Few years ago, my wife bought a luxury bag.
It looked extremely simple to me, so I decided to take a look.
I love moments like this because it's an opportunity to understand the psychology of why people buy things. What made them exchange their hard-earned money for something I won't even bat an eye on?
What do they see that I don't?
Then as I was studying the bag, something caught my eye:
Here's what it reads:
Thank you for purchasing a Mansur Gavriel Leather Good.
We hope you will enjoy it for years to come. Vegetable tanned leather is an untreated leather that is warm, strong, and personal. It will not remain pristine. Each abrasion is a memory that enriches the character of the product...
Just like that, Mansur Gavriel effectively affirmed people who bought its bags that they made the right choice. Even if a scratch appears quickly. It's not a defect, no. Every imperfection made the bag uniquely theirs.
That's the effect of a powerful story.
When marketers talk about stories, non-marketers immediately think we're referring to the Little Red Riding Hood.
Consider another story:
Liquid Death sells water (yes, water) in aluminum cans. The story? Plastic recycling is a myth. And the idea that punk bands on stage can drink water from a can that looks like beer, to remain "cool". (Because it's not "cool" to drink from a plastic bottle)
In 2024, Liquid Death did $333 million in retail.
But good storytelling isn't everything too
It doesn't end here.
It'll be wrong for me to leave you here with a: "It's not the best product that wins, it's the best-known that wins" quote.
Bad marketing will kill a great product. But without a great product, even the best marketing will simply speed up its journey to failure.
Hate him or love him, Elon Musk is right about one thing when he said this in an interview in 2020:
"Generally, my advice is to spend less time on finance, less time in conference rooms, less time on PowerPoint and more time just making your product as amazing as possible"
Promotion plays a big role, but product is definitely the most important consideration.
Marketing should be involved in product development.
Many marketers unfortunately don't get to spend time on product development. By the time they get to work, they are left to create stories, excuses, and twists to market a badly made product created by a group of unassuming engineers and product developers.
Quick advice:
- If you're a marketing agency, choose to work with brands that build AMAZING products. And save your sanity.
- If you're a marketer, join companies with products customers care about.
- If you're a brand owner, focus on making your product as amazing as possible – and tie it with a story to promote.
Storytelling is a learnable skill
For those who want to spread their ideas.
And those who want to post more on social media.
And those who know that – facts tell, but stories sell.
Ready to use storytelling to grow brands?
In Authentic Impact, we're working with Dean Yeong to teach you the exact storytelling strategies he has learned, working with business leaders like Noah Kagan of AppSumo and Chris Guillebeau of the $100 Startup.
You'll learn:
- How to get noticed by connecting to your audience on a deep, personal and collaborative level.
- To spread your ideas. People are immune to bad ads. Storytelling is the secret weapon to punch through the noise.
- Kill imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is real. We've got the strategy to fix that even if you've never put yourself out there before.
We're running this workshop only once.
