Got your attention, didn't I? Stories do that. We're drawn to stories because they're interesting and relevant. Stories connect us with heroes and knaves, the unforgettable characters from our past and present. They engage. They unite. They educate. They persuade. They sell.

That's not the case with most business communications. So much of what passes for marketing messages, print or electronic, are so bland they're meaningless. Some product or solution descriptions are written in such bloated, obfuscated language they offer little clue about what the company sells.

As a result, marketing programs that communicate in corporate puffspeak are outrageously expensive because nobody gets the message. By contrast, marketing programs based on storytelling offer a high return on investment. Stories provide context and meaning, exactly what marketers strive to do. They have the power to strengthen or change corporate cultures and generate superior business results.

Hewlett-Packard (now Agilent) used storytelling to change the results and culture of an entire division. In 1995, the Integrated Circuit Business Division (ICBD) wanted to improve morale and decrease employee turnover. Part of the solution included visualizing the kind of story the division wanted to see written about it in the business press. The story would highlight the group's innovative spirit and flexibility.

Management then developed ways to change the stories that employees and customers were telling within the division. They began to more closely align communications with the success story they hoped to see. A year later, a reporter from Forbes magazine called and requested an example of how company culture motivates employees. The division told its story about how it created an environment where people did their best work. When the story appeared in the Nov. 18, 1996 issue, the division's personnel manager was quoted extensively.

Stories simplify complex concepts and events. In ancient times, the Greeks explained thunder, the changing seasons and other natural events by attributing them to gods with unique personalities. Today's companies face challenges no less Herculean as they try to explain management direction and product benefits to customers, investors, employees, partners, the media and the business community.

To use stories as the cornerstone of your marketing program, focus on reality and details. Specifics make a story strong; generic language makes it weak. Use real people doing real things to illustrate the points you want to communicate. Describe situations, real-world business problems including places and time frames. What color was the exterior of the building where the company got its start? What kind of munchies did the first employees snack on while developing early generations of products?

To generate a return on investment, marketing messages have to be remembered and understood. Companies that use real stories -- good, bad, funny, unusual or dramatic -- will succeed in breaking through the clutter and owning a unique position in each stakeholder's mind. The resulting story will be about greater profits and that, surely, is the most interesting story of all.

Copyright © Pam Greenberg, Marketing For Hire, 2001

About the author

Pam Greenberg is owner of Marketing For Hire, a Denver, CO firm offering contract marketing services to B2B companies. Ph: 303-782-9510, E-mail: pam.greenberg@comcast.net

 

 

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