Your Brand Is Not the Hero. Your Customer Is. Brand Storytelling.
There’s a mistake I see businesses making all the time with their marketing.
And once you notice it, you’ll see it everywhere.
Go onto almost any business website or social media page and you’ll find some version of
this:
We are the best.
We are the biggest.
We have the latest equipment.
We have 20 years of experience.
We’ve just launched this.
We won this award.
We use the highest-quality ingredients.
We have the most beautiful facilities.
Me. Me. Me. Me. Me.
There’s just one problem.
Your customer doesn't really care about your story.
They care about their story.
And that is probably one of the most important things to understand about storytelling in marketing.
Your Customer Is the Hero
I recently watched a great reel from Chris Hewitt about brand storytelling, and he made a very simple point:
Your brand is not the hero of the story. Your customer is.
It sounds obvious.
But look at most marketing and you'll realise how often businesses get this completely backwards.
They make themselves the main character.
But nobody wakes up on Monday morning thinking:
"I really hope I can become part of a company's brand journey today."
They wake up thinking about themselves.
Their problems.
Their plans.
Their frustrations.
Their families.
Their holidays.
Their businesses.
Their dogs.
Their dinner.
Their health.
Their money.
Their lives.
Your business only becomes interesting when it enters their story.
You're Not Luke Skywalker
Think about the classic hero story.
There’s a hero trying to achieve something.
There are obstacles in the way.
And somewhere along the journey, someone appears who helps them get where they need to go.
That's your business.
You're not Luke Skywalker.
You're Yoda.
Your customer is trying to get somewhere.
Your job is to help them get there.
Once you start thinking about marketing like that, the way you create content changes completely.
Brand Storytelling
Stop Selling the Gym
Let's use a gym as an example.
The gym wants to talk about:
"Our brand-new equipment."
"Our amazing trainers."
"Our 2,000-square-metre facility."
"Our new classes."
"Our swimming pool."
"Our supplements."
"Our membership packages."
All perfectly good things.
But they're supporting information.
They're not the story.
The customer might be thinking:
"I want to feel confident taking my shirt off on holiday."
"I want to be able to play football with my kids without feeling exhausted."
"I've just moved to Phuket and want to meet some people."
"I haven't exercised for five years and I'm nervous about walking into a gym."
That's the story.
Now your equipment, trainers, classes and facilities have a purpose.
They help the hero get somewhere.
The Same Applies to Hotels
Hotels are particularly good at making themselves the hero.
Look at our rooms.
Look at our swimming pool.
Look at our breakfast buffet.
Look at our spa.
Look at our view.
Beautiful photographs. Beautiful drone shots. Beautiful people drinking cocktails.
But what's the customer's story?
Maybe two parents have spent six months working ridiculous hours and barely seeing their children.
They don't need a hotel room.
They want three days together as a family.
The room enables that.
The pool enables that.
The activities enable that.
The breakfast enables that.
The hotel isn't the story.
The family is.
That's a very different piece of marketing.
Restaurants Do It Too
"We use premium imported ingredients."
Great.
"We have an award-winning chef."
Excellent.
"We have a beautiful sea view."
Lovely.
But why is someone actually booking a table?
Maybe it's their wife's birthday.
Maybe they're meeting someone they haven't seen for two years.
Maybe it's a first date.
Maybe they just finished an absolutely horrible week at work and want a steak, a bottle of wine and two hours where nobody bothers them.
That's the story.
Your restaurant is simply where that story happens.
Even Dog Businesses Get This Wrong
Let's take a dog hotel.
You could spend all day talking about your facilities.
Air-conditioned rooms.
Huge exercise areas.
Professional handlers.
Swimming pools.
Training facilities.
Cameras.
Luxury bedding.
But what's the customer's real problem?
They're going on holiday and feel guilty about leaving their dog.
That's the story.
The customer wants to get on the plane knowing:
"My dog is going to have an amazing time without me."
Suddenly your marketing isn't about kennels, square metres and facilities.
It's about removing guilt and worry.
The facilities are simply the evidence that you can do it.
So Where Does Your Product Fit?
Your product matters.
Your service matters.
Your experience matters.
But they're not the hero.
They're the enabler.
You help somebody move from:
Problem → Solution
Frustration → Relief
Confusion → Clarity
Fear → Confidence
Boredom → Experience
Stress → Relaxation
Where they are now → Where they want to be.
That's the story your marketing should be telling.
Here's a Very Simple Test
Go to your website.
Open your Instagram.
Look at your last ten Facebook posts.
And count how many times you talk about:
We.
Our.
Us.
Then look at how often you talk about:
You.
Your problem.
Your experience.
Your outcome.
You might be surprised.
Because a lot of businesses think they're doing storytelling when they're actually just talking about themselves with nicer photography.
Flip the Story
Instead of:
"We have experienced personal trainers."
Try:
"Walking into a gym for the first time can be intimidating. You don't need to know what you're doing. That's our job."
Instead of:
"Our resort offers jungle trekking, bamboo rafting and canoeing."
Try:
"When was the last time your kids forgot about their phones for an entire afternoon?"
Instead of:
"We operate luxury private speedboats."
Try:
"No crowds. No fixed timetable. Just your family deciding where you want to go next."
Same business.
Same product.
Same service.
Completely different story.
Because now the customer can see themselves in it.
The Fastest Way to Improve Your Marketing
Before you create your next advert, Reel, blog or social media post, ask one question:
Who is the hero of this story?
If the answer is your company, rewrite it.
Start with the customer.
What do they want?
What's stopping them?
How do they feel?
What changes after using your product?
Then position your business where it belongs.
As the thing that helps them get there.
Because great brand storytelling isn't really about telling people your story.
It's about showing customers what's possible in theirs.
Got it? Good.
Jay Leshark
Shark 13
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