Why are you building your company? For now, let’s set aside the obvious reason – Money. The money will come if you truly believe that what you are creating will be to the benefit of society. So, here is the question again, why are you building your company?
The rationale for why we do things is caught up in stories. Stories are the real drivers behind the brand of our company. Click on the picture of Joy’s Story to the left and take a moment to read her story to see how her Brand unfolds.
Joy’s story makes you want to buy her services. It pulls you into her journey and makes you feel as though you want to be a part of something bigger. It provides you with a sense of belonging. This is what stories do, it creates relationships in our mind and gives us purpose.
Your brand story is the way in which the customer emotionally connects to your brand. This does not happen naturally, although the customer might think they naturally tell the story. You need to craft and develop your brand story. It needs to connect with the customer on a personal level.
Even very large and well-known companies have started with the question about why they do what they do. In his book, Start with Why, Simon Sinek explains why it is important to understand the reason why people will buy your product or services offering. This is the foundation behind your brand story. Have a look at the video below to understand reasons you should Start with Why.
By starting with why you are building on the real reason for why a customer would want to purchase your product. The why keeps inspiring passion long after the how and the what is gone.
What is the Story?
Unfortunately, nobody can tell you your brand story. You need to discover it for yourself. This discovery can only be done by engaging with real customers, or Customers with Cash as the strategy expert Edmund Rudman calls it.
Once you discover the story that you want to tell, you can now start developing your brand. The brand of your company will form the foundation of most of your communication with your customers. The brand should inspire them to engage with you, use your products and services or pick up the phone and talk to you.
Think a moment about some other Brands that inspire you or that you use. Conversely, what are the brands that don’t inspire you? What makes the difference between these brands?
Building the Brand Bridge
Your brand story will over time integrate with everything that you do. If it is strong enough it will connect with your audience and relate to it, but it will take effort and time to build. Building a brand takes time and effort. It will require dedication and commitment on your part as the entrepreneurs, but it will be the part of your business that will create the most value over time.
The way to build your brand is by creating various forms of images, blogs, messages or videos that your customer will relate to. These messages will slowly be processed by your customers. If they like what they see they will engage with it, but in most cases your customer will quietly warm up to your brand, until they feel it is safe to engage with your brand. At this point they might either purchase your product or services or maybe even pick up the phone and call you.
Consider your brand to be the bridge over the river of doubt. On the one side of the river is your company, while standing on the other side of the river is your future customer. Your message will inspire and motivate the customer to walk across the river, if it is the right story/message and if you tell it through the right channels and in places where your customers hang out.