It’s been scientifically proven that storytelling engages the brain in different ways over hearing simple facts. In research conducted by neuroeconomist Paul Zak, he states that as social creatures who regularly interact with strangers, stories are an effective way to transmit important information and values from one individual to the next. Stories are better remembered especially when it’s personal and emotionally compelling as it engages more of the brain. This sets the stage for getting people emotionally invested in your brand and eventually going on to become loyal users.

Take Apple for example. Whether or not you’re an Apple or Steve Jobs fan, one will find it hard to argue that they’ve clearly understood their purpose for existence and translated this into their brand story such that it amassed the cult following you see today. As a brand that focuses on emotions and how its products make customers feel, this has successfully translated into the entire Apple experience from its intuitive user interface right down to its customer service in store. Being a challenger brand that zeroes in on the needs, individuality and style of ordinary people rather than conforming to the norm, the brand has since introduced various products that pretty much shook the personal device industry starting with the iPod.

On the other side of the spectrum, you have the iconic analog film pioneers Kodak. As the brand that created the first ever digital camera way back in 1975 (yep, we could have had digital cameras by the 80s if they had jumped on board the digital wave), it never capitalised on the invention. Whilst they focused their energy on the film business, they were slow to embrace change and evolving with the times. This led to its slow and painful death - all because they didn’t prioritise innovation as part of their brand story.

In the early days, a startup’s priority is often scaling the business as quickly as possible so as to gain competitive advantage and not run the risk of losing out to another startup who could catch up and get a bigger slice of the pie. This usually involves iterating and reiterating a product or service until the ever-elusive goal of product-market fit is achieved. Though we know the pressure from users and the market to launch products or services as soon as possible, this leads to startup founders missing out on the bigger picture and heading in an unfavourable direction that threatens the startup’s very existence.

We’re not here to say that you can toss product-market fit out the window. Instead, it may be worthwhile to change the way you look at it by focusing on why you made the product or service in the first place and whom you made it for: your users. Part of understanding and being able to reach out to new and potential users is to first unearth your brand story.

Why should this product or service matter? Why was I inspired to create this product and service? Why will this product or service address the pain points that my users experience? If you haven’t caught on yet, your brand story is all about uncovering your why. Your purpose. Your very reason for existence. You will find that as you develop your brand story, it becomes easier to develop your products or services. 

Your story is your gateway to the masses. It can make or break your brand and product development strategies. In a climate where users are spoilt for choice and often place importance on how certain products and services make them feel instead of what it can do, the key to acquiring that bigger slice of pie is developing your brand story. This will serve as a key differentiator and dictate your future product development plans that can keep up with the ever-changing times.

Honour your purpose. Enjoy the process of creating your brand story that is both unique and powerful. This sets the foundation for your startup and will lead you to create products or services that serve your purpose and your users. So don’t make the mistake of leaving the branding work to the very end - trust us on this.

To kickstart your journey on how you can craft your brand story using a pretty handy tool we call the Brand Model Canvas, check out this video featuring creative gurus Sa’ad Hussein and Edmund Choe at our first ever Sprout session.