When you think of your favorite brands, are they selling products or a story? People buy from brands they trust. And one of the best ways to build that trust is to tell a story that consumers can stand behind.
We speak with Zoltan Lorantffy, Global Marketing Director at Tidal Migrations, about why a brand selling convenience, empowerment, & community will always go further than product.
The connection between a brand and it’s story
Storytelling has been around forever. It’s a way to recount shared experiences and make sense of our world. And while mediums may change, the urge to tell stories will always be present. Looking at the digital age we find ourselves in now, we see just how alive and well storytelling is with brands.
Creating emotional connections to their customers, these brands have realized how important it is to build trust:
- Patagonia
- Nike
- Coca Cola
- Disney
- Microsoft
To build even greater trust with their customers, some brands have taken riskier approaches to their storytelling through the COVID-19 pandemic by openly supporting causes — something rarely seen by big players in the field previously. While the risks are high, the benefits of being able to tie support for a cause back to the brand are equally high.
”They’re not marketing their products. They are marketing their purpose; they’re marketing their promise.” — Zoltan Lorantffy
Not all good or bad
Does this mean that we can trust a brand completely if we trust their story? Not exactly. Yes, we can trust a brand to deliver on their promises with products, services, and the missions they believe in. But it doesn’t mean they’re without fault.
Imagine a company that pays its employees fairly, donates to charitable organizations, and delivers cutting-edge products that blow past the competition. You feel good about supporting that brand. However, the brand isn’t the best about using the most eco-friendly products.
Just like us, brands are continually learning how to be better.
”Just because you love a brand doesn’t mean you necessarily have to agree with everything they do.” — Zoltan Lorantffy”
Understanding what a brand really is
When most people think of a brand, they think of the logo, a tagline, or a name that distinguishes them from other brands. According to Zoltan, that’s not an incorrect answer, but it’s not the complete answer either.
While there are many definitions, there’s one that stands out for Zoltan:
“A brand is a promise we make in the marketplace which we deliver to our customers every day,” he comments.
Brand components
To better understand what makes up a brand, Zoltan breaks it down into its components:
- Understanding: How well the brand’s consumers understand them.
- Consistency: Will a customer receive the same quality of product or service every time they purchase?
- Presence: Is the brand visible to consumers or is the brand hard to find?
- Protection: Is the internal data protected?
- Responsiveness: Can leadership make changes when they need to?
- Differentiation: What makes the brand unique?
- Clarity: How clear is the brand’s mission statement?
- Authenticity: Is it easy to tell that the brand is not fake?
”If you can build a story on all of these different things that we’re measuring, but then connect back to these main KPIs that we’re trying to get at, that is the most effective way to do it.” — Zoltan Lorantffy
How to improve your brand
If you’re a brand looking to improve your impact with customers, what is a definitive way to move towards that goal? Zoltan suggests getting everyone in the same room.
If you ask everyone what they think of the brand, you might be surprised to hear 10 different answers. This can lead to more conversation that narrows your brand’s story.
Once you have all the data points, you can analyze everything and come to a clearer vision of your brand’s story.
”From there, you can devise different things like a mission statement, or a tagline or different verbal identities.” — Zoltan Lorantffy
A key takeaway
Brand storytelling will continue to play an integral role in a brand’s success. If you’re looking to build trust for your brand, understanding each of your brand components and taking the time to strategize with your team on how to pinpoint the exact story you’re looking to tell to your audience will help you get there.
While the digital age may change how that trust is built with blockchain technology and NFTs, having consistent, constructive conversations with your team to make sure everyone is on board with the brand’s storytelling will keep customers coming back.
This post is based on an episode of the #FlipMyFunnel podcast. Check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.
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