The UX of (value-driven) storytelling
Most good stories leave you with a moral takeaway or a lesson learnt in some shape or form. In a similar fashion, brand narratives tend to incorporate values to represent what a company stands for, much like the heroes (or wise guides) of fairytales we read as children.
Previously I whipped out a series of research and statistical findings to make my case for the necessity of storytelling in a business context. If you are still unsure if content is king or queen, you can read my evidence-based sales pitch here:
This time around I decided to tackle the topic from a case study approach to offer a framework of methodologies with examples. Since we are talking about the makings of a good narrative, it seems fitting to structure this whole post according to a similar blueprint.
Usually, there are five elements to a story (or at least, that’s the standard we’ll be using here for now): the setting, the characters, the plot, the conflict, and the resolution. For each component, I will set the scene, then present a short example of a company that approaches its values, branding, and story from a fitting angle. Whether you are a UX pro, writer or a business, this is your story, so grab a cup of tea, settle in and let’s go on an adventure.
The setting: Benchmarking
To get started, it is crucial that you take a good look at your competitors in the field. What are they doing well that you might want to mimic in order to serve that part of the audience’s needs? What are their shortcomings, or alternatively what could you do better?
Familiarise yourself with the good old SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis to identify their image and characteristics from a content perspective, so you can figure out how to stand out next to them.
It might be that their messaging just doesn’t fit their intended target audience or they simply lack value-driven content (such as articles looking at the wider picture, trends and helpful advice).
Perhaps they are actually superb at crafting blog posts, but lack tutorials on their product — or the other way around. There is a good chance they are falling short somewhere. Find each competitor’s weak spot and capitalise on them by charming customers away by providing what your rivals are missing. The more market share you possess, the larger your own competitive advantage and influence.
In other words, do a full-on content audit. Landing pages, blog and social media posts, overall brand messaging, pricing, terms and conditions, as well as their about and contact pages, all work here. Get your detective hat on, and utilise all materials you can find to help your brand get ahead. Explore their website and presence from a customer perspective to fully immerse yourself in the journey they provide.
If you want to go deeper, you can also check out customer reviews and impressions you can find about them online. There’s also a lot you can gauge from a company’s tone and approach by how they interact with their audience and address complaints.
➤ Driven by competitor analysis:
Adidas very clearly and loudly want one thing: to be the best. And that’s rather fitting, given sport’s nature being very, you know, competitive in general.
They even define themselves as boasting a culture that acts with speed, agility and empowerment — all words and traits you would want to see in a major player in the field.
Apart from being consumer-obsessed and having a powerful brand strategy, the company also makes it clear that they aim to create symbols (no less) which are sustainable, innovative and responsible. Rather than clustering strong but vague words together, they weave them all into a pretty convincing narrative in their annual corporate reports.
“Athletes do not settle for average. And neither do we. We have a clear mission: To be the best sports brand in the world. Every day, we come to work to create and sell the best sports products in the world, and to offer the best service and consumer experience — and to do it all in a sustainable way. We are the best when we are the credible, inclusive, and sustainable leader in our industry.”
The characters: Know your target audience
The main goal of storytelling is to connect and build a relationship with your audience, but for that, you need to know them well. What social media channels are they most commonly using? What type of articles do they read? These findings can be fed into your marketing strategy. You can also reach back for your competitors to see which platforms work best in their case and what type (if any) content they offer.
Next, have you looked at analytical data? Checked Google Trends to see what’s up and coming or as much as relevant? What about statistics? Getting your hands dirty and spending time collecting information will give you a solid grounding to kickstart the process.
Other UX research methods are also your allies. We’ve addressed benchmarking for measuring up your opponents, but survey data, interviews, and other entry points of interacting with customers (potential or otherwise) can leave you with plenty of solid insight about your target audience.
Searching for free market reports and trend summaries can also equip you with additional angles, if you fancy venturing further. Too heavy? Try social media; you can also size up a lot of current themes, problems, and needs there, as well.
➤ Driven by target audience:
Gymshark have managed to tap into the core emotions that drive their customers, with everything they do being aimed at their teenage/young-adult fitness gang. The way they phrase their messaging and what principles they chose to incorporate both speak to their audience.
The company also goes heavy on its socials. How many fitness brands can you recall off the top of your head who even include a Discord channel? Their other feeds are also keen on approaching their customer base as they would their BFFs, which sits just well with everyone involved.
tl;dr? Learn the craft of knowing how to talk to those with the purchasing power to build a community around your biz.
“Our values are invaluable. We lose them, we lose everything.
Be human. Being accessible, inclusive and humble is at Gymshark’s heart.
Give a shit. That means being conscious of the world we live in, caring for those around us and being proactive to create positive change.
Do the right thing. Count on us to be honest, trustworthy and genuine.
Find the Gymshark way. Refuse to forget the garage mentality that made us: ambitious, agile, disruptive.
Put family first. Unconditionally.”
The plot: Define your brand
Your aim now is to create a coherent tone across all your content, so customers can easily identify and perceive you. To efficiently lodge your company in people’s minds, your product and brand need to be unified in all areas: visuals, text, customer service and every possible surface or interaction, really. (No pressure.)
We are not just talking about looks here; you can’t paint a castle made out of sand. The same way you are not just your appearance, the company’s front won’t survive without a clear foundation and a bit of soul.
Meanwhile, a brand that opts for a message that doesn’t just ask for sales is a brand that has the potential to become shareable and distinguishable, so consider your impact on a wider scale. Remain sincere and clarify how you apply those values and in what manner they play a key role in your approach.
