Inspiring Brand with Customer Loyalty

Brand storytelling and narrative structure are powerful enough to create loyal, raving fans who share your story with their networks.

Use a premise to communicate your business purpose.

Why did you start your company? How is what you do better than everyone else? The object of telling your story is to build a case for the premise, which for you is your purpose. When you’re establishing your narrative set the stage for how consumers understand your business.

Toms is one good example. They don’t just sell shoes, fair trade coffee and sunglasses – they sell social good and taking a stand for something. Their customers know exactly where they stand because every element of their branding reminds customers of their mission. Toms takes every opportunity to seed their story. Just take a look at one of their catalogues – stories of social good are woven throughout product pages featuring their latest fashions. They name their product "Your Impact", "Wear your Impact".

Satisfy your customers with a resolution.

The resolution is perhaps the most satisfying part of a good story. It’s the event that changes everyone or everything. This is where the powerful villain becomes weak, or the office peon becomes the leader of the company. The problem has been solved and this is the outcome.

Toms creates this satisfaction for its customers by showing the positive change their mission is creating. They depict this part of their story through images and stories of smiling children, and running tallies of how many people whose vision they’ve helped restore, all of which they credit to purchases made by the hero. That creates repeat purchases.

Consumers have no shortage of options and the only way to become the leader in their mind is to build a narrative into your brand. Make sure your purpose is clear, your position is compelling, your hero (your customer) is the star of the show, and you demonstrate the definitive change your solution provides.