The importance of creating a compelling brand story for your startup
A primer on how early-stage companies can craft a compelling brand story that resonates with their target market.
Before your startup gets traction or a sales pipeline, it lives in a vacuum. Potential customers don't know who you are, and they don't care to know unless you can display your value to them.
That's where crafting a great brand story comes in.
Whether you’re a tech startup, an app development company, or an e-commerce business, your brand story should reflect the ‘why’ behind your business and show what makes you unique.
A great brand story isn't just about your company’s history. It doesn't lend itself to a simple tagline, logo, social media campaign, or kick-ass website. To get traction with your target market, you need a compelling brand story that resonates with their values, beliefs, wants, and needs; one that makes them pounce at the chance to engage with and buy from you.
This article explains what brand storytelling is, how you can craft a great brand story, and how to strengthen that brand story over time.
Let’s dive in.
What is brand storytelling and why is it important?
Brand storytelling defines your company’s identity and reason for existence. Your brand story is the foundation of your marketing strategy and defines your brand messaging, positioning, and more.
When executed properly, successful brand storytelling helps to:
Differentiate you from the competition
Build brand awareness
Build customer trust and confidence in your offering (especially for early-stage companies), and
Increase brand engagement
Customers and investors don't necessarily buy into your product - they buy into the story you're selling them of how your brand will improve people's lives. Successful brand storytelling is key to securing their support, enthusiasm, and money.
Brand story examples
Photo by Charlie Deets on Unsplash
Photo by Michał Kubalczyk on Unsplash
Tesla, for example, doesn’t just sell self-driving cars - they sell an eco-friendly future where humans are free from driving petrol and diesel vehicles and can focus on other things during their commutes. This great story has made Elon Musk one of the richest men in the world.
Likewise, Apple doesn’t just sell computers - they sell the possibility of creative magic and wonder; of being “different” from the norm. This is another powerful story that has turned Apple into a near-trillion-dollar company.
Now, unlike Apple and Tesla, you probably don't have the budget or resources to hire a brand agency to craft a great story. If you're like most founders, your time is limited and valuable - but there are steps you can take to craft a compelling brand story.
When should you craft your brand story and who should write it?
The earlier, the better.
Begin crafting your brand story as soon as you've identified the key benefits and competitive advantages of your product. You can write it yourself or with input from your co-founders and team members. Whether you just have a scrappy whiteboard or a full-fledged product marketing agency working on your story, you want to be able to communicate it as succinctly as possible.
How to craft a brand story: 4 key elements
As a brand storyteller, crafting a good story requires understanding the following things:
Your reason for existence
Your product
Your target audience
Your company culture
Let's explore each point in detail.
#1 Your reason for existing
What is your reason for existing?
You need a powerful and clear purpose for why you exist. Get very specific about the problem you’re solving; drill down to uncover the "pain" or "gap" between what your customers have today and what they want tomorrow.
What is your mission?
Your ‘purpose’ is your company's reason for being. Your mission is how you deliver on that purpose. It gives more detail about the problem you are solving and your approach to it.
What is your context?
Your brand story doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It exists within the context of the market you’re playing in and conditions outside your control. Consider not just what makes customers choose you now but also what might change in the future.
Here’s a simple template for your mission statement:
"Our mission is to [insert purpose here]. We achieve this by [insert strategy here]."
For example:
"Our mission is to provide a voice for people with Parkinson's disease. We achieve this by helping those with Parkinson's record and share their stories."
#2 Your product
What problem does your product solve?
The key to building a unique brand story is to first define the results you want your customers to have. Why should anyone care about the problem, and why haven’t previous solutions worked.
How does your product make customers feel?
Can you describe the emotional impact of your product or service in language that resonates with your ideal clients? How will they feel when they buy your product, use it, or think about it? What would they tell their friends about it?
Describe what you want your customers to feel - then deliver that experience.
How is your product different from the competition?
The best brands have a solid answer to this question. What makes you stand out from others in a meaningful way? Is it a product attribute, your marketing strategy, or your attitude? What makes you different?
#3 Your target audience
Who are your ideal customers?
