Storytelling Your Business

Over the years I have met many a business owner that has tried to tell a decent story about their business. They felt they had a story to tell. They told that story and yet - no one was really all that interested in the story they were sharing.

So no, business storytelling is not just about sharing stories. While stories play a central role, business storytelling also encompasses the strategic use of narratives, metaphors, and analogies to convey information, engage the audience, and of course achieve specific business objectives.

Let me share this with you. It is the story of how one of my past businesses became the biggest conversation in a town of just 125,000.

The Storytelling Began.

The year was 1991 and I had just opened my second and huge hairdressing salon. This was a shop of 2000 sq ft. and felt ten times bigger at the time.

I had a major problem and it was this. How do I make my salons stand out from the other 35 salons in town? Also, at least 10 of these salons had been here for around 20-plus years.

One day I saw an advert for Paul Mitchel hair products. I noticed right away his adverts were nothing like what I had been used to seeing. The adverts all told a story. The story always revolved around the story of how their products were discovered in Hawaii. They used a plant named Awapuhi. this planet was unique and only grew in one place. The story went on and on.

I was intrigued, to say the least. These stories not only turned me into a buyer and supplier but they made me realise the power of stories. This was when I began to craft and tell the story of how we conducted every aspect of our hairdressing salon. Storytelling then becomes a factor in our success. The salon was so successful that we went from the position of new and unknown to the No.1 hairdressing salon in that town.

This was all due to carefully created storytelling that was designed to emotionally involve the readers - the salon clients.

Business Storytelling May Involve:

1. Anecdotes: Brief, personal accounts or examples that illustrate a point, provide context or highlight a specific experience or lesson.

2. Metaphors: Using symbolic language to draw comparisons between unrelated concepts or ideas. Metaphors can simplify complex concepts, clarify meaning, and evoke powerful imagery.

3. Analogies: Drawing parallels between different situations or domains to help explain complex ideas in a more familiar context. Analogies can aid understanding and make information more relatable.

4. Data storytelling: Presenting data in a narrative format, using visualizations, storytelling techniques, and compelling narratives to make data more accessible, meaningful, and persuasive.

5. Emotional storytelling: Eliciting emotions in the audience through storytelling techniques, such as creating empathy, evoking inspiration, or triggering a sense of urgency. Emotional storytelling can enhance engagement and create a lasting impact.

6. Personal storytelling: Sharing personal experiences, challenges, or lessons learned to establish credibility, build trust, and create a connection with the audience.

Business storytelling involves selecting the most appropriate narrative techniques for the specific context, audience, and objectives. The goal is to create a compelling and memorable communication experience that goes beyond dry facts and engages the audience on an emotional and intellectual level.

The fact is from what I have seen and experienced over the years almost every targeted customer loves a business story. When business storytelling is done well it will remain in the mind of your reader as all good stories do.

Alan Forrest Smith