What’s Your Story?
Every picture tells a story: Wicked owner Brian Cooley in front of Pier Avenue store, wearing a Topo Ranch T-shirt and holding a single speed, coaster brake Linus Classic.
If you’ve ever been to our Wicked+ store at 145 Pier Ave., there’s a good chance you’ve heard our story. The one about how we accidentally started a retail shop that simply sells goods we like (from whole bean coffee to bikes, shirts and skateboards) out of an office we originally subleased as a meeting space for our marketing agency. It’s a story that people inevitably ask us to share with them because they want to know how a store like ours came to be.
When people hear our story — and the passion behind why we sell the products we sell — they are almost always more likely to want to support what we are doing.
The reason why is people want to feel like they are part of something. They want to be in the know and trust and relate to the person they are doing business with. The same goes for anyone selling a product or offering a service. Your customer likes to know where and how your product was made and what makes it unique. They like to know why you do what you do.
We sell Topo Ranch T-shirts, but we aren’t just selling T-shirts. We’re selling an alternative to the everyday surf-brand. We’re selling a T-shirt that is made here in California, embodies the California lifestyle, is 100 percent organic cotton and is designed in Venice Beach by one of the T-shirt company’s owners. It is these things that make the shirt more than just another shirt on a rack, and it’s what resonates with customers who walk into our store.
This focus on storytelling is the same for the clients we work. Take for example, the World Poker Tour, a top-rated poker TV show that hosts poker tournaments around the world. Our work for the World Poker Tour isn’t just about promoting their TV show and tournaments. We see ourselves as storytellers for the brand, and that means sharing stories that make the WPT unlike any other poker enterprise. We do this by giving fans behind-the-scenes looks at the tour and insight into players and the personalities on the show. We use a World Poker Tour branded blog to tell the stories of everyday people who win a chance to compete against their idols and perhaps beat. We then use social media channels, like Facebook and Twitter, to further share these stories.
Another great example of storytelling is the Hermosa Beach Chamber of Commerce. (Disclaimer: Wicked+ worked with the Chamber in launching its blog but all of the content is created by the Chamber and its staff.) The 100-year-old Chamber went from using old-school soliciting efforts to getting current members involved in the outreach process by telling their own stories of how the Chamber has helped them and others in the community. The Chamber has also focused on sharing more stories about its members and events via the Chamber’s blog and Facebook and Twitter accounts. This sharing resonates with local businesses and puts the emphasis on engagement over solicitation, and makes it more likely that others will want to be part of the Chamber.
What’s most powerful about storytelling is when it goes from you telling the story to your customer doing the storytelling. As a customer of many South Bay businesses myself, I tell the story of my favorite shops daily. If someone asks me where to get a cup of coffee, I don’t simply say “get coffee at Planet Earth,” I enthusiastically share their story: “If you’re serious about coffee go to Planet Earth. They have a great roast called Pacific blend and they’ll make it by the cup if you ask for it pour-over style.”
There’s nothing new about storytelling and the effect it can have on your brand. What is relatively new are the numerous social media channels, like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, that allow you to tell your story to a much bigger audience in one fell swoop, status update, video or tweet. These tools allow you to constantly be telling your story, rather than merely promoting. More importantly, they allow you to engage directly with your customers on a regular basis and make them a part of your story. And because your story is always evolving, you always have something new to share, which can further strengthen the connection you have with your customer.
What story are you telling about your company, products and services? Is it resonating with your customers? Are they sharing it with others? And are you providing the best tools, whether online or off, for them to share these stories? These are the questions you need to be asking yourself as you craft your story and share it with others.
Brian Cooley is the co-founder of Wicked+, a branding, communications and web-design agency that operates a retail shop out of their office. Stop by and tell them your story.