How can you create a memorable brand story for your startup?

My experience in scaling and growing many well known consumer goods brands has taught me that the original founding vision and story is the driving force behind a company’s success. I hold a deep reverence for the entrepreneurial spirit, mentality and behaviours that drive founders to embark on their journey. There is ALWAY a reason why a company or product was launched in the first place, a reason that is authentic and true. A brand story should never need to be ‘made up’. The challenge is to go through a process to really distill it and capture the part of the entire story that makes you truly unique. Sometimes you can’t even quite explain it yourself but skilled brand strategists can work with you to be able to express it succinctly.

Start with your WHY, the reason you exist, and the big expensive problem you solve for. That's why people remember your brand. Then complement your story with how you do what you do and, later what you offer.

To create a memorable brand story for startups, one way is to create a brand that is truly a market need. Where the need has actually been around for a long time but was discovered by the startup or by creating needs and desires from consumers so that the brand will always be remembered because it can provide a solution. Conducting direct field surveys and conducting in-depth insight study is one way to obtain all of this, although it really takes quite a long time.

Having traversed the journey of defining the brand story for Razorpay - the FinTech Unicorn I work with - I submit that the flow of the article is a bit formulaic and generic. It could work for any brand, startup or otherwise. It comes from the mind and not the heart. Writing a brand story for a startup is all about capturing the heart. Because someone was moved enough by a problem to leave their jobs, leave the certainty of income and take a leap of faith, there is already a story. The job of the brand head is not to write the story, but to distill it. To soak themselves in conversations with founders and leaders. Probe the origin story. Sense the emotional side of decision making. Slowly a pattern emerges - which is the brand story.

To create a memorable brand story for your startup, start by understanding your audience and what makes your business unique. Share a genuine and relatable story about why your startup was created and the values it stands for. Use emotion, visuals, and customer engagement to make your story memorable. Keep your narrative consistent and adapt it over time as your business evolves. By connecting with your audience on a personal level and being authentic, you can build a strong brand identity that people will remember and trust.

Creating an opportunity to fill up the market gaps with new ideas and innovations as it will helps to cater needs of your audience. Translate your message through the brand strategies towards the minds of your people who are directly or indirectly connected with your brand.

For startups, you've got a bigger audience to consider than just your customers. In the early stages, it's crucial to captivate potential customers first, absolutely. As you progress though, angel investors and incubator programs provide not only funds but invaluable mentorship and resources. And let's not forget about your team! When crafting your brand story, contemplate how it resonates with these key players. Show how your startup not only meets customer needs but also how it embodies a vision these stakeholders want to play a part in. How are you positioning them as heroes who are propelling the vision to new—and profitable—heights? Their support can turn your brand story into an epic saga of growth and success.

Be authentic. Be yourself, not you… you but think of your brand as a person, and stay the course of your vision. Don’t chase trends and never miss an opportunity to tell your story. Listen to your customer and always put them first, and show up where they are.

Certainly, as a brand strategist, it's essential to recognize that a brand story isn't self-centered; it's a bridge between your startup and your audience. Understanding your audience's needs, aspirations, and values through tools like customer personas, surveys, and social media analytics is critical. Crafting a brand story that resonates means employing storytelling techniques that create empathy, center around resolving their pain points, and demonstrate how your startup uniquely addresses their concerns, building a genuine and relatable connection.

Understanding your audience is critical to crafting a story that appeals to them. Detailed buyer personas can help you tailor your narrative. If your target audience is environmentally conscious consumers, your story should speak to their concerns about the planet and how your product addresses these concerns. You can highlight customer stories that align with this narrative, further personalizing the connection.

Depending on your brand key, you should be able to craft a personality and persona. Test and learn which one works and which one doesn't.

Create an human like persona which will attract certain personalities. Attract your target audience and connect with them on an emotional level. For a good example I can recall the personality of Harley Davidson as it is ruggedness and it fits the outlaw archetype. Ultimately having a well-defined brand personality will help make that brand-customer connection as if they were interacting with a real human being.

As a brand strategist, in My experience aligning the tone and style of your brand's story with your core message and the preferences of your audience is crucial. This ensures a coherent and consistent brand identity, establishing a stronger connection with your target audience.

The tone and style should be reflective of both your brand's personality and your audience's expectations. For a startup focused on professional services, a more serious and informative tone might be appropriate. Conversely, a brand aimed at young adults might adopt a casual and energetic style. The key is to be authentic; if your brand's voice doesn't match your personal or company culture, it will come across as disingenuous.

In my experience, the best way to choose a tone and style for your brand is to start with yourself and your team. A humanistic brand comes from those who started and worked within the startup. Here are questions to help draw these characteristics out: - What brands or causes do you connect with the most? - What do people find weird (or unique) about you? Weird is not a bad thing! It can help you stand out. - What brands or ideas do you dislike? - What have you been told (by others) you’re good at? These questions help discover four personable aspects: - What you stand for and believe in - What your unique traits are - What you dislike and don’t want associated with ‘you’ - What you’re good at, holistically

People love stories about overcoming obstacles, moments of inspiration, and the journey from idea to reality. Share the story of how your startup was born, the challenges you've faced, and how they've shaped your company's direction. This narrative arc helps humanize your brand, making it more relatable and memorable.

Make your origin story unique. Every founder in another sense is also a consumer of other products, so bring to life the pain points you faced to bring your brand to life. Make it emotional (that retirement fund used to start up), share personal anecdotes (frustrated with a lack of non-medical solutions), pull out that old content when you were just starting out (first brand exploration like logos), think of the ‘Aha’ moment (better recovery after using it for a few hours), and how you reiterated until you found success (evolution from the first prototype to the product in the market). New brands are being launched every day, make yours stand out with a story that’s uniquely yours to own and compelling.

