Yes, you do have a story! Ask these 3 questions...

If there’s anything that reality TV has taught us, it’s that people can make anything interesting. Why else would millions watch people dig through storage lockers, buy/sell items at a pawn shop or flip antiques? No matter the premise of the show, there’s strong storytelling and human emotion to pull in viewers. The same is true for your business. I don’t care if it’s a large corporation making forklifts, a mom-and-pop selling hand-crafted jewelry or a medium-size manufacturer producing fasteners. As long you have people working at your business and people buying your products, there are great stories somewhere in there to make a stronger emotional connection with your customers.

So where do you start? Consider these questions to get you started.

How Did You Start the Business?

Almost every single business owner I’ve talked to has a great story about how they got their business off the ground. Maybe they risked their life savings. It could be a crazy product innovation story. They launched their company, and business went gangbusters. All of these types of stories involve human emotion – fear, tension, happiness, overcoming adversity and anxiety – and these are the things with which viewers really connect.

How Do Your Products Make Your Customers’ Lives Easier?

If you don’t think your story is all that compelling, then consider how your company helps your customers. If you sell windows, you keep families warm. If you manufacture top-quality paper cups, you’re preventing someone from scalding their hands or staining their pants. If you’re a lending agency, your funding gives small businesses the chance to grow.

What Is Unique About Your Business/Products/People?

If your packaging line is that much better than your competitors, show me why and tell me about it. If you’re successful in a crowded industry, there’s a reason why your customers pick you. Bottle that up and show it to prospective clients in a way in which they can see your product or process and hear you talk about it. What Gillespie Productions absolutely loves is sitting down with clients and walking through these types of questions to pull out the best stories that help you connect with more customers. The answers to these questions usually form the foundation for a successful video. Sometimes, these answers are obvious. Other times, it can be tough for people to do this exercise on their own, since they’ve been so close to the details for so many years, and it helps to have someone from outside the company who is trained in pulling together stories.

Let me know if you’d like to brainstorm some ideas. Yes, you do have a story! Hire us!