Beyond the Box: Stand Out with Story & Brand

Hello and welcome to the show. Before we begin, apologies because I'm making today's recording not in my usual space and my little ones are around right now, so expect to hear noise of them chatting in the background and maybe sounds from their tablet spilling through. OK. So we're going back to the case study that we've been working on for the past couple of days and that is looking at people whose business is in the curated hamper and gift giving space.

And we're looking at ways for differentiating them in business. Because after all, everybody has that as a primary business challenge. That is, you've been in the business for a while, the year two, 3-4 years and it looks like every single year upstarts are coming in and people just want to commoditize you guys. And every time people are trying to set you guys apart on price, people are trying to price you down and make you feel like the only thing that tells you apart from person AB or C is just the price.

And so we've been looking at ways of differentiating yourself. Now this is your first time of listening to the podcast. You have to skip back maybe five or six episodes. If you're into the whole curated hamper and gift giving space thing, then skip the episode before this one because that was on another topic. I think that was the one where I read an article that I put out on LinkedIn on that particular day. So if you listen to the four or five episodes that came before that, you'll get caught up to date on how to differentiate yourself if you're in that space, curated Harpers and gift giving.

And also please bear in mind that even if you're not in this space, if this is not your jam, just remember that the principles and the ideas and the tactics, the practices that we discuss should apply to every kind of business. So it doesn't matter if you're in the recycling business or if you're in the business consulting business or if you're a wedding photographer. Now today we're going to look at storytelling and branding as storytelling and branding as means for business differentiation, how you can set yourself apart using storytelling and branding.

So definitions before we continue storytelling, lots of definitions. But I prefer to say that storytelling is just how I put it. Well, no matter the device you use, whether it's audio, video, photos, but the thing that ties storytelling in together, oh, by the way, text. You can use text for audios. Oh, sorry, for storytelling. So the thing that ties it together is when you have an emotional narrative and you're trying to convey a message.

Now, the reason why I think this definition is important is because if you think you're trying to tell the story, but it is flat and not emotionally engaging, then people might come away thinking, yeah, it was a story, but I don't think it was a very good story. Now, if there's a narrative and it doesn't seem to convey a message, then most folks might think, what was the point? And you don't have a compelling story at the end of the day.

So the emotional tenor of what you're trying to do has to be there. There has to be a narrative arc, you know, beginning a middle and end some conflict. What else? Some aspirations or whatever. And there has to be a message or a point to the whole thing. So if we're going to use storytelling for business differentiation, there are some obvious things that we can try out. Number one, origins, inspiration stories or behind the scenes kind of themes.

So instead of just brandishing yourself as ABC corporate hampers and blah blah blah, you might be able to do skits, reels, or what else. I'll post every now and then about who the founders are, how they got into this space, their sense of style, how with influences, you know, how their sense of style and sophistication influences product selection, you know, blah blah, blah, things like that. So basically just going behind the corporate veneer and trying to show how this is, how the business started.

These are the inspirations and these are behind the scenes. This is what goes on behind the scenes, you know, blah blah blah. Then I was I put a bid for someone who did what are they called leather bags in Abuja. Didn't end up working with them, but this was something that they thought of trying as well, which is Artisan Stories. That is where you go behind the scenes and you show the people who are working on the actual craft that people enjoy.

It's another way of giving your favorite hamper or leather bag or whatever, you know, giving it some, what's it called, giving it some life for a new perspective, you know, because we see things like that on maybe like BBC lifestyle. Maybe they are taking a tour of what's that car company, the one that has ABB, is that Bentley or no, not Bentley. The one with the silver Spirit, Rolls Royce, I think, yeah, Rolls Royce and Ferrari.

And you get to see the workshop, you get to see the people that have worked on it. And to show how this person Luigi, has been working at this store for 35 years. Master Craftsman responsible for leather, this, the stitching that handwoven this and that art that has been passed down from family to family for 250 years, you know, blah blah, blah and all those sorts of things that give more, more emotional oomph to the brand that you're working on.

So it's a sort of thing that people in the created hamper and give giving space can work on as well because the people who weave the baskets, you know, they're artisans. I'm surprised if maybe like for those people who are based in Lagos, because in Lagos coming back going past Maryland, you go, there's a bridge after Maryland where you you go on curve under the bridge before you come back up and start facing a catcher again.

And there are communities of people who are making hampers there that would go, so making baskets that will go into hampers. I noticed that some of them were communities of women. So if you are one of those people who sources from the community of women after Maryland, those can be things that you talk about, you know, artisan stories. This is where the women come from. This is how your brand leads to helps with, what's that word,

Female empowerment, female economic empowerment, you know, blah blah, blah, all those kinds of things. And you can also weave all kinds of narratives around particular themes like love or gratitude, which are kind of obvious. I mean, since you're in the gift giving space, so love, gratitude, celebration, relaxation, And the whole idea is to make your hampers stand apart, to make sure that your hampers are more than just products, then OK, I think I've spoken about your personal story, your passions, your motivations.

