From Alberta Agriculture
In the global marketplace there are literally millions (and probably billions) of different businesses in existence. They come in all shapes and sizes. Most are completely different from your operation and will have little or no impact on your success or failure as a business. Most will not be competing for your customers.
As you shift the focus inward and downward, to a continental, national, regional, and then local scale, you will start to see more and more operations that have similar interests and products. You will certainly see some degree of overlap in the customer base. In many ways, this depends largely on the items or products that you produce. The reality is that there are a finite number of customers in a given area for you to sell your product(s) or experience(s) to.
Basic economic principles suggest that the demand for something can be tied to the supply of that same something. With changes in supply, demand changes accordingly. Assuming that one variable is fixed, as supply decreases, demand may increase and vice versa. The only way to fix this is to either A) adjust supply to meet demand, B) create more demand, or C) create a different demand stream entirely.
Option C actually has two separate streams or options. You could produce something different from others, thus entering a different demand group or, alternatively, you could differentiate yourself from the others in your demand group, at least enough to stand out in some way from the others around you.
So, how do you differentiate yourself from other operations? How do you create that connection with your potential customers? In direct marketing channels, it hinges, in large part, on how you tell YOUR story.
In basic terms, a story is made of approximately five main components, including plot, character, setting, point of view and theme/style. The different parts of a story are combined together to grab and hold the attention and interest of the audience. Good stories resonate with the audience, both because of their content and the way that they are presented or delivered.
If you are going to tell your story, you first have to BUILD your story. You know your operation. Who are you? What do you do? What is your history? How did you come to be? What do you offer? These are the basic framework elements of your story, probably representing the plot and maybe some of the character elements of the story. All of these things, and more, go into your story.
Look deeper. What makes you special or unique? Look for additional character elements, those traits that make you stand out from the crowd. What about your setting? Where are you located? What about thematic or style elements? All of these add meat to the bones and spice to the pudding and will draw and keep the interest of your audience (existing and potential customers). They create a mental picture for the customer and will help to form a personal interest or connection with them.
From this point, you have to TELL your story. There are two angles to this. One side relates to the TOOLS that you use to tell your story. The other side relates to the WAY that you communicate the elements of your story to your audience.
Initial contact tools are meant to create visibility and to catch the attention of the audience. Think of them as “sparkly bits”. These may include websites, promotion / advertising, or personal contact and communication. Further contact is required to build on that initial contact and create more solid and stable ties. These may include newsletters, social media, as well as continued advertising and personal contact in various settings. They also include the experiences that customers have with you and your products. Use a variety of tools to make visual and mental connections with your audience.
When it comes to HOW you tell your story, you are trying to capture your audiences’ attention and then hold that interest. You are targeting different parts of your customer’s personality. You might use humour or other social-based elements (heart), build on truth, knowledge or interest (head/mind), link up with common interest themes (heart/mind) or try and establish personal connections and relationships, which engender loyalty (heart). Depending on the method that you are using, and the audience, you could use passion, interaction, or interest.