Once you have been reading this column over a period of time, you should realize that I am a strong advocate of brand story telling. People buy because they hear or read words that make them want to buy things, hence a clear message is needed – it’s the way you talk about your products/services that will make people want to buy them. Be that as it may, it’s possible to get so caught up in storytelling that you lose focus on how your story connects to potential customers.

One way of keeping storytelling in check is by putting yourself in the customers’ shoes– going through the processes your customers go through helps you to understand what differentiates your offerings, thus helping you focus your PR efforts on how your brand/business can solve potential customers’ problems.

Here’s how:

Use your product/service – This helps you to understand what you can improve and gives you an idea of what makes your product/service stand out. Going through this process helps you to develop appropriate PR messages that connect to your potential customers since you have experienced how your product/service can help them. How can you do this?

• If it’s a restaurant, you can employ mystery shopping as a regular customer to see exactly what the customer sees when they go to the restaurant.
• If you have a dedicated customer support system, go through it and experience what the customer does when they’re looking for help with your product/service.

Observe as the product/service is used – This is an opportunity to see how customers are reacting to your company’s services in real time. This helps to tailor your message to focus on what active customers like about your product/service.

You can take note of things such as:

• How customers interact with staff or sales agents and vice versa
• What customers say to each other about the store or product.

Sure, you are excited to tell everyone your brand story but does it relate to your customers? By using the product/service, seeing how the process goes for the customer and observing how other customers are treated and react to your product/service, you can gain a solid grasp on what exactly makes your brand/business stand out.

• Candice Sealey is the Founder & Principal Consultant at Ignite! a Full-service Marketing & PR Consultancy that helps businesses/brands to stand out and communicate the right message to the right people at the right time through Strategy, Marketing, Media services and Design solutions.

  She is also a freelance content writer, advertising copywriter, voiceover talent, media personality. Follow us on FB & IG @igniteresults Phone:784-432-2223. Email: igniteresults@gmail.com