When I work as a business coach with women business owners, we often discuss marketing and sales. These are the revenue-driving engines of your business. One of the first hurdles we need to overcome though, is the entrepreneur’s natural tendency to want to be all things to all people. This leads to confusion in the marketplace as customers scratch their heads and try to figure out exactly who you are and what you offer.
Companies need to be clear about their “story,” in order to help their customers understand the benefits that they and their company have to offer.
What’s a story? One of the clearest explanations of story I’ve read, is described in a book about the Ferrari-Carano Vineyards and Winery: A Very Good Year: The Journey of a California Wine from Vine to Table
- “right on Story–Italian, homey, delicious, authentic.”
- “the wine and The Story are totally congruent.”
- “The facade of the winery…was right on Story.”
Everything that the owners of Ferrari-Carano, Don and Rhonda Carano, do is done with a keen awareness of how it supports The Story.
What is your company’s Story? What do people know when they buy your product or service? Think about the Stories of big companies.
- Wal-Mart’s story is economy. They are about cheapest prices. There’s an undercurrent of The Story that they try to suppress–companies that have gone out of business trying to meet their prices, out-sourcing after they gave up Sam Walton’s “made in the U.S.A” part of The Story.
- The Body Shop had a Story of ecological awareness and sourcing their products world-wide to provide a way to make a living to those who were struggling.
- Starbucks Story, which has taken a beaten at times, was about the “Third Place,” a comfortable neighborhood coffee shop where you could always feel at home.
You may also be aware of times when company’s went “off-Story;” when they no longer lived up to what they promised.
I’m sure you can think of other examples of Story. What’s yours? What do you stand for and what do you want people to think of your company? It’s best if they are aligned, although companies do try to make up a Story to tell. If the Story is too far off from your values, or you stop thinking about the Story when you make major decisions about your company, you’ll have a problem down the line.
At Wise Woman Shining, our Story is about integrity, inspiration and intelligence. We hope that you see that in every interaction with us.
