The importance of storytelling in eCommerce

The digital marketing arena is fast-paced and abundantly automated. As data flies back and forth across the ether from business to business and business to consumer, brands can quickly become part of the noise and fail to make meaningful connections with potential customers.

To stand out in the hyper-competitive digital space, eCommerce stores have an opportunity to engage with consumers on a deeper, more emotional level, paving the way to a long-term relationship built on a keen sense of brand awareness and a rich attachment to the brand.

Storytelling for brands can help your business connect to consumers and communicate in a way that’s attractive and lasting. Why? Because storytelling is unique to the human experience — and we crave stories no less because we’re digesting them online.

From Homer to Facebook and a lot of stories in between

Automated messages and SMS texts have their place in the savvy marketer’s bag of tools and resources, but they need to tell a good story to resonate emotionally with customers.

The earliest stories, like those told by Homer to a crowd around an ancient fire, weren’t even written down until centuries later. People just remembered them. That’s a lesson the businesses of today can learn from: people don’t forget a story worth remembering. 

Paying customers aren’t looking for an eCommerce business to recreate The Odyssey for them, but they are inclined to take notice of brands with engaging content and interesting angles. Forbes recently reported that a narrative describing a brand’s challenges, history, and successes might actually be more memorable and “real” for customers than facts. Storytelling, according to the report, can be “up to 22 times more memorable than facts” for customers.

Brand storytelling allows your business to differentiate itself from its numerous competitors, which can result in substantial profitability on many different levels, ranging from increased brand awareness to a boost in sales.

Storytelling in eCommerce helps make sales and connections

Making sales is essential for a business’s success, and while any sale is a good thing, a sale that’s enhanced by customer affinity or brand loyalty is even better. Many businesses can’t simply depend on one-off sales — they need a steady stream of sales to remain successful. So, it makes fiscal sense to cultivate long-term relationships with customers so that they choose your business over and over again, and one of the best ways to do this is by creating high-quality content that aligns with your business goals. 

Digital coupons are great, but building a loyal customer base often takes more than sales incentives. Today, your customers have an inbox full of businesses providing coupons, deals, and big sales. As they scroll down their list of messages, you want your brand to stand out. With good storytelling, a consistent brand voice, and a steady stream of content to drive those stories home, your brand can bank on an improved rate of engagement from customers.

It’s your story, along with your products and services, that attract customers. And, let’s face it, you want them to tell their friends, “I love that store.” It’s emotional, and you need to interact with customers as much as possible on that emotional level.