Start with your target audience - the people who need what you offer and are willing to pay for it. Determine their demographics (location, industry, role, etc.), psychographics (values, goals, interests), and behaviors. Don't forget: your ideal customers are always "fictional" (proto-personas) until you find them.
What are their pain points?
On every hero's journey, there are challenges they need to grapple with. What problems are your customers struggling with? What do they want more of in their lives? How will your product or service help them communicate, feel, connect, or get things done better?
What's at stake if your ideal customer doesn't buy your product?
How would their emotional pain magnify? What’s the worst-case scenario for them?
💡 Tip: Don't forget that your brand is a promise. If you can’t deliver on your promise, you won't attract the right customers or build a sustainable business.
If you can't articulate the scale of the problem and how your product solves it, it might be time to reconsider your market, your offering, or the problem itself.
#4 Your company culture
What is your company story?
Define your company’s origin story - where it came from, what obstacles and habits it had to overcome, how it has evolved, and where it wants to go.
Who are you and what do you value?
This is more than just a bio of your founding team. It's about your values, your team, your beliefs, and the culture you've created. What do you believe? What motivates you? What are your key values?
This is about more than what you say; it's also about how you act. What external causes do you support? How is your business improving in the world, and what kind of impact do you want to have on society? What kind of cultural responsibility are you willing to take on as a brand marketer?
No matter how big or small the issue, make sure everyone internally knows the answers and represents the brand accordingly.
What are your goals?
What are your long-term goals? What do you want to achieve in 5-10 years?
This should be obvious from your strategy statement, but remember to include specific numbers and milestones in your story. You can also include recent accomplishments that prove how far you've come.
How do you work together?
This is the part that tells job applicants what it's like to work at your company. You want to be honest about your culture and make it clear that it's a good place to work. You can do this by highlighting specific examples of how your current employees appreciate your work environment.
Key considerations of brand storytelling
There are 5 key considerations for crafting a compelling brand story. These are:
Authenticity
Personality
Resonance
‘Problem, Solution, Results’
Suspense and intrigue
Let's explore each in turn.
1. Be authentic
A great brand story must be authentic to your business. When describing your brand, emphasize the unique benefits that set you apart from the competition. Tell a story in your own words about why customers should care about the problem you’re solving. Infuse emotion and empathy to keep them engaged.
2. Show personality
Be sure to show some personality when crafting your brand story. Use language that expresses yourself and shows why other people should buy from you, work with you, or even invest in you. Your company mission will help shape your brand identity and narrative.
Your brand story is only as interesting as you make it. Your audience wants to connect with you on a personal level, so take them on a hero's journey through the eyes of your brand. The more relatable you are, the stronger the emotional connection and brand loyalty you’ll build with your target audience.
3. Create characters your audience can resonate with
Your story is a narrative of the people involved in the company, so create relatable characters that your audience can root for. This might include your founders, employees, and current customers. Forming an emotional connection is key to a strong brand story.
4. Follow the 3-part formula of ‘Problem, Solution, Results’
A compelling brand narrative is made up of three parts: the problem, the solution, and the results. You start by outlining the problem that exists, then introducing your solution, and finally outlining the results you’ll bring to people's lives. This is much more relatable than merely talking about the features and functions of your product.
5. Use suspense and intrigue to keep them coming back
There is a fine line between boring and thrilling, so make your brand story memorable. Use all the elements of your personality, people, or product to keep your audience anticipating more. This can be through visual storytelling or other aspects of your content marketing strategy.
Review the above considerations periodically and adjust your marketing strategy where needed.
Craft your brand story today
Every startup needs a brand story. A vague and uncertain brand story, however, is worse than none at all. Like all stories, you need to start with the basics: what you stand for, the challenge you’re solving, and the heroes you’re championing.
Other details include how you’re different from your competitors, what makes your product unique, and where you plan to go next. The more specific your story is and the more clearly defined your brand narrative is, the more likely potential consumers are to believe in your brand and act upon that belief.
If you’re stuck on crafting a powerful brand story, we’ve created a brand story sprint for founding teams like yours to help you nail your brand voice, build brand awareness, and craft effective marketing campaigns. Get started on it today!
