Can a child write a better story than a marketer?

Honestly, ask a kid to review your last brand presentation and they’ll probably write a much more compelling and exciting story for your audience. Stings? Because there’s a bit of truth in there…Here’s why.

Your marketing work doesn’t exist in a vacuum. You might not realise it, but you’re already telling a story about your work every time you send an e-mail, a text, every time you hold a conversation, or write a comment on a post, or a tweet, every photo or video you take.

Words matter.

We, marketers, understand this when we’re working with our agency on a copy or big idea creative platform. Having said that, when we’re working on our internal PPT slides, poof, all this wisdom goes out the window. Right? We’re focused on how to hide a really poor performance number, how to tweak the message so we lessen the damage, how to buff up some insignificant numbers, we’re probably overly focused on a design we’ve worked on because…well, we’ve worked on it and it was really fun.

But…….yup. What about the audience? What about the story?

I often get asked by my marketing clients how to influence stakeholders. Of the many things we can focus and work on, crafting a good story is one that makes a damn impressive impact when you put your efforts in. 

Showing stats, testimonials, graphs, number tables, NPD visual, remember that pictures can say whatever we want them to say.

Most marketers join some of the dots, not the relevant ones. What story does this create, I ask you? How do you go from a pile of insights, facts, numbers, consumer feedbacks, performance indicators, market shares, etc…to a story. And a story that says something. And where the audience is part of it. How do you make them have a role in it?

They’re all pitches.

All brand presentations, all cover letters, all budget requests, all salary increase ask, they’re all stories with the endings chopped off. Pitches. 

The structure of any good pitch is in 3 parts:

• Part 1: the past – where you (or your brand) have been, what you want, how you came to want it, and what you’ve done so far to get it.
• Part 2: the now – where you’re now in your work and how you’ve worked hard and used up most of your resources.
• Part 3: the future – where you’re going and how exactly the person you’re pitching can help you get there. The audience is turned into the hero who gets to decide how it ends.

Remember making a story and telling a story are two different things.

So what?

💡Your audience is what you need to always keep in mind, whether you’re telling a story that has an end or doesn’t have an end yet.

• Value their time
• Speak to them in plain language (i.e. especially if cross-functional colleagues are present, they have their own department jargon)
• Be brief. Be concise.
• Be patient learning this storytelling skill.
• Study the great ones, and then make some of your own. Your stories will get better the more you tell them.

Why am I saying this?

💡My confidence and skills as a marketing leader really took off when I stopped thinking externally (which leadership style box do I need to fit?) and instead focused more time inwardly to understand my own mind, its dynamics and what pitfalls I should be aware of.

😲This, my friend, was the game changer. And I’m here today to help as many marketing emerging leaders go through the same personal learning journey, one step at a time.

I’m Mags, a Leadership Coach for FMCG marketers and I work with people like you to make self-awareness your no.1 strength so you know how to make an impact as a leader when it matters.

Mags

The Marketer Whisperer