bwagy, the blog of Ben Young

A story is made up of pieces of information all pulled together.

How a story is pulled together depends on what we do as much as others.

For example if an artist releases an album and it sells millions, and the second doesn’t, they would be called a flop. This can be enough that the artist quits and gives up.

That is if the story ended there.

If they carried on, pulled through, released another album, and does well? A comeback!

It’s that extra element we can add to mould the story, extend it, make it our own.

When you watch a movie it is a combination of thousands of different shots, all put together to create a story.

Stand alone they have not nearly as much value as they do together.

A classic example in an action film, is a 2 second shot showing a police car driving through people with one ring of the siren.

The very next shot shows the stars, either in an ambulance, or talking to police, or off to the side talking to one another.  Everything is safe now, it’s ok, what’s next?

That 2 second shot communicates, things have quietened down, everyone is safe (the police have arrived) we can slow down for a while.

Your interactions with your customers are exactly the same, you need to build them into an overall experience.

Tourist operators are fantastic at this, they decide what experience they want to have and ensure that all interactions help build it.

Another example is board rooms, often outside the board room are picture connotating success (mountains, graphs of success, newspaper clippings), the books you can read are on super yahcts, luxury cards, golf.  All things associated with success.  This is a priming tactic so that you walk into the board room thinking of being successful.

What is the story you want your customers to have? Define that, and work backwards.

Ps. Apologies if you never watch a movie the same again!

I meet a company every now and again that say we have no marketing strategy [and therefore we don’t do marketing].

Your wrong.

You do.

You have the No Strategy Marketing Strategy.

In every transaction your organisation engages in you are marketing. Why? you are communicating.

Each of these interactions results in a story being told.  This is a story about you.

Is this bad? Not necessarily.  

However if you are already doing something (without realising it) – surely you can deliver more value by providing a focused strategy.

Sun Tzu’s famous strategy quote:

“All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved.”

Everyone can replicate the tactics of your No Strategy Marketing Strategy…..

So flag your No Strategy Marketing Strategy and get to it (you have all weekend!).

Everyone likes a good story

That’s why we tell them / share them / grow them

Now look at all your actions, what story does this create? How can i make it a better story…

When giving a gift, what story can they (the recipients) tell themselves and others?

When dealing with customers, ie red bull gives me wings…….

Go on tell a remarkable story you know you want to