Story-Driven Brand | Checkbox Marketing & Being Intentional

We talk a lot about purpose-driven brands...but what does that even mean? Does your business have a real purpose…or is it something you quickly threw out there to satisfy the millennials (but seriously)? 

I’d like to offer you a different way to approach this. A way to have a brand with real purpose, not just something to check off.  A way to start having more fun with your business.  Today I’m discussing how to have a story-driven brand.

Shift Your Perspective | It’s About Customer Value

Recently, I’ve been getting on my soapbox about the risk of seeing marketing as checkbox. Instead of connecting with our customers, it’s easy to just start checking off marketing tasks. It’s a symptom of being stuck inside our own organizations and forgetting about our customer.

Instead, I want to help you become customer-centric again. Without the right perspective, building a customer profile or brand story will inevitably just become a task. 

To avoid checkbox marketing, we need a perspective shift. We must realize our business isn't designed to serve the needs of the business.  We are there for our customers. Even if we need more revenue, we should think of that as “added customer value”  -- not more money for the business. 

Without making this perspective shift, we risk becoming a scam. The business exists just to bring in money, but never connects or adds significant value to the customer. 

If you think your business has gone off the rails and become inward focused, give yourself some grace. Most businesses end up there without intervention. 

The Purpose-Driven Joke | Is Your Purpose a Checkbox?

How can you avoid becoming a scammy business or failing to provide the most possible value? It’s all about your intent and operating from a true sense of purpose.

As I hinted earlier, many companies have treated becoming a “purpose-driven brand’ like a checkbox. When the purpose-driven movement hit, it no longer seemed okay to just provide the best chicken sandwich. Or reliably change someone’s tires. Business leaders and marketers started to believe their business wasn’t effective or valuable unless it served a greater purpose. 

Due to this pressure, businesses scrambled to come up with a purpose for their organizations...many seemed fake or inauthentic.  However, they got that box checked off so they can provide “meaningful work” to satisfy the millennials.

But you know, millennials aren’t stupid. People aren’t stupid. They can sniff off out a fake. They can tell when a message is hollow. 

Everyone is looking for something that’s actually meaningful and valuable. We want to do work that truly adds value, not work that supports a fake corporate purpose. 

Acting with Intent | Putting a Soul Into Your Business

Do you want to put soul back into business?  If so, I have a framework for you. Instead of creating tools like the customer profile or customer journey to satisfy your marketing checklist, start using them to activate the story world of the company you exist within. 

That’s where the fun starts. You have a part to play. So step out of your business shoes (or sneakers) and embody the character your customer is seeking. From that perspective, think very deeply about your customer. How can you add value for them? How should you speak to them?

Entering this story world makes work fun again. Of course, you could continue to work from a place of anxiety where you just want to clear off your plate. But why would you when the world of play and imagination awaits? It make take some more effort, but the reward is exponential.

Leverage Myth | Take Your Brand Story Seriously

Here’s my invitation for you: enter the story world you’ve created for your brand and take it seriously. 

Crafting your brand story isn't just for your customer.  It's a tool for empathy and helps you understand them...but it’s more than that. It's a tool to add magic and a little bit of the fantastical into your work.

It takes a little bit of imagination to envision your customer’s world and start painting a picture. That's why I love emphasizing mythical archetypes. People have been telling the same stories for centuries and they fall into patterns. Knowing your specific archetype helps you dive fully into the story world. You get to leverage myth.

But you can only do that if you allow yourself to fully embody your brand story. Once you start to play within your story-driven brand, it’s going to give your work purpose and meaning. It makes work fun and creative. 

So start seeing tools like your brand story, customer profile, and creative briefs as an invitation into the story world of your brand. They are the keys unlocking your story-driven brand. They grant permission to use your imagination and have fun at work. 

That’s what makes a story-driven brand actually purposeful. It’s not a purpose you just pulled out of thin air. You’ve crafted a story world and given yourself permission to play there. 

What do I mean by “play within the story world”? It's approaching your role inside of your organization as: “I now exist within my customer’s story to add value to them along their journey. Everything I'm doing now is for that purpose. Let me start imagining how to do that.”

What might that look like? If you’re writing a blog article, think about crafting it just for them. How can you add value on their journey?  How can they read it then walk away with a piece of treasure? You can apply that same thinking to a lead gen, social media post, or event. How is this helping my customer along their journey and rewarding them?

Now marketing is no longer a checkbox. You’ve put intent back into your work, but it’s more than that --  you’ve traded the burden of anxiety and overwhelm for the joy of imagination and play.