Why do we all love Bill Gates? Why do we all love Steve Jobs? Why is Richard Branson more than just an entrepreneur to us? What makes Coke so special? Why do we embrace Dangote? Why do we feel like a strong affinity for Donald Trump? Why will a lot of Christians gladly die for David Oyedepo?
Because we know them!
Seriously, it’s because we know them.
Okay, I know most of us have not met Richard Branson or Bill Gates at Murtala Mohammed Airport or 4-Points Hotel, but do we really have to meet them to know them? We love Jesus Christ and Mohammad, but we haven’t met any of these folks!
But we have something very concrete about them. Something more concrete than merely meeting them, or shaking hands with them. Something that can go on, and travel to places they’ll never go. Something that would outlive, outlast and outstand them.
We have their story.
They may live for 50 years, but their stories have the capacity to carry on for centuries, stretching into a millennium and beyond.
That’s the power of a story!
We all know about Bill Gates: the nerdy, weird looking teenager that built a multi-billion dollar company around his passion for computer programming. We know about his vision to ensure that every home has a computer, and every computer is on the web. We know of his feud with Steve Jobs and how he outmanoeuvred Jobs to lead the computer software industry. We know how he did it!
What else is there to meet of the man again? We already know him more than some of us know our next door neighbours. Does it become surprising when we chose to buy his products, and share his story (unconsciously, marketing and advertising him for no payment), which by the way happens to be one of the most inspiring stories of entrepreneurship.
And it’s the same for Steve Jobs, Branson and every other person mentioned afore; we all know them.
How?
We know their story.
How?
They tell us their story. And then make us tell their story.
How? (Please listen, and listen and listen real good, because this is the tricky part)
They make their stories interesting.
How?
They tell stories about themselves.
Now, a lot of people have heard about the importance of “telling your brand/business story” that quite frankly, it has become cliché. They know about the positive impact it can have on their sales and stature in their industries, and they like to do it.
Heck, they even try to do it.
I was on the website of a Travelling Solutions Company, a Nigerian company. I clicked on the part of the website that was captioned “Our Story” and to say I was disappointed would be putting it mildly.
It was nothing like a story. It was more or less a regular “About Us” page; nothing special, nothing catchy, nothing sticky, nothing engaging and nothing inspiring. I jumped off the page back to my Facebook page – at least there I have lots of entertainment.
But seriously, although those folks had noble and admirable intentions, their execution left a lot to be desired.
Why?
They told me stories about their company!
Huff! As if I cared!
When we say that people love stories, we mean that people love stories about people, not about companies, and certainly not about things!
That’s why Linda Ikeji’s blog has over how many thousand subscribers, because people love a good story; they want real good gossip. That’s why we spend billions of naira every year on movies and cinema tickets. We love to read about people; love to hear about people, and love to learn about people.
Okay, so we’ve gotten that right.
How then do we tell a Great Story?
A story that captivates everybody, rivets them to their seats, keeps them engaged, and keeps your brand memorable and sticky, such that they remember you when they need to make a purchase decision?
Please visit the website: www.hbc.org.ng to discover secrets of telling a fabulous brand story that makes your market/publics love you, emotionally connecting with you for greater profitability. There indeed is a HOW, and what we’ll explore tomorrow.
Have a great day, friends.
Written by:
Amarachi Obiego
(Lead Consultant on marketing strategy and a business growth expert )
