Storytelling, narratives, and growth for founders.
We are living in the golden age of storytelling and this has made life more interesting. As customers, we tend to connect with and remember stories more than facts, and this is an opportunity for many brands. But as a founder or startup marketer, your job is not to tell just any story. Your job is to tell a story that straddles the value you deliver and your customers’ most pressing needs, often the ones they are actively looking to solve. This is the story that unlocks behavior and leads to growth.
That’s what we’ll unfold here, from understanding what a growth narrative is to avoiding common mistakes. Fair warning though, your growth story starts with your customer and your positioning. You and your company are the final pieces that lock into place.
A narrative is your story alone. It often starts with, “I was inspired when” or “we wanted a world with more…” And there is nothing wrong with this story but does it truly connect to your customer’s present reality, interests, emotions, and goals? If not, then it is your story and not theirs.
A growth narrative, in contrast, begins with the thing your audience passionately wants to solve right now and connects that to your authentic story.
This is easier said than done. Your prospects may not yet appreciate the ultimate value that you deliver. They may “just” be looking for XXX when you could deliver so much more. Your loyal customers know it to be true. So do you. But they don’t.
Put simply, you can sell the best cappuccino in the world, but if your customers are just desperate for a caffeine fix, then they aren’t going to wait in line and pay a premium for your cappuccino. That is when your growth narrative must bridge the thing you do with the thing they want. Perhaps the best cappuccino in the world also offers a longer-lasting caffeine fix. (?)
Finding the answer is as much about your narrative as it is about your go-to-market and your positioning, but fortunately, it’s heavy lifting that pays off down the line. With your narrative in place, your story can mold to fit any format or situation, from a sales presentation to social media, your website, or a stage.
Passionate founders solve real problems but often fall short of connecting them to their customers’ present reality and concrete pain.
Here are just a few of the real-life examples I’ve seen:
The good news is that your growth narrative can also speak to the larger “assumed pain” or bigger problem you want to solve. After all, most companies do want to make a difference. The majority of diabetes patients do want to achieve better health…
But the concrete and pressing pain is what they will act on first.
Let’s take the last example and see how the message changes:
Note that both options sound fine. However, the second option acknowledges the big picture while tapping into the prospect’s most pressing concern and context.
Mistake — your narrative is about a too-big movement
Your narrative should inspire and go beyond ”features talk,” but be sure to anchor that in reality. Often, customers want a simple solution to an irritating problem.
Mistake — your narrative lacks messaging levels
Brands and products operate on different levels, from features to product, community, and movement. Messaging should also be adapted if you are talking to a subject matter expert versus procurement or a CEO. Be sure the right messages are always served up to the right people.
Mistake — you forgot to talk to your customer
It is impossible to understand your customer’s reality and mindset without asking them. Surveys help, AI is a champ, and interviews are gold. You will never regret investing in gold.
Mistake — your narrative puts you in direct competition with someone you cannot beat
Re-define the competitive space by finding the problem that only you can solve and do it for a defined and specific customer. This can provide you with a wedge strategy where you are the only winner.
This final “mistake” is actually a larger point and warrants a few articles on its own. Strong positioning is the foundation of your growth narrative, so let’s expand on what that is.
If you have a strong “enough” product-market fit and are still struggling to find the right words, you may have a positioning problem. Enter the positioning Venn diagram.
To unlock this piece of magic, take your time filling out each circle and pay attention to the overlaps. In particular:
My favorite thing about the positioning Venn diagram is the overlap between your competitor’s strengths and what your customers want. For example, if you are a young company that lacks the robust history and credibility to sell to enterprise companies, you may feel tempted to appear bigger and more impressive. But look at this challenge in reverse. To a medium-sized company, you could be the modern solution that will finally give their account the attention it needs (precisely because you are not selling to an enterprise).
We won’t spend a lot of time here, but rest assured that your buyers have feelings. Your solution may help them feel confident and calm in an uncertain situation. They may fear missing out on something their peers are doing. As you dig into their reality (based on survey or interview responses), consider and debate with others how that might feel. You can even use AI tools to expand on the possible emotions sitting just under the surface like, “Would implementing this make me shine in the office.” Or “I’ve tried this before, if I try again will I just prove that I’m a failure?”
