YOUR STORIES ARE YOUR CURRENCY
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“You can’t sell something until you’ve entered someone’s mind.”
Beth Comstock, CMO of GE
Most companies are built from the passionate belief that something can be done better. That passion lives in the core values of the brand. In smaller startups, it is easy for those values to shine as the initial momentum carries them forward. But as companies grow, those values can become dull over time. The best way to reflect those values is from the point of view of the people most affected by it–the end user; in this case, the employees. Like customers, they need to be inspired by the brand and share its values in order to feel trust in the organization.
By telling the customer’s story, we see the brand woven into the context of the human journey, complete with adversity and triumphs. We recognize universal emotions in the characters on screen and, like a magnet, we become invested in their struggle. We enter the story and go along for the ride.
This is how customers become engaged. In order to care, they need to see themselves in the story.
Shifting from the controlled message of the top stakeholders to the dynamic, authentic voice of employees is a bold move, and doing so sends a clear message that the lifeblood of the company lives in the people on the front lines.
These are your organization’s first responders. These are your heroes.
This is how this company could have reached its employees. By letting them be the heroes of their own challenges and accomplishments; by letting them share their journey and vision of things to come, they open a door for all other employees to become part of the story.
That story is the brand.
