Your Story Matters

How could we not move to Hannibal? When reading my dad’s birth certificate, I discovered the grandmother I never met was born in Hannibal, MO in 1906. We were always told she was from St. Louis. And the huge Mark Twain statue we pass on the road leading to our property was designed and constructed by someone with the same last name as Wendy’s family name. Then there’s the “official” Hannibal tourist coffee mug I purchased during an early reconnaissance trip, with a simple instruction printed on the side… “Write your own story.” That message was a clear invitation… it was time for us to write our own story for what my friend David Wolfe called “the Autumn season of life.”

We’re now writing that story in Hannibal, MO. Every day, Wendy and I are actively writing our story. It’s a live action thriller that involves gardens, wildlife, friends, family and community. Your customers are busy writing their own stories, too. And like us, it revolves around hopes, dreams, challenges and success. Your best chance of playing a role in your customer’s adventure is to become a supporting character in their story. Telling your story through marketing has one purpose… creating a personal connection people will remember. Every message that follows regardless of how it’s delivered, needs to explain why what you’re saying is important to the stories customers are writing about themselves. “Here’s why who we are, what we do and what we sell will make your story more exciting, more interesting and a run-away hit with a happy ending.”

Remember… your story only matters to your customers when you clearly explain why your story will improve their story.

So get busy writing! Your story matters.

Robert Hendrickson