You probably have a brand story. You’re just not using it.

‘Storytelling’ has become one of those words that makes business owners wince. It’s shown up everywhere – like a trend – and it sounds like something expensive that agencies invented.

So let’s strip it back.

Your story is actually the answer to a few plain questions. Why did you start? Why do you do it the way you do? What do you refuse to compromise on, even when it would be easier? Every business has answers to these, but most just never say them out loud.

And that’s a waste, because those answers are doing real commercial work when you use them – and going spare when you don’t.

They’re why a customer picks you over a competitor with the same price list.

Here’s an example:

Two web design firms offered the same service, but one of them started because the founder got fed up watching customers being overcharged for shoddy work. That’s not decoration. That’s a reason to choose. And that’s what made them memorable.

Nobody retells your feature list at a barbecue. They retell the bit about how you did the job differently. Facts inform, but stories travel.

And your story goes everywhere to keep everything you say consistent. When you know what you stand for, the website, the proposals, the social posts – they all stop being written from scratch each time – because they’re all drawing from the same well. That’s less effort, not more.