If you're the person behind it, OK, that's about storytelling. Now, branding, the usual meaning of the word. Branding is the visual or the emotional identity of your business. Now that's going to be the main meaning that I'm going to use for this particular podcast episode. Although from a sales perspective, I'm quick to point out and I'm going to try and impress on you guys that from a sales perspective your brand basically is whatever impression that is left at every single customer point of contact with the business.

So currently right now in Abuja, the National Grid collapse a couple of days ago after that vandals hit our transformer. So bottom line is basically the estate that we've been living in. There's been no light for close to a week. But The thing is the power companies, the distribution companies, they have really slick branding. And so I'm sure that their corporate branding, what's it called, corporate branding primer or whatever we'll say our brand is this, this, this is that customer responsive that that, that you know all these sorts of things.

But at the end of the day, the visual and the emotional identity that the company is trying to create does not match what people on ground like me who are the actual customers, what it is that we feel. So from a sales perspective, we are not really concerned about logos and colours and visual schematic unity and things like that. A sale perspective is much more concerned about what impression that the customer is left with after every single business transaction.

And it's something that I felt uniquely while I was trying to self financial products because people on the sales team were always frustrated about. Yes, we have real glossy brochures and this and this and that and that. But then pay clients want to put payments through and the app stores or they want to redeem payment and then there's another thing stalling and not working here, not working there. So from a sales perspective,

brand is much wider. It's about impressions that the customer gets at every single customer point of contact with the business. But for now we're going to focus on visual and emotional identity for the purpose of this particular episode. But no, therefore other episodes going forward. Every single time you hear me say brand meaning more than logos and colours and websites and packaging and stuff like that. Now for meaning one, if you want to set yourself aside using branding, you just have to make sure that your logos, your colours, your websites,

packaging, messaging, everything leaves a strong impression on customers. Then I'm trying to develop a unique brand identity and give yourself some unique visual elements that other people are not using because I'm assuming that maybe hamper companies or hamper businesses. I'm assuming that they have things like woven baskets on their company cards and things like that. So if that is going to be an obvious thing, then perhaps maybe you want to avoid having those hand woven baskets in your logos and your company material just to make sure that you stand out from the beginning.

Then let's see what else. OK, Then you try and create your entire customer experience. You make sure that your online store, your website or your physical location, your packaging, how you present things, everything is in complete alignment and you have to make sure that everything is in complete alignment. So, OK, yeah, we're done. 10 minutes. And let me just wrap up now. But basically that's just the whole gist about storytelling and branding.

But please bear in mind that these things work together. They have to be used together to create an emotional connection, and the goal is to try and build some trust and to build some loyalty and to attract your ideal audience. Now, this is one thing that you guys ought to bear in mind because it should be obvious, but some people don't get it. When you attract some people, you are going to repel other people. And that is just the nature of the game.

And you shouldn't worry about that too much. Let me give an example. I keep talking about my wife and I as it relates to curated hampers. Now my wife loves hampers. You give her a hamper, she gushes and she thinks, oh, how kind of you, how nice. And she feels loved. If you give me a hamper, I look at the hamper and I say thank you. But at the back of mine, I'm thinking you spent, you know, 80,000 on this 100 grand. You should have just given me the 100 grand.

I would have used 10 grand to treat myself. I would have kept 90 grand and done something else with the money. So if you get your storytelling and branding working together, you should be attracting people, ideally who are like my wife, who get it, and you should be repelling people like me who don't get it. So it should not be a problem if your branding is out there and it's repelling a certain number of people. The truth is, the kind of people that your branding should be repelling should be people like me, who you don't want to be your customers anyway, and you want people like my wife and her friends who get it to become your customers.

So branding and storytelling are used together to attract people. But please know that by default, if you're attracting some kind of people, you're going to be repelling other kinds of people, and you should be OK with that. It's a sign that your brand is working, so consistency is key when you have to apply both. Now, some caution from a sales perspective, when you're trying to come up with your branding and storytelling and all of that, it should be, it should be born out of interactions with your customers.

That is what should determine the overall direction of your branding and your storytelling. The reason why I'm pointing that is because typically the founder, the CEO, the whoever is going to have certain ideas about what is slick, what is cool, what is sophisticated, what is trendy. And you start trying to push the brand from there. And maybe that works in the beginning, but after a while you get tested by the market and it's not just about you anymore.

It's not you're now being caught up in people's perceptions and things like that. So after a while it becomes time to take into account what other people think about what works and what is appealing to other people and you have to take those on board. So I will wrap it up there. That's how you can use storytelling and branding to differentiate your business if you're in the created hamper and gift giving space. Now like I said, this applies to people in other businesses.

You don't just have to be in the created hamper and gift giving space. So take these ideas and run with them. Whether you are a medical doctor or whether you're a consultant or whether you're a dentist or whether you are a Carpenter, you can use branding and business differentiation to, sorry, storytelling and branding to search yourself apart as a business person. So thank you very much for your time and attention. Sorry about the noise in the background.

So thanks for your time and attention. I'll catch you guys at the next episode. Please connect with me on LinkedIn. The name is Tavishima Ayede. You can confirm the spelling from my from the link. We're currently listening to this episode. Thanks for your time and attention. I'll catch you guys at the next recording.