People buy from people. Despite the acceleration of digitalisation in 2020, with Statista research finding more people than ever are researching and purchasing products and services online, consumers are eager for human interactions, moving away from faceless brands and big corporations. Following reports from GlobalData that saw surge of people supporting local businesses during the pandemic, and many global companies scrambling to reconnect with their audiences’ new challenges, storytelling has become a key factor in the way you market your brand and vision, allowing you to share a real human connection with your customer. It helps consumers to build a relationship with something more than just your offering and communicates that you really understand their needs and desires.
Brand storytelling can be defined as the demonstration of why your brand exists, how it began, and what it wants to do in the future. It combines the factual and emotional journey of your brand, sharing why it matters to consumers, and consequently, why they should choose your hotel or venue over your competitors.
“People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it. And what you do simply proves what you believe.” – Simon Sinek
Read on to find out why brand storytelling should be an integral part of your marketing and communications strategy:
Create engaging content
Brand storytelling is more than just sharing a timeline of how you got to where you are. It is about demonstrating what’s behind your product offering. Sharing behind the scenes insights, customer anecdotes of their own experiences at your hotel or venue, or a community-driven project you’ve delivered are simple content ideas to share your brand’s story without the need to hard-sell, and if people engage with these stories, they’re much more likely to buy from you, with content agency Headstream’s report stating 55% of consumers will purchase a product in the future if they love a brand story.
Increase memorability
Your brand’s story is unique to you, and with the hospitality and venue markets becoming increasingly crowded, and additional competition from new categories and disruptors such as Airbnb or WeWork, sharing your story can be a simple and effective way to differentiate when your product offering is similar to others.
According to Dean Burnett’s book Idiot Brain: What Your Head Is Really Up To , remembering someone’s face is easier than remembering their name, therefore combining the two should increase brand recall. Cognitive psychologist Jerome Bruner found that messages delivered as stories can be up to 22 more memorable than facts and being front of mind means consumers are more likely to visit your website when researching their next trip or event.
Drive loyalty
Fostering meaningful connections with your target audience by sharing values and emotional parallels involves your potential and existing customers in more than just purchasing a product. By including them in your story, you can build trust, and therefore they are more likely to become returning customers, or at least be brand advocates of your purpose.
Boost internal advocacy
As psychology professor Paul J. Zak states, employees are more motivated by their organisations transcendent purpose than their transactional purpose. By sharing your brands story, you not only engage consumers, but you also engage your own team, making them empathise with your customers needs, and also buy into your brands vision, increasing their enthusiasm and performance, leading to better employee retention and satisfaction, and better results.
Your brand’s story should be a consistent and central part of your marketing and communications strategy, acting as the pivotal reason for every campaign and message as to why you are doing what you are doing. It ensures you build a human connection with your audience, sharing the unique reasons why they should build a relationship with you, and engaging them in more than just your product offering. In short, it can be the defining reason people continue to use your hotel or venue.
Contact Custard Communications today to find out how our leading marketing experts can integrate brand storytelling into your marketing and communications strategy here.