The need to adopt a successful corporate marketing strategy is fundamental to the success of any organisation. There are various means by which companies strive to sell their products and services and one of those is through the medium of corporate storytelling. In this article, we explain what marketers mean when they speak about corporate storytelling and explain how it can benefit a business in the context of its marketing. We also look at other ways in which it may help your business outside of the context of product marketing.
What is corporate storytelling?
One of the fundamental aims of corporate storytelling is to assist in communication between an organisation and its present and potential customers. A well constructed story can create a narrative that conveys to customers the core principles of a company, its practices, corporate identity, ethos and value base. When devising a corporate story to market a company’s products similar principles to those used in traditional storytelling apply. This means that the corporate story should have a clear and understandable plot, with a defined route from the beginning to the end. The message in the storyline should be clear, honest and consistent.
The attention of the reader or viewer must be maintained. This involves leading them through the story to its natural conclusion, which, ultimately, will take the form of a hook to persuade them to invest in the organisation, its products and services. The story may also have a “hero”, which could be the organisation itself or the customer. Finally, the story should be in language that is easily understood to ensure that the reader or viewer does not leave it before its conclusion.
How corporate storytelling can help your business
- Marketing is one of the most challenging parts of getting your products to your target audience. Storytelling is a versatile way of attracting a customer’s attention. We are all interested in stories. After all, the human race has been story telling, in one form or another, for millions of years. The attraction of a story is, therefore, well proven. Stories form a part of our everyday lives and we are all able to relate to them. In that respect, corporate storytelling is a valuable business tool to attract the attention of the customer and market the products of a company.
- Corporate storytelling can also contribute to the overall success of an organisation by providing a link both between its management and workforce and between the employees themselves. If the aims and aspirations of a business are shared by the management and its staff, there is a greater likelihood of corporate success.
- Every business aims to recruit the best possible employees, who share its corporate goals and identify with its practices and philosophy. A clear corporate story can be an effective way of conveying to a prospective employee just what the company expects of them and can be a very valuable recruitment tool.
Corporate storytelling is a useful component of a business and, if adopted properly, can make a valuable contribution to its overall success in a variety of ways. To find out how TallBoy can make a difference to your storytelling abilities contact us today.