Through a special arrangement, what follows is a summary of an article from Retail Paradox, RSR Research’s weekly analysis on emerging issues facing retailers, presented here for discussion.
Does every brand actually have a story? My immediate answer would be "Yes!" But a recent discussion on Retail Paradox around brand storytelling led to a debate on whether retailer brands known only for low price or retailers that don’t focus on their own brand at all (but rather focus on the major product brands they sell) actually have a story.
I still maintain every brand has an opportunity to tell a story. But in order for that story to be accepted by consumers, the brand needs to do two simple things:
1) Stand for something.
This is usually some kind of value proposition that is wrapped up in the concept of "brand." Some examples (these are my perspectives as a shopper/industry observer):
- Target – cheap, chic, and practical
- Walmart – lowest price, always
- Burberry – tradition and trend with a British attitude
- Chipotle – fast, fresh, sustainable
- REI – active, outdoor, environmental
If you stand for something, you essentially have the "setting" for your story. Once you stand for something, you need to…
2) Prove it.
It’s one thing to stand for something; it’s another thing entirely to devote resources and time to supporting it. For example, let’s say I was a hypothetical very large, efficient retailer building my brand on the idea of lowest price. The story I would want to tell is, perhaps, "We help you afford the things you need."
But in order to tell a genuine story, that philosophy would have to be embraced at all levels. That means it would be very difficult to get away with promoting "affordability" when, say, a portion of my workforce received state welfare benefits. Or, say, my negotiating power with suppliers forced some to go under.
My "affordability" claims could be bolstered by offering low cost health care clinics and other typically expensive services in my stores — such as vision, hearing, and maybe even dental services — beyond the basics of food, clothing and general merchandise. Clinics on budgeting and financial planning, and maybe even day care services, could be explored.
In other words, I would need to demonstrate that I care about affordability to the point where my company lives it top to bottom, and that my company needs to represent affordable living. And that I care whether my customers are achieving that goal — that I’m taking steps to help my customers achieve that goal.
So, yes, every brand can tell a story. But only if they’re willing to do what it takes to mean it and to live it. Especially in this connected era of customer control and digital media, a sense of sincerity and authenticity is vital to being able to tell a brand story. It’s so vital, it’s a prerequisite.
BrainTrust
Discussion Questions
Do you think every retailer needs to tell a story? What are the particularly challenges in delivering genuine branding messages for stores focused only on lowest price or largely sell national vendor brands?
Poll
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I agree with Nikki – every retailer needs to tell a story, in that they have to have a positioning the shopper can understand and that positioning has to be meaningful (hence the death of Winn-Dixie in Atlanta). Low price or great selection are easy stories to tell – everyone can see that. It’s Publix “a pleasure to shop” that’s the harder pitch to get across successfully (which they do).
Everything in life has a story and retailers – especially retailers – need to leverage their story and re-tune their brand fable to each target market group. The story an older retailer has must be re-tuned and re-voiced for the mad Millennial market. Many companies have done this already, but the story must be under continual renewal in the retailers’ marketing programs and kept top-of-mind among the marketing-overwhelmed shoppers.
Brand story is the core to long range retail success. The paradox is mapping the story to the ever-changing, technology crazed shoppers.
Every brand needs to have a core story: Who you are. What you do. Who you do it for. And why it matters. The core story needs to resonate with consumers, employees and suppliers.
A retailer who competes on price and largely sells national and store brands needs a story. It could be the quality of the store brands or excellent customer service or convenience.
Without a core story, a brand has little reason for being.
Every brand has a story to tell, but some stories are more entertaining and compelling than others.
I believe in corporate storytelling. In fact, I published a book on it. But, like any “one size fits all” theory the “every brand MUST tell a story approach” isn’t always true.
Everyone can fit into a muumuu, but have you ever really seen anyone look good when they were wearing one?
If the retailer’s brand identity is largely defined by price or vendor brands, then they can create connections by effectively telling their customer’s story, their vendors stories, and telling how they are bringing those two together.
Every retailer has a story – and not always the one they THINK they are telling. The story resides within the shopper. Family Dollar, Dollar General, and Walmart all mine the low-price area – but have very different perceptions among shoppers even though at first blush, the stories might seem similar. Wendy’s, Burger King, and McDonald’s might seem to have the same business model – but the stories that resonate with shopper/patrons is vastly different. Morton’s, Ruth’s Chris, and Peter Luger’s are all steakhouses – but the stories are different REGARDLESS of what they claim.
The story partially exists in the SHOPPER, not the STORE. The store can influence, model, demonstrate, etc. – however, it is a combined or mutual effort.
I couldn’t agree more with Nikki…as usual. I think retailers need to think of themselves as brands, first. Many don’t do that. They can learn from their CPG business partners, since many of them have the highest brand value of any brand globally (InterBrand.com). Every retailer has a story…or needs one desperately.
The challenge comes when the retailer (or CPG brand) tries to prove it. Most often, “talk is cheap” and the follow through of corporate messaging falls short of effective execution in the marketplace. There are great examples mentioned herein, and I believe every retailer has the potential to capture a truly loyal following by leveraging some best practices in the industry today.
I think all agree that every retailer has, for better or worse, positioned themselves and therefore has created a story. The questions really are: 1) Does that positioning meet the needs and wants of consumers? 2) Is it a story that customers will be ready and willing to share with others? 3) Is it a story that delivers rational or emotional reasons to do business with that retailer?
