What are stories?  Are stories fairytales? Are they jokes that we tell each other for amusement or bragging rights? Are they really true or are most of them products of an overactive imagination?

 

I believe, the concept of stories is a fundamental part of what makes us human. It is the ability to tell, remember and learn from stories that define our progress of maturity or lack thereof. It is an everyday part of our human existence, lived out each day, thru every little experience.

 

Just recently, we had a very engaging speaker at our 3^rd PRA retail conference. His name was Jos Ortega, CEO of one of the world’s largest advertising agency, JWT. He had a very engaging and entertaining presentation about building brands. The secret, he shared, was in being authentic, creating and telling your brand story. He said, “Your brand story must be based on your dreams and aspirations for the business.”  He added, “This story must engage customers and enhance their experience in your store so that it will create a desire and passion in them to want your products.”

 

It is a very simple concept that makes absolute sense for many successful retailers. In the conference itself, the story of Goldilocks was one fantastic story told very beautifully by Ms. Pinky Yee. Jos himself cited two very successful Cebuano stories that we are all familiar with and extremely proud of, Penshoppe and Island Souvenirs.

 

But as I was listening to the presentation, I was asked a question by my seatmate,  a starting entrepreneur. He whispered, “what about for us starting retailers and entrepreneurs, why would anyone want to listen to our story?” He innocently added, “Do people really want to know how hard it is to struggle through every day, trying to make ends meet, hoping that tomorrow would bring the necessary fortune that one continuously prays for? Usually, the general public only wants to listen to stories of success, or barring that, spectacular failures.”

 

I was stumped by that question and it dwelled in my mind for several days. I was wondering how does one really tell a story if one is starting out or struggling to make ends meet. Or the better question might be, why would anyone want to listen?

 

Suddenly the answer hit me. And it was provided right there in that conference for everybody to see and hear. The answer was very honestly given by Café Laguna’s Raki Urbina.

 

What would make someone want to listen to your story?

 

For many starting and struggling entrepreneurs, how people feel about your brand is not because of the story you tell them. It is brought about by stories that they tell about your brand. Stories brought about and created by individual experiences with your brand. 

 

The Café Laguna story was born out of  the individual experiences of diners, shared over and over again. Raki said it very simply, “People started to take notice of the good taste and consistent quality of the food my Mom was making.”

 

When Raki’s mother,  Lita Urbina began cooking, she had no grand vision of what Café Laguna would be today, she just wanted people to love her cooking. She did her best with the hope that customers would try, love it, and come back. She prayed that these customers would then tell others, and cause them to also try. In other words, the Café Laguna story was indeed initially created by stories. But these were stories that contented and satisfied diners and customers told to others, encouraging and urging them to try.

 

It was these stories that allowed Café Laguna to become what it is today, an inspirational success story that shows how big things can come out of small beginnings.

 

This is now the story that Raki is humbly honored to tell, of how his mother struggled and how they struggled, and how they persevered. There was no initial grand plan, as Raki himself admitted. He confessed that when he was younger, his ambition in life was to become a San Miguel Beer salesman because “the uniforms  looked cool”. But Raki ultimately understood his role and  became an essential part of the Café Laguna story.

 

Jos said it best when he said, “Nowadays shopping is no longer about the stores but shopping is about stories.” Brands are indeed about stories and the feelings they invoke. These feelings determines our acceptance and perceptions of that brand. But we need to remember that when starting out,  we need do our best to serve and satisfy our customers. We need to turn each one of them into our customer advocates. Let them  be the one to tell their stories.  Turn each customer into a personal storyteller of your brand. If we a do a good enough job and they tell enough people, hopefully we will be then allowed to tell our success story and then maybe people will also sit up and listen.

Let’s follow the examples of these ordinary individuals as they strive to make a difference. Each week, lets all get together and share knowledge, stories, experiences, information, all for the sole purpose of getting One Step Up.

 For comments, suggestions or stories that you want to share, email me at stirspecialist@gmail.com ,  or visit  www.stirspecialist.blogspot.com