Be honest—audiences connect with transparency. If you’re a small startup without a long company history, lean into your ‘why’. Why did you create this company? Why are you passionate about XYZ. Connect with your audience through your passion and purpose. You don’t always need to convince people of your credibility, you need to convince them of your authenticity.

An orgin story of your start-up is your secret branding sauce. This should be rock solid and told like a true story (problem, solution, heros, etc) and be the crux of your brand narrative as you get started. Great founders leverage this in both their pitches, marketing and interviews - far beyond their early days. I also see founders stories as a top performing piece of content for start-ups I've worked with. This is a key item in your toolkit! Also recommend checking out Founder Brand by Dave Gerhardt on this topic.

Startups usually mean lean budgets, and one of your best marketing assets is your origin story. People don't connect on any real level with 'brands' – they connect with stories, feelings, and people. Your founder/s and team members are your secret weapon for shaping a meaningful brand story that really connects with people. The simple questions of why did you start / join the brand, or why do you do what you do, are powerful ?? Everyone has a 'why'.

In my experience, creating an impactful presence among your audience. Where they feel an instant connection with your brand and psychologically understand that this particular brand will benefit me and make my life easier. That may be through their product or service.

Illustrate the tangible benefits your startup brings. This could be through storytelling that showcases customer testimonials, the positive effects on the community, or the environmental impact. For example, if your software startup has helped small businesses thrive, share those success stories.

As a fractional CMO, my role is to shift client focus from their products to the impact and value their offerings create. It's crucial to steer the narrative toward the tangible outcomes and successes that their customers will experience. The true impact is measured not by what my client's business does but by what it accomplishes for its customers. When crafting impact stories, I work not to position my client as the hero but as the ally that empowers the real hero—their customer.

Your earliest customers are more likely to become strong ambassadors of your brand. Talk with them about co-creating a case study that positions the customer brand at the forefront of innovation in their industry, and your product or service as the tool that supports that growth. Also, don't forget to highlight the impact of not only your brand, product or service, but your team behind-the-scenes. It helps with recruitment and retention, while also telling a story of the innovative work your team consistently delivers in a more impactful way.

Engage your audience by making them feel part of your brand's evolution. Encourage user-generated content, create loyalty programs, or provide platforms for feedback. Keeping your audience updated with regular 'inside looks' at your company or sneak peeks of upcoming products can build anticipation and loyalty.

Banana clips, short videos displayed on Adult Swim as a reference, with repeating playable on platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and more are an excellent addition to any organization. This allows ADHD, and many other health disorders, to have an affixing side effect while also gaining high levels of views.

This has to be done carefully, though. We are competing with many other organisations for the attention and love of our audiences, and everyone is trying to win here. So, if you don't connect this to a strong value proposition and really relevant input, it can likely also have the opposite effect of what you are trying to do. So, don't be superficial here.

This is a great way to create long-term fans of your brand and will increase customer loyalty immense. If you have a targeted audience you can speak directly to their pain points and walk them through your solutions and create a high degree of identification. This also creates great brand ambassadors!

There are many ways to partner with members of your audience —?either through user-generated content (UGC), profiles, case studies, and more. Also, if you're creative, you can design content that incorporates voices from customers in your target companies that provides warm leads for your sales team, while highlighting thought leadership from respected professionals in your industry that will then lead to more sales.

Don't forget to bring your team along with you. They are the first true ambassadors and the living embodiment of your story, make sure you are listening to them and your customers.

In my experience, one interesting approach to take is the ''Enemy Approach". Start by asking the question "What is my brand fighting against in the world?" It could be ugliness (Apple), sadness(Coca-Cola), or fear(Nike). Your brand is out to change something in the world, once you figure it out, you know your brand's enemy. Then build your story on how your brand is working to achieve the opposite of the enemy. E.G. Elegance (Apple), Happiness(Coca-Cola), or Courage(Nike). Another method is using "problematic truths". This could be an unmet need, a gap in the market, or a problem with the status quo in an industry. The brand story shows how your brand is inspired to change and engage this problematic truth into a pleasant situation.

When it comes to your brand story, consistency is critical. You want everyone in the business to tell and share the story similarly. The more consistent everyone is, the more broadly the brand story will resonate in your market. Let's use an analogy. Imagine you show up to a local community event. You meet people, introduce yourself, and mingle. People get a sense of who you are. The next time you arrive, people remember you, your story, how you behaved, and how you made them feel. If your interactions and engagements are similar, trust and relationships grow. Now, imagine showing up to that event, but each time you represent someone different. Your voice, tone, and personality change. That inconsistency diminishes your brand story.

After working with different brands across the country, I’ve realised the true essence behind a brand story & a successful brand launch ?? 1. A prior brand research involves using myriad categories of data points to determine what really works! 2. Identifying the gaps in the market with regards to price, quality etc is mandatory for performance! 3. Last but not the least, getting information in the form of testimonials from clients / customers should solve every challenge as it will truly define your product or service. It helps to sharpen the USP!

Personally, I think that you become memorable when you a) talk about something you love in an authentic way (don't overthink it, share, invite discussion, cut the fluff) and b) when you are consistent with that. So, this isn't a huge mysterium and with some basic strategic sorting at the beginning of what you want and why, it is absolutely possible for any type of company.