Give me what I want, when I want it…

As storytellers, we’re inclined to wax lyrical about our clients and their products and/or services. We look for stories of goodwill about their local CSI projects and their new eco-friendly recycling ethos hoping that anyone who listens will feel warm and fuzzy about the brand as a result. But will that fuzzy feeling translate into a meaningful ROI?

Truth is, it might just be time for a new set of lyrics.

Today’s all-consuming consumers have simple needs. All they really want to know is whether a product will make their lives better. Will your service allow them to spend more time with their children and less time working or running errands? These are the messages and the stories that will create demand, which means these are the stories we need to tell.

To tell better stories we need to start asking better questions…

So your new laptop is really thin and light? Big deal – how good is the battery when I’m on the road with the kids and need to entertain them with cartoons? How good is the video quality when I want to Skype call my daughter who has been on a Contiki tour for a month? So your new app was invented by a 17-year-old? Good for you. But can it help me keep track of all the children’s afterschool activities? Will it reduce my stress levels so I don’t start a fight with hubby tonight?

And when you finally do have the right story to tell, deliver it smartly. The noisy and polluted communications environment has made us channel agnostic.  As we opt out of traditional platforms like television and radio and more into the realm of social networking, live streaming and experiential marketing, the touch points have become far less important than the message. Who can really remember where they heard about a great special or that really emotional sound bite? TV, radio, social media or maybe a friend? As an integrated consumer communications agency, our job is to ensure that we don’t miss a beat and that we tell the most meaningful story in the most accessible way, every time.