There's so much content out there today that the typical brand narratives—chest-thumping, self-puffery, and competitor slandering—only further undercut your brand's relevance and believability. To stand out and inspire die-hard customer loyalty for your business, you need to shift perspectives and make the customer the center of your brand's narrative
Before diving into the art of changing your perspectives and how exactly to make the customer the star of the show, take a look at these statistics that highlight the importance of improving narratives for brands:
The simple truth is this: Instead of following the traditional company-focused approach, aim to create customer-centric narratives that speak to their self-identities, beliefs, hopes, and dreams. Consider how Nike's Just Do It campaign achieved success. It resonates with people on a fundamental level and encourages them to take action.
When it's time for actionable implementation, start by using an empathy mapping tool, such as Miro, to create visual representations of your target audiences and their thoughts. You can get inside their heads to find their thoughts and put yourself in their shoes to determine how they interact with your product. You can then sketch out user personas that help you develop targeted marketing campaigns.
Are you aware that people are always eager to hear how others are using and benefiting from a company's products or services? Breathe life into your brand's narrative by displaying real-life customer experiences using actual testimonials. You will be able to demonstrate the practical value of your brand. And please remember to use resources that are readily available to you, like organic customer feedback and testimonials. These are a great place to start a story.
Another way to improve your brand narrative is using user-generated content (UGC) to connect with customers. Here are practical ways to make UGC work to your advantage:
Create customer trust by asking your customers to showcase their unfiltered experiences on social media. Then, use these to endorse your brand on your website or other platforms.
For instance, if you run a clothing store, you can create a branded hashtag for your customers to use with photos of their outfits on social media. The UGC will endorse your brand and create meaningful bonds with your customers.
Analyze UGC to understand your customer's preferences better. The feedback you'll get will help in your product development. It will also demonstrate to your customers that you are committed to their satisfaction.
Now go and make it happen. Recreate your brand narrative in your customer's image and give them something greater to believe in. Understand your customer's needs, empathize with them, and put them in the driver's seat of your brand's storytelling. Soon, you'll have them eating out of your hand.
There's so much content out there today that the typical brand narratives—chest-thumping, self-puffery, and competitor slandering—only further undercut your brand's relevance and believability. To stand out and inspire die-hard customer loyalty for your business, you need to shift perspectives and make the customer the center of your brand's narrative
Before diving into the art of changing your perspectives and how exactly to make the customer the star of the show, take a look at these statistics that highlight the importance of improving narratives for brands:
The simple truth is this: Instead of following the traditional company-focused approach, aim to create customer-centric narratives that speak to their self-identities, beliefs, hopes, and dreams. Consider how Nike's Just Do It campaign achieved success. It resonates with people on a fundamental level and encourages them to take action.
When it's time for actionable implementation, start by using an empathy mapping tool, such as Miro, to create visual representations of your target audiences and their thoughts. You can get inside their heads to find their thoughts and put yourself in their shoes to determine how they interact with your product. You can then sketch out user personas that help you develop targeted marketing campaigns.
Are you aware that people are always eager to hear how others are using and benefiting from a company's products or services? Breathe life into your brand's narrative by displaying real-life customer experiences using actual testimonials. You will be able to demonstrate the practical value of your brand. And please remember to use resources that are readily available to you, like organic customer feedback and testimonials. These are a great place to start a story.
Another way to improve your brand narrative is using user-generated content (UGC) to connect with customers. Here are practical ways to make UGC work to your advantage:
Create customer trust by asking your customers to showcase their unfiltered experiences on social media. Then, use these to endorse your brand on your website or other platforms.
For instance, if you run a clothing store, you can create a branded hashtag for your customers to use with photos of their outfits on social media. The UGC will endorse your brand and create meaningful bonds with your customers.
Analyze UGC to understand your customer's preferences better. The feedback you'll get will help in your product development. It will also demonstrate to your customers that you are committed to their satisfaction.
Now go and make it happen. Recreate your brand narrative in your customer's image and give them something greater to believe in. Understand your customer's needs, empathize with them, and put them in the driver's seat of your brand's storytelling. Soon, you'll have them eating out of your hand.