How to turn your customers into raving fans.

(First published on Superbrands on november 25.)

We all dream of building successful brands like Apple or Nike. Few pull it off. We call ourselves professionals, so shouldn’t we do better? Especially since mankind obviously has had a clear understanding of the power of a brand for thousands of years. A quick glance at the christian cross, or the muslim crescent, is proof enough.

An embarrasing question comes to mind:

Can today’s brand managers learn from the ancient religous sages?

To find the answer we have to turn to neuroscience, or more specifically, a fMRI-scanner. Thanks to this piece of equipment we can gather data of exactly what goes on inside our heads when we look att pictures of famous brands – and compare these with those of diehard religious people when they’re exposed to spiritual symbols. And here’s the earth-trembling news:

The neuro-patterns are exactly the same.

Clearly, we’re missing something obvious, but what? Because here we are, in the beginning of the 21st century, trying to find the holy grail of advertising. We go to universities to learn the theories, we manage focus groups to figure out how people think and react, and we constantly look for more effective ways to connect with our audiencies. Yet the answer is both simple and old-fashioned.

It all comes down to telling a good story.

Whether you want to build a strong brand or start a new religion you have to start with a compelling plot. Here are a few pointers:

First, you need a character your audience can relate to. Correction: you need to be a character. This will create identification.

Second, you must decide on a goal that’s both tough and inspiring – so bold in fact, that your success/failure ratio is 50-50. Now you have a vision, a direction and a strategy. At this point you should have butterflies in your stomach, or something is wrong.

To make things even worse, enter a fierce antagonist. The sole purpose of this character is to prevent you from reaching your goal, because the antagonist’s motives are exactly the opposite of your own. This will lead to conflict and suspense.

Now you’re in the heat of the action, which in turn, will create lots of feelings. Don’t be afraid, feelings are great, they are nature’s way of getting things done.

Suddenly your goal seems even more distant and you start to realise that you need help. That’s why you need a flag (think christian crusaders), on which you print a visually strong symbol. Because this quest of yours will be a hardship, and in the midst of the battle you need to let others know what side you’re on, so they instantly can decide whether they want to take part of your vision or not.

If done cogently, you could soon have a whole army of raving fans by your side, always prepared to act on a wink, a nod or a flick of the wrist.

For every step you take, every battle won, the myth grows larger and deeper, and your image as a hero builds up.

You will without doubt face defeats. This is the crux of storytelling: You’re part of a story. A story needs action. And action is built by a number of small setbacks followed by the sweet smell of victory.

Never give up. Don’t fear opposition. Don’t run from conflict. Don’t fear the fear. They are your best friends. If you lose them you don’t have a story.

No story, no hero.

No hero, no brand.

That’s all to it, really.

All good writers know this, of course. But you’re a businessman. If you’re like most businessmen you were taught to make brand decisions based on core values, not stories.

Here’s a tip from The School of Hard Knocks:

Forget core values. They don’t lead to anything. They have no conflict, no suspense, no interaction. All they’re saying is »I’m perfect!«. And that’s pompous bullshit to the average consumer. If you want to build a successful brand, my best advice is to study how the great religions are sold to the world, or how the entertainment industry works. We are, after all, in the storytelling industry.

Stories are sticky. Stories unite people, make them interact and engage with each other. Stories create a sense of belonging, just as they’ve done since man learned to walk upright.

Now, what’s your story?