Then factor this into your messaging and use it to build stories. People make decisions based on emotions. They usually just call it their “gut.”
Your key steps for achieving the above are as follows:
Key, your sales deck is an unmatched opportunity to evaluate your new narrative.
When I drafted this article, it included the following sentence: “There are many formulas for creating a sales deck — choose your favorite. They all work.”
But that’s not entirely true.
If you’ve earned a few customers and are looking to grow, then your sales deck is utterly important and the typical formulas are not up to the job.
I’ve always built from-scratch sales decks that unfold each growth narrative in just the right order: empowering the buyer, describing the market situation, creating consideration, debunking doubts, positioning “just right” against the competition, and priming the next sales step. I claimed it was bespoke and never formulaic but fortunately for us… I was wrong!
April Dunford’s “Sales Pitch” describes why overused sales-deck formulas fail, like the overly-hyped “before and after” new world. She lays out a thoughtful method that mirrors many successful presentations I have worked with. Naturally, I am a fan and the formula is yours to replicate.
Option two happens to be my territory, so I know it can be done.
A positioning and narrative expert acts like a temporary colleague and finishes the job in about two to four months. This approach is valuable for a few reasons: (1) it keeps your positioning deeply tied to your business strategy, and helps you implement the work internally. Unfortunately, agency setups struggle to achieve this. (2) start-ups don’t need a full-time, permanent employee working on their narrative alone (though if you’ve snagged a senior marketing leader with a decade of experience and positioning expertise, take the win and run! (3) It’s exceptionally difficult to adopt an outside-in view of your own positioning and narrative.
Frankly, if you are a passionate founder, then you care too much. A fractional marketer or consultant brings a much-needed outside perspective.
I offer a free introductory call to help founders identify their next step for creating a growth narrative. You can find my booking details on my website or LinkedIn at: linkedin.com/in/kristengailandersen or www.redthread.dk.
As your story comes together, it’s helpful to ensure it addresses the main questions your audience will have in the back of their minds. While this list is not comprehensive, it’s a great start for any piece of content, from your website to the sales presentation:
This is where you can finally let loose. Employees and investors will appreciate your customer narrative, but they also want to know your story, the vision, and dig into the company culture.
Naturally, investors will also expect relevant financial information, and want to hear about your founding team’s competencies. Employees want to know about the fruit basket and the opportunity to join the company on the ground floor. As with your customer exercise, put yourself in their shoes and tailor the story to their interests.
You know your customer’s buying context and pains now. You’ve recognized and accepted the gap between what they want and what they actually need, and you know how your narrative can bridge the gap.
This is when you start to stand a bit taller. It is the moment when the words come flying to you, almost like magic. All you need is a pen and paper to capture them.
After 15 years at leading digital agencies, consultancies, and corporates, Kristen was grateful for the experience but desperate to ditch the bureaucracy, move faster, and deliver impact. In 2022, she opened “Red Thread,” a fractional marketing and project-based consultancy that helps growing companies connect with their customers and build a story with impact — one growth narrative at a time.
Core services include: defining your growth narrative, positioning, customer insights interviews, and messaging development for websites, sales, and presentations. Kristen also offers part-time (“fractional) marketing leadership.
100Tasks subscribers: book a free introductory call to explore your next steps for building a growth narrative at linkedin.com/in/kristengailandersen
Martin Bell (Founder & CEO of Bell Ventures) is the visionary and driving force behind the hyper-successful 100 Tasks Startup System which has driven the growth of 20,000+ startups including Zalando and Delivery Hero.
At Rocket Internet, he pioneered the 100-Day-Launch process and led 120+ private and public sector venture-building projects.
Now Martin aims to democratize entrepreneurship by sharing his invaluable practical knowledge and tools to empower aspiring entrepreneurs just like you. Does that sound like you? Then make sure to learn more below ...
