Monday, July 22, 2013
' Story Telling ' companies Vs ' Story Doing ' Companies
TY MONTAGUE
Discussions about story and storytelling are pretty fashionable in marketing circles. I have ambivalent feelings about this. On the one hand, as a lifelong advocate for the power of story in business, I find this very encouraging... For all companies, having a story and knowing that stories are crucial steps to achieving success. On the other hand, I'm worried that too many marketers think that telling their story through advertising is enough. It's not. In fact, those that think this way do so at their own risk because there is a new kind of company on the rise that uses story in a more powerful way — and it runs a more efficient and profitable business as a result.
In my new book, True Story: How to Combine Story and Action to Transform Your Business, I call these new companies storydoing companies because they advance their narrative through action, not communication. Storydoing companies — emphasise the creation of compelling and useful experiences — new products, new services and new tools that advance their narrative by lighting up the medium of people. What I mean by this is that when people encounter a storydoing company, they often want to tell all their friends about it. Storydoing companies create fierce loyalty and evangelism in their customers. Their stories are told primarily via word of mouth, and are amplified by social media tools.
(From "Good Companies are Storytellers. Great Companies are Storydoers")
Discussions about story and storytelling are pretty fashionable in marketing circles. I have ambivalent feelings about this. On the one hand, as a lifelong advocate for the power of story in business, I find this very encouraging... For all companies, having a story and knowing that stories are crucial steps to achieving success. On the other hand, I'm worried that too many marketers think that telling their story through advertising is enough. It's not. In fact, those that think this way do so at their own risk because there is a new kind of company on the rise that uses story in a more powerful way — and it runs a more efficient and profitable business as a result.
In my new book, True Story: How to Combine Story and Action to Transform Your Business, I call these new companies storydoing companies because they advance their narrative through action, not communication. Storydoing companies — emphasise the creation of compelling and useful experiences — new products, new services and new tools that advance their narrative by lighting up the medium of people. What I mean by this is that when people encounter a storydoing company, they often want to tell all their friends about it. Storydoing companies create fierce loyalty and evangelism in their customers. Their stories are told primarily via word of mouth, and are amplified by social media tools.
(From "Good Companies are Storytellers. Great Companies are Storydoers")
