In This Episode You’ll Learn:
- The value of storytelling and creating emotional experiences for your customer
- Why COVID-19 has been good for creators
- Questions you should be asking to set your business on a more innovative course
Creating an Emotional Response
There’s nothing like being told a story for the first time. Stephen says telling stories that target customer’s emotions immensely impacts how they perceive brands. Storytelling changes people’s experiences of a product.
Stephen and his team are dedicated to helping brands connect with their customers through great storytelling. This often involves combining existing technologies to create new, immersive experiences, which is something every business can do.
“Innovation . . . isn’t about inventing all the time; it’s about how we resource and bring different pieces together.”
Pivoting during COVID-19
Stephen says the pandemic has acted as a leveling agent for businesses because no one has experience working in the stay-at-home environment it has created—and that hasn’t necessarily been a bad thing.
“It’s a lot easier to empathize with your audience . . . because we’re all experiencing the same thing.”
No matter the global situation, it’s important to find ways to make technology more interactive and elevate it to the level of experiences that people seek out. In other words, make your brand tell immersive stories. Stephen says one of the biggest difficulties of his job is trying to educate clients about the possibilities of creatively employed technologies.
“This current crisis, I think it’s been a period of great creative energy.”
Constraints can give freedom to be creative.
Now, Near, Far
Stephen says if business owners are looking for a piece of technology that will get things back on track after COVID, they’re barking up the wrong tree.
“It’s not about the technology. It’s about the story. And I think that we have to keep coming back to that.”
He recommends pivoting by asking questions that pertain to the “now, near, far” of your business:
- Now: What can you do now to leverage existing technologies to tell clients great stories?
- Near: What can you do that will set you apart in a month’s time?
- Far: What innovations will you retain when social distancing restrictions are lifted?
Find inspiration outside of your own industry. Take familiar things and find new ways to use them. Most importantly: Create an experience that makes your target audience forget everything else.
How does your business tell stories? Let’s get in touch!
