Wiki Brands
Nine types of stories that people most like to talk about (Moffitt, 115, after Kelly, Beyond the Buzz: The Next Generation of Word-of-Mouth Marketing):
- Aspirations and beliefs help form emotional connections to a company. Occasionally, you meet an intense young person who really believes she can save the world. Maybe they can't articulate the next steps, but you are pretty sure they are going to figure them out.
- David versus Goliath stories let you root for the underdog. In Orange County we have start-ups galore. Ever heard one of them tell you how their product is going to unseat the market leader - and why? Try it with your product.
- Avalanche about to roll stories are inspiring. We got to watch Botox launch a couple years ago when it migrated from fixing diseases in the eyes to fixing wrinkles around the eyes. Those kinds of stories are all over the place. A coming example? Allergan (marketer of Botox) just got the LapBand approved for a more general portion of the population. Avalanche forming if you watch carefully.
- If you challenge assumptions, you might have a story that gets talked about. Wisconsin assumes that unions in state government don't mix any more. That is a story with assumptions going both ways. It'll be interesting to see how it comes out.
- Anxiety and uncertainty inspire action. The future in Bahrain certainly, and Egypt maybe, is uncertain. Folks there are taking action because they are inspired by the possibilities.
- Personalities give your company a face. Robert Grant spoke repeatedly about possibilities when you was President of a division at Allergan. Botox was something that clearly got him excited. He just moved on to lead a division of Bauch and Lomb. The story - his excitement about the story - about what B&L is going to do to mimic the Botox success isn't written yet. Believe me, when Grant finally starts talking about his plans, the story will be personal to him - and very interesting to you and I. And the Bauch and Lomb investors.
- How-to stories work. How to write a five work values statement is a good story. How to combine that values statement with short vision, mission, objectives, and strategy statements, and, then, get it on one page, is one of our most interesting how-to stories. And, oh, yes, it makes companies more profitable.
- Glitz and glam sell. Botox gets injected a lot on the Upper East Side in New York City. That story drives a lot of sales on the Upper West Side - and in the Bronx, and in, well, your town. For sure.
- Seasonal stories are interesting. In California we don't have fall, or spring, either, for that matter. We have flood season (or mud-slide season, more like), and fire season, and, every now and then, earthquake season. I used to meet with a CEO in a camper outside his abandoned manufacturing facility while we planned the next stages of his company's growth. Why outside? The building was, basically, rubble after the latest earthquake. That was a real story that he used to his advantage. Manufacturing went on in all sorts of places by a dedicated workforce who pitched in to save the company while they saved their community. What are your seasons?
What is your story?
Reference
Moffitt, Sean and Mike Dover. Wiki Brands. Reinventing Your Company in a Customer-Driven Marketplace. McGrawHill. 2011. www.wiki-brands.com