A Story About Your Story
Last week my husband and I took our girls to New York City for their first time. We did many of the classic tourist things – we hopped on a ferry to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, took in amazing city views from Top of the Rock, rode bikes through Central Park, attended two Broadway shows, got up nearly before the crack of dawn to attend the Today Show, and so forth. It was great to see New York through our daughters’ eyes!
One hour before we left for the airport to come home, we happened upon a cute little store in Times Square selling baked goods. When I say “little,” I mean little. It was just a tad larger than my kitchen pantry. When we entered the store, I asked the people manning the store to tell me the story about the store.
“Ummm… What story?” they said.
“Tell me about your store. Are you the owner? How did the bakery get its start?”
“Oh! You mean how the owner was fired from her corporate job and decided to make a business following her passion?”
Bingo. That story.
To be honest, it was a short story and not totally unlike how many other small businesses get started, but it made me keep asking questions about the products, what makes them special, how many locations they have, and so forth.
Based on the fact that I liked the story behind the products, I ended up purchasing almost 10 times the amount of product I thought we would given that we were heading straight to the airport!
Beyond my purchase, I have now mentioned this business to a handful of people since I’ve been back home. One person I mentioned them to had read an article on them months before and had ordered thousands of dollars of product for corporate gifts. Because I asked questions about the bakery and learned about what they do, I mentioned that they also do really cool things with branding and logos too. It just so happened that the person I was talking with is an event planner for a Fortune 500 company.
Hmmm…. Wonder if she’ll think of them for other event needs now? I’ll be she does.
The moral of the story: Know your story and make sure that anyone communicating with your market knows your story. Don’t rely on people like me who have an interest in stories already, to pull it out. It doesn’t have to be jaw-dropping and outrageous. It just needs to be real.
NOTE: My private client spot for July has been filled. However, I’m taking on just one new private client in August who is ready to reap the rewards of telling their story and building their brand through the credibility-building power of media coverage and other communication methods. Will it be you? This service is best for someone who is already out there blazing a trail, doing big things and is ready to pursue media coverage for their great work. This may look like writing books, keynote speaking across the United States, hitting a major milestone in your business financially or number of years in business, etc…
© 2016 Meredith Liepelt, Rich Life Marketing
Meredith Liepelt is a Brand Strategist specializing in creating visibility for experts. For branding and marketing insights, challenges and inspiration, visit www.RisingStarPublicity.com.
This article may be reprinted when the copyright and author bio are included.
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