Stories too are used oftentimes to warn against something, i.e, dangers of smoking, selling of your votes, dangers of unprotected sex, etc and if stories are used that often, it shows it has some level of power and effectiveness attached to it.

Stories are important because of some few reasons;

1. People are facing a lot these days. They need something to unwind very unpleasant days, and may not want to listen if what you have to say isn’t “interesting” enough.

2. Stories captivate people. People want to hear a great story. Why not capitalize on sending your message, or selling your product through that? E.g, advertisements.

3. Stories are great ways to motivate a call to action, even often without saying it.

Business Storytelling Examples

Apple had it’s fair share of success specifically because of this – Storytelling. Steve Jobs was often referred to as the master of the story because it was like he could elicit some sort of expected responses from people using stories in his talks, advertisements, product launches, and more. One reason a lot of people will forever look up to Steve Jobs isn’t based on his accomplishments (yes, it was quite significant), but specifically because of his story. He had an awesome one, and it is safe to say, that it has birthed quite a number of successful entrepreneurs worldwide.

Get a great team of storytellers or invest in business storytelling books and business storytelling training to learn storytelling techniques best for your business.  Start to use stories on a regular basis. Instead of literally saying the use of your products, rephrase that message, that tagline, that benefit, to something that could paint an image in the mind of those reading it. Because that’s simply what it is – painting pictures in people’s minds. So, start to paint pictures that “mere” words cannot and see the power of storytelling marketing in your sales.

What stories can you tell with your logo? What does your brand colour say about your business? What does the shape and elements of your logo say about your business? These are stories you want to start telling and people would be able to connect with you easier and faster.

Research says that people respond 60,000 times faster to images than plain text. If that’s the case, help them paint that picture, and you have a hold on your clients.

Also, understand that the emotions you’d want to raise in the process is also very important. Do you want anger? Love? Motivation? Or trigger your customers or prospective customers to respond to your story in a certain way? Of course, there are subtle ways you could pull this off and that’s why you need someone who has mastered the art on your team.

You could also use stories to build your business brand. Look at your business’ core values, and core philosophies. If you do not have one, start putting one down now. Because you want to communicate those values in your story, if you want to effectively communicate your brand to people.

Conclusion

The importance of the art of storytelling in business is HUGE! It doesn’t matter the size of your business, big or small. The important thing is to be out there, especially in a receptive way to your clients or prospects. Paint a picture that you want people to react to in a positive manner. Do that often. Master the art and watch that multiply your business’ success 100X.