How to create brand narratives that resonate with your audience

Data-driven decision-making and compelling brand storytelling are essential for success.

During one of our events, marketing leaders shared their insights on leveraging data, understanding customer behavior, and crafting an impactful brand narrative.

Below are the key takeaways from their conversation – but if you want to catch the full convo, check out the video here:

The power of being data-driven

Marketing has evolved, and being data-driven is now a requirement rather than an option. Leaders need to ensure their teams are using data to share brand narratives, not just relying on gut instinct or outdated assumptions.

One of the most effective ways to do this is by surveying customers – both current and potential. Regular research, whether through third-party studies or quick internal polls, provides valuable insights into customer behavior.

For example, in the electric vehicle (EV) space, studies revealed that consumers don’t talk about charging in terms of amps or kilowatts; instead, they care about how many miles they can get per hour of charging. This small but crucial insight shaped how the company communicated its value proposition to potential buyers.

Marketers must also challenge internal assumptions. Just because something was true a decade ago doesn’t mean it’s true today.

If a founder or long-time exec says, “This is what our customers care about,” the next question should be, “How do we know that? What data supports it?” Competitive analysis is another crucial piece – knowing what rivals are doing can help brands stay ahead of industry shifts.

Gaining market insights

Beyond customer research, brands need to understand the bigger picture.

Competitive analysis helps businesses find where they can stand out, while sales and customer success teams provide real-world insights from the front lines. These teams interact with customers every day, so their feedback is invaluable.

Macroeconomic and technological trends also shape consumer behavior. Take Germany’s push for vehicle-to-grid technology – by keeping an eye on such developments, businesses can stay ahead of the curve.

Tools like PESTEL analysis (which looks at Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, and Legal factors) can help companies anticipate external shifts before they happen.

Educating the C-suite on marketing’s value

One of the biggest challenges marketing leaders face is getting the executive team to truly understand the impact of marketing.

The best way to do this? Speak their language – numbers. Executives care about measurable outcomes, so framing marketing’s value in terms of data and financial impact makes all the difference.

Building strong relationships across departments also helps. When marketing collaborates with sales, finance, and product teams, it ensures a unified approach to brand storytelling.

If leadership understands and supports the marketing strategy, implementation becomes much smoother.

Crafting a compelling brand narrative

A strong brand story starts with knowing your audience’s aspirations. Every brand should ask: Who do our customers want to become? What drives them?

In the EV industry, research has identified three major buyer types: the tech-savvy early adopters who love the latest innovations, the environmentally conscious buyers focused on sustainability, and the pragmatic consumers who just want something reliable and safe.

By understanding these different personas, brands can tailor their messaging accordingly.

A crucial lesson in brand storytelling is making the customer the hero—not the company. Instead of saying, “Look how great we are,” businesses should position themselves as the tool that helps customers achieve their goals. This shift makes messaging more relatable and impactful.

Another important factor is mapping out the customer journey. From initial awareness to long-term engagement, every interaction should reinforce the brand’s value in a way that feels natural and seamless.

Scaling a brand story across the organization

It’s one thing to create a brand strategy – it’s another to make sure it sticks across the entire company. Sales and customer-facing teams, in particular, need to be on board.

A mix of top-down leadership alignment and bottom-up employee engagement is key.

One way to do this is through internal surveys and crowdsourcing. When employees have a say in defining how they contribute to the brand promise, they’re more likely to embrace it.

Internal competitions, such as pitch contests, can also encourage teams to incorporate storytelling into their roles. And of course, using multiple communication channels – Slack, SharePoint, email – ensures consistent messaging across departments.

Training sales and success teams on storytelling

For a brand story to truly resonate, sales and customer success teams need to be comfortable sharing it. That means providing them with a clear, repeatable narrative that feels natural to use.

Salespeople are often driven by incentives, so incorporating brand storytelling into sales competitions can be an effective way to encourage adoption.

Real-world case studies can also help. When teams see how storytelling has driven results for others, they’re more likely to embrace it themselves.

Reinforcing the brand promise

Employees are a company’s best brand ambassadors, but they need the right tools and training to deliver a consistent experience. Brands like Apple and Nordstrom have mastered this with well-defined internal processes.

Apple store employees, for example, are trained to do two things before a customer leaves: upsell a product or reinforce brand affinity.

Meanwhile, Nordstrom’s “Four on the Floor” rule requires sales associates to bring out four shoeboxes – one with the requested size, one in a different size based on fit, one alternative style, and one complementary option.

These kinds of internal branding strategies create a seamless customer experience that aligns with the company’s values.

By integrating data-driven insights, customer-focused storytelling, and company-wide alignment, brands can craft narratives that resonate both inside and outside the organization.

The key to success? Keep learning, keep adapting, and keep reinforcing the brand promise at every opportunity.

This article was inspired by a talk on one of our CMO Summit events, with Channing Fleetwood, SVP & Chief Marketing Officer at JAMS, and Amy Barzdukas, Senior Vice President, Marketing Practice at Roberts Marketing.

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