Heard Any Good Stories?

The “branding” you see the big corporations do, with their marketing consultants and glitzy, high-budget advertising campaigns, can make the rest of us wonder what’s the whole point of it. Yet personal branding—the kind that shows your customers the real you—has never been more important, especially for small businesses. Your personal brand makes you unique and memorable. And it can make the difference whether your customers decide to do business with you or the store down the street.

How do successful small businesses develop their personal brands, without the billboards, TV commercials and print “image” ads? Telling stories is one way. Stories make people feel more connected to you, closer to you—as if you have let them see “behind the stage.” So take a few minutes and start jotting down your stories. You can use them in speaking opportunities, at networking events, on your web site, in newsletters and in sales materials. Possible subjects:

• How you thought of your business name. We told the story of the pitiful, starving, white kitten that showed up at our door the day after we named our business “Cat’s Eye Group” and how, amazingly, when we turned him over, we saw that he had one green eye and one blue eye. Clients remember that story to this day—and rarely do they forget our name!

• What motivated you to start your business. Why you do what you do, what challenges you’ve had and how you overcame them.

• The story of an employee who took an interesting career detour to join your company. Where did they come from, what made them come to you and what do they bring to your business?

• Where you personally came from, how that shaped your values, your successes (and failures), what you still dream of doing (even if it has nothing to do with your business). People enjoy hearing the personal stuff about you and will remember it, which in turn helps to build and strengthen your personal brand.

Start writing your stories, and use them to make you and your brand more memorable.

 

© Marketing Hotspots 2008 - Vol. 1, Issue 4