory that you’ll highlight throughout your brand story.

As you try to highlight these strengths, you’ll need to create the following:

> Brand Promise: Your brand promise answers (1) what does our audience want to feel or experience/what problem are they trying to solve? (2) What is our role in creating that transformation? and (3) what do we deliver that others can't or won't? 

Example: Southwest Airlines: To make affordable air travel available to the masses.

> Unique Value Proposition: Your UVP is HOW you will bring your Brand Story to life. It’s a brief description of what you will do for the customer that is unique to your business. A value prop template can look like:

Example: Southwest Airlines: We provide low-cost travel to the masses by flying one type of jet (737), only using regional hubs, keeping turn-around at each gate to just 30-minutes, and removing the add-ons that add cost (assigned seats, first class, meal and snack options, etc.)

> Brand Pillars: Your brand pillars are five or six traits or characteristics that are unique to your brand. For example, if I asked you to tell me about James Bond, you might say:

• Action-packed stories
• Always capable in any situation
• Loyal to his country above all else
• Always gets the bad guy - and the girl
• Always has gadgets
• Always drinks martinis that are shaken not stirred

These specific characteristics define what you can expect from the James Bond experience each and every time you encounter it. That consistency is what makes branding possible.

• What repeatable experiences define our brand?
• What do our best customers praise us for that competitors don’t deliver?
• What have we committed ourselves to doing every single time?
• What interactions or moments make us distinct from other companies?

5. Putting it all together (through a brand story template)

After you’ve done the work to define your brand and target audience, evaluate the competition, and identify your ownable strategy, you’re finally ready to create a unique brand story.

With all of the information you’ve gathered, you can use the following brand story template to tell an engaging, true, and authentic story about your brand:

• The problem and its effects: Establish the specific issue or pain point that your target audience is facing. Next, discuss what this problem has resulted in, highlighting the emotions it evokes in your customer.
• What your company offers: In this part of the story, you highlight what your brand promises and your unique value proposition. Make sure to highlight the emotional benefits here.
• How your company will help customers improve: Storytelling is about seeing a character overcome a challenge, and brand storytelling is no different. After you’ve shown them how your brand will solve their problem, you need to close the deal by highlighting how your brand offers something better.

6. Visualization 

In this stage, you help the target audience visualize the story you’re telling. These visualizations might include videos, radio, print or outdoor advertising, digital marketing, social media posts, website experiences, direct mail, guerilla marketing--even packaging solutions or in-store marketing.

Since a visual is often the first thing a potential customer sees, its design should set accurate expectations for the story you’ll be telling. 

While creating your visuals, ask yourself if a visual’s design, imagery, and tone amplify or detract from the story you’re telling. If the visual contradicts your brand story or isn’t relevant, it’s a sign you need to go back to the drawing board.

Create an Emotionally Compelling Brand Story With BrandBoss HQ

Finished with our story brand guide and want more expert guidance while you establish or grow your brand? BrandBossHQ is here to help through brand coaching, classes, and elite consumer research and campaign development for businesses of all sizes. 

Learn more about how we can help you write your unforgettable brand story today.

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