Setting and Character | How to Make Seemingly Boring Brands Interesting
Now, if you’ve downloaded my guidebook, then you already know exactly how to structure a customer testimonial. I’d say that often, my challenge isn't in structuring the story itself, but figuring out how to make that story interesting.
That's what I faced when I began my partnership with Southeastern Paper Group.
I'm not insulting SEPG when I say they're essentially toilet paper salesmen (seriously, I have their GM’s on camera telling me this). They're a distributor of the essential supplies that every brick and mortar businesses need: boxes, cleaning supplies, and disposible paper products (e.g. toilet paper).
See? Not exactly exciting.
In fact, the products SEPG sells are so essential, they're invisible.
Think about it. Whenever you order takeout, you’re focused on the meal. All of your attention is on the food itself. Rarely, if ever, do you think about the trays, boxes, wrappers, and bags that food is in. You completely take those products for granted.
So, when your topic is so mundane that it risks being boring... what angle do you take with your story?
Setting
Character
On the brand level, I stepped back and looked at these products conceptually. I asked an oddly lofty question: what do these products mean?
That’s when Southeastern Paper Group really came into focus: they provide the essential product foundation upon which their customers (often essential businesses themselves) can do business.
In the right setting, their story would flourish. Our goal was to find customers doing interesting things with these products. Then we frame SEPG as the provider that makes this all possible.
Throughout the series, one of the best examples of a great setting is Palmetto Goodwill.
So that checks our setting box. But what about character? Well I turned my attention away from what SEPG sold to how they sold it, and that’s when I saw their true value, their character. Not only are they selling essential products, but they’re conducting business in an essential, old-school way: person-to-person. It was the relationships that the reps and drivers formed with their customers that really set them apart in a meaningful way.
My favorite rep/customer duo was captured in the Foodshare Bamberg story.
What makes an engaging customer story isn’t emphasizing your product, or even your service. It’s allowing the authentic experience that the customer enjoys to come to the surface. Often, this is especially the case for relationship-based businesses, that’s where they find the value in what you do.
How about you sit back and let your customers tell your story for you. Let’s partner together on your next testimonial series. Reach out to me here.