More than ever, good marketing is good storytelling. “Thanks to neuroscience, we’ve learned that no rhetorical tool is more effective than story. We know why stories work, how they work on the brain and, best of all, we know the formula,” Carmine Gallo, a business storytelling expert, recently told Business News Daily, a British resource for entrepreneurs and small business owners.
What makes a marketing “story” resonate with prospects? For starters, a clear target audience and a logical sequence for your story. Gallo describes it in terms of a three-act transformational approach of a classic story:
• Act I: The status quo – Set up the current state of the market or the world your customer lives in.
• Act II: The conflict – Present a problem your customer is facing, or will face in the future.
• Act III: The resolution – Explain how your product or service will solve this problem.
Make sure your brand is integrated into the story and is the hero. Provide a clear image of how your company can help a prospect and be authentic. Some of the most effective marketing campaigns use firsthand experiences of real employees or customers with real stories about the company and its product or service, says Gallo.