Low price is certainly a story that addresses all three points. And there is always a story to be told about the positive customer experience (helpful employees, clean and bright stores, free samples, etc.) no matter whose brands the retailer is selling.
Yes, every retailer needs to tell a story. In fact, they already do. All of them.
The problem is that that the retailers don’t own these stories, the shoppers do. Retailers may tell the stories, and some do it better than others, but shoppers have their own interpretations and it is the shopper’s version that is reality. Whole Foods may try to tell one story, but the moniker “Whole Paycheck” illustrates something else that the retailer may not have been trying to communicate, but something that, for many shoppers, is an essential part of that brand’s story today. The simple truth is that even if a retailer is not actively trying to tell a story, shoppers form an image of that retailer. That image IS the retailer’s story, unless the retailer steps in and tries to redirect the story.
As for store brands, every day, more of them can stand on their own merit, rather than riding the coattails of a national brand due to their look-alike packaging…the Kirkland brand is just one example.
Every retailer needs a brand and every brand needs to stand for something in order to be defined as a brand. Retailers who stand for nothing, with no story to tell – or no credible story to tell – fail. Two great examples: JCP and Circuit City.
It is absolutely imperative that every brand tell a story – a story that evokes emotion. To effectively form this lasting impression the message must be consistent, memorable, and believable.
As pretty much always, I agree with Nikki! Every brand should have a story. These days in particular, it is extremely important.
Competition is great and loyalty is low. Retailers must find a way to differentiate themselves and must do it in a way that is in the face of the consumer. In Nikki’s words, they must Prove It!
Game on retailers!
Consumers buy products from retailers they trust to deliver values they want. No. Most retailers should avoid this brand storytelling misdirection. This offshoot of the brand market style theory has never shown that the creative implementations of it actually drive profit for anyone other than the agencies promoting it.
So stay focused on the fundamentals – offer products your consumers want to buy that are consistent with the values you deliver. That’s the path to profit no matter what the brand storytelling theorists might claim.
Businesses can get by without telling a story or standing for something. They can do this by being in the right place at the right time, finding a real estate strategy that fits a demographic trend, and being the first to merchandise a hot product. But as soon as that initial opportunity fades, retailers that haven’t built a brand story will see their consumers move on and their business fade away.
Some categories, like batteries or ink jet cartridges, are too boring to tell a story. Others, which need some “romance” to get people to shop, do. It depends on the company.
The story can be the brand promise. And the brand promise needs to be short, to the point, easy to understand and promise benefit and value for the customer. Then the customer has to agree and be in sync with what you promise. When that happens, you have customer synchronicity.
Ace Hardware is known as the helpful hardware place. That’s their story and they’re sticking to it. They have many testimonials from happy customers that support that.
The Ritz-Carlton has a simple nine word credo: We are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen. That tells the story, right there.
So, what’s your story?
Good article!
Here are some perspectives that I think retailers should pay more attention to:
1. Brand promises of yesterday may no longer be true today. The competitive landscape is very dynamic and retailers need to regularly validate how customers perceive their brand: it may no longer offer the best value or most choice or be the best for the environment. Keeping on top of this is vital.
2. Echoing the article, “proving it” needs to be authentic and demonstrated at all levels. This is not just some glossy marketing communication. In today’s world it is easier for customers to amplify dissatisfaction and perceived hypocrisy.
3. Customer data can really help retailers navigate this in a way sales data can’t. For instance, the sales line will not reveal an eroding engagement with loyal customers nor which need states are being served well or poorly. Customer data can provide this early warning and pulse on the business to help retailers know which brand promises they are succeeding with and which need more work.
Every brand needs to have a consistent promise that they deliver on which forms the basis of the story. It can be about price, merchandising, visuals, logo, store experience, etc. If your story and promise is low price or selling national vendor brands, as long as you act consistently according to the principle, it will build something that the customers will rely on mentally. The challenge in the longer run is whether that is something sustainable and differentiated if others come into the market with similar promises, or execute better on them.
Without a doubt, the growth of Private Label was slowed due to lack of marketing by retailers. Every Private Label brand should have a story. Sometimes just Aunt Opeal’s jams create the right image. Look at how Fairway creates department stories. Too much time has been spent on the low price message for Private Label. The consumer is not dumb; they can see the price difference. Better retailer marketing would allow the gap to be decreased and greater profits would follow.
Every retailer needs to tell a story! And yes prove it! But it needs to be simple, and memorable so the customer can retell it to others, proving ‘They Are Smart’ for shopping at that particular store.
This question led me to search for something I ran into long ago, Aristotle’s Rhetoric, written in the 4th century BC. Here is the edited version from Wikipedia:
“A persuasive argument requires the orator to be first grounded in credibility (ethos), in the emotions and psychology of the audience (pathos), and in patterns of reasoning (logos) – and also be concerned with lexis (style) and taxis (arrangement for works.)” In that order.
If you want answers to questions relating to Agora Marketing, I think this covers it – without credibility the rest falls on deaf ears. These days you got’s to know and communicate truth.
I would argue that brands have more power than ever to tell their story, thanks to technology. Small and large retailers both can tap solutions to make their products stand out to customers, using nearly any device or make their in-store experience memorable with interactive kiosks.
Retailers should also focus on reusing existing assets in different channels to help shape their story – for example, product videos could be syndicated off-site to media partners, industry blogs, etc. If they have the content already, they can easily repurpose. Every brand and every retailer could and should be telling its own story right now.