Some questions to get you started could be:
- What problem is your company trying to solve?
- Why does your company exist — why do you think there is a (place in the) market for what you have to offer?
- What brands do you look up to and why?
- Why and what can you do better than your competitors? What sets you apart?
- Why should people trust you to create something better than what’s already out there?
Tailor these to your situation and company as needed (or answer different questions entirely — these are just examples for inspiration).
➤ Driven by brand:
Most successful companies are wise enough to build their messaging around their core theme in general, so there is plenty to choose from as an example, but I am decidedly cherry-picking WeWork in this case.
Their values are transparent and community-based. Being collaborative and humane are generally a fitting place to start when thinking about an ideal work environment. Given that this is their niche, it not only ties into their audience’s wants and needs, but also moonlights as a clever sales pitch without feeling forced.
“Do The Right Thing
We know the “right thing” is a deliberate action we must always take, and that it is based on integrity and builds trust with those who we care about, including our people, members, and our community.Strive To Be Better, Together
We’ve always believed that we are better together. We must operate with a shared purpose to constantly improve and grow and to become better as individuals, as teams, and as a company.Be Entrepreneurial
To reshape the way the world works, we must be bold, act with courage, and demonstrate the resiliency to push ahead no matter the odds or the circumstance.Give Gratitude
We will not take anyone or anything for granted. We are grateful for our people, members, and our greater community as well as for the opportunities we have in front of us.Be Human, Be Kind
Collaboration, kindness, and authenticity are essential to our humanity. We must cherish each other and build a community that celebrates each person’s unique talents, passions, and backgrounds.”
The conflict: Breaking promises
The last thing you want for your brand is to appear untrustworthy or sketchy, so don’t over-sell yourself or make promises you cannot deliver on. Lack of transparency or clarity of any kind will only promote distrust, and we rarely put our money towards products that leave us with more questions than answers.
In short, don’t fall for misleading branding that will only invite an army of unhappy customers in the long run. If you outright lie or contradict yourself, your audience will sniff you out in no time. A bad reputation is harder to remedy than an in-the-works image, so play nice and stick to integrity.
If you do mess up, make sure to listen to the feedback and perhaps even start from scratch. Failing to deliver on your promises is sometimes not intentional, but rather a series of unfortunate events or large-scale misinterpretations. As long as you started from a place of goodwill, failure can serve as a nudge towards doing better.
➤ Driven by failure:
Square-Enix is known for a wide catalogue of video games, but I am going to zoom in on the Final Fantasy franchise here. Specifically, Final Fantasy XIV, which flopped big time when it first came out in 2010. One of the reasons behind this was that the company’s mindset was that all problems could be fixed on the go once the game was up and running despite the major design flaws from the beginning.
This did not work out for them, and the game tanked to the point that CEO Yoichi Wada concluded that the brand had been greatly damaged by this one product. So, they revamped the whole game and re-released it in 2013. By doing this, they did not only turn the whole reception around but launched it to such success that in 2021 they had to temporarily suspend sales as they couldn’t keep up with the player capacity and incoming traffic. There’s one zero-to-hero story for you.
Square Enix Corporate Philosophy:
To spread happiness across the globe by providing unforgettable experiences
This philosophy represents our company’s mission and the beliefs for which we stand.
Each of our customers has his or her own definition of happiness.
Square Enix provides high-quality content, services, and products to help those customers create their own wonderful, unforgettable experiences, thereby allowing them to discover a happiness all their own.”
The resolution: Offering meaningful connection
To reiterate, brand values should be clearly articulated and consistent by this stage, and they should be part of the company’s presentation. Next up you should be aiming to incorporate all essential elements of a good story to engage your audience.
By tapping into an emotion, you can highlight your product’s strengths in a more organic way and build a connection with the customer. For example, taking inspiration from the previous section, you could address an existing need for a product or tackle a problem that hasn’t been resolved in a way that you can offer. Be genuinely helpful, rather than just twisting a value around your profit KPIs.
One way to go about this could be by creating content such as articles around your niche that don’t outright try to sell your product, but offer general insights, tips and more instead. Whilst you might need to invest some additional time into your side-offerings and freebies, these will showcase a more holistic business attitude and reliability.
➤ Driven by connection:
Spotify serves the needs of listeners and creators by acting as a grounding middleman. The company was quite literally created to discourage piracy by making streaming the easier option.
In the process, both parties were given a silver bullet. Users could listen to and discover music without friction (and with bonus curation, podcasts plus more), whilst creators could monetise and share their art. The company’s existence is thus effectively based on bridging a need for connection and remedying an old ill. Quite a happy ending, I’d say.
“Our mission is to unlock the potential of human creativity — by giving a million creative artists the opportunity to live off their art and billions of fans the opportunity to enjoy and be inspired by it.”
The moral of the story
Weaving a narrative around a business or product allows for a more authentic way of approaching your marketing and branding strategy, because it offers more thought and consideration than a raw sales scheme. You can make it unique, memorable, and perceptible to help it stand out from the crowd, if only you infuse it with a pinch of jazz and creativity.
It goes without saying that your storytelling should not be paper-thin; add some weight by incorporating a value or more that can serve as an anchor for your overall messaging. Make them lengthy or make them short — it doesn’t really matter as long as you convey the principles in a catchy, transparent way and live up to them.
Thanks for reading! ❤️
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References & Credits
- Adidas Brand Strategy 2019 & 2021
- Images by vectorjuice on Freepik
