It was the end of Thanksgiving dinner 2009. Great Uncle Ernest had just finished his pecan pie when he turned and said to no one in particular, “Did I ever tell you the story of the Christmas I spent in Italy? Well, I was twenty years old. Before I left, I gave my girl a ring. It was just beautiful. My grandfather had given it to his wife. Now, my grandfather, he was not a nice man. As a matter of fact, he was a really terribly mean man. Did I ever tell you the story of the time he made me sleep in the barn? A horse kicked me in the elbow.”
Now that it’s the holiday season, you are likely to run into your family’s version of Great Uncle Ernest, that miscellaneous relative of yours who tends to tell really long stories with lots of digressions.
Now, Great Uncle Ernest is 1000 years old and has thereby earned his right to do this. And out of respect for the dear rambling relatives of the world, we’re not going to hate on rambling, in general.
But let’s just say…your business doesn’t want to be like Great Uncle Ernest.
While families are usually pretty accepting of elderly relatives’ stories that segue from Christmas in Italy to an elbow-kicking horse, your customers are less likely to accept a rambling story from you.
You want your business to seem organized and professional, so that’s why branding is so important. Instead of a little of this and a little of that, like Uncle Ernest’s story, you want a story that’s polished and put together perfectly.
Keeping your story from rambling starts with knowing your own story. And once you’ve developed a vision of what you want your business to be, you can tell your story clearly through your policies, your products, your printed materials, and your promotional items.
Is your business Italian? Beautiful and shiny? Grandfatherly? Does it kick people in the elbow? As a business owner, you get to decide, but it’s best to try to stay consistent with whatever you choose.
