Powerful and attractive brand experiences begin with an impactful strategic narrative. Why? Because a great story that brings customers to your doorstep and gets them to believe in your company’s vision and mission.
There are numerous reasons for developing a strategic narrative (a business strategy for storytelling) as we will delve into further in this post. Namely, strategic narratives are a keen way to establish brand leadership in increasingly competitive marketplaces. Narratives can assist in establishing a differentiated approach that will guide your company story through all internal and external stakeholders, and to your audience in a cohesive and uniform manner.
Many companies have invested in this business strategy because it can bring magnificent results. Often led through executive leadership and/or marketing departments, a strategic narrative is only as effective as the perception it brings. You may be asking yourself, if your company has a strategic narrative, and if so, how effective is it today?
In this post, we will detail the importance of assessing your own strategic narrative, including 10 reasons why you need one today.
TL;DR – I know the value of getting a strategic narrative assessment, and I want mine now>>>!
What is a Strategic Narrative Assessment?
A narrative assessment helps you gain useful insights by comparing your company’s narrative (how you talk about yourself to the market) to your top competitors.
It is intended to provide a perception audit of sorts through brutally honest, third-party feedback from strategic communications experts that are removed from internal conflict and beliefs. It helps you discover if you really stack up and if your industry narrative and market positioning is consistent, differentiated and helping advance your industry category.
What’s more is the team at Catapult PR-IR, a B2B technology public relations firm, is offering a narrative assessment for free. We have helped dozens of companies inspire new ways of thinking, make them stand out, and align their organization around a common vision.
All it takes is 60-seconds to get started: https://www.catapultpr-ir.com/messaging-assessment-v2/
10 Reasons to Get a Narrative Assessment
- Revive tired corporate messaging for your company. Many leaders feel the need to overhaul messaging to make their offerings more appealing, particularly if they are losing out to the competition or if the message has become too convoluted to understand. Create a consistent, unified message that stands out and moves your organization from explaining – to leading.
- Align your entire organization around its “North Star.” Nearly all of the greatest companies today have taken a “north star” approach to what it is they’re doing, which helps them gain influence. By defining the “why” as an organization, it gives something tangible for everyone to associate with and take charge of making that vision a reality. Learn “How a Strategic Narrative Helped DevOps Institute find its ‘Why’”
- Align your marketing, sales and product teams to rally around something new. Have any new marketing initiatives, sales channels or product/service offerings you want to unveil? The face of any brand starts with its own people, and in particular, those people who are constantly in front of customers. Isn’t it time that all the customer-facing people are saying the same thing with a keen understanding of why your company is here to serve them?
- Say (and be) something different. A breath of fresh air in a noisy and competitive environment is always revitalizing – not just for your company, but for the industry at-large. Being bold and saying something different helps a company standout and put stakes in the ground around something bigger you’re aspiring to in the future. Simply put, a strong narrative should challenge the status quo.
- Attain the opportunity to take charge of, and lead, your industry at a pivotal time. Become the voice your industry needs in order to embrace changing market dynamics and lead your customers toward the future. To do so, a company’s narrative must reflect the time and place of when and how it is operating within its market. In other words, self-awareness is key. A narrative may be too futuristic or inundated, which won’t resonate with customers or influencers Or worse, prove that your company is too far behind what’s happening today.
- Gain the outside expertise you need to think differently. Third-party feedback is critical for assessing your own narrative. Especially as companies grow, people within the organization can be victims of their own echo chambers, internal conflicts, etc. The value of an outsider providing a perception audit of what they see and read will always present you with feedback you haven’t previously considered.
- Narratives are an essential building block to reposition a company. There are numerous examples of why any company wants to make a change. From the brand look and feel to entering new markets or offering new product lines, a company must keep true to the core competency that made them successful in the first place. Think about a venn diagram – your company’s narrative must be at the center of any rebrand, market pivot or new solution it brings to its customers and stakeholders.
- Strategic narratives can help companies raise capital. A powerful narrative should excite more than customers; it should entice venture capitalists, investment firms and future board members to take action. While revenue numbers and growth trajectories speak volumes, people with deep pockets want to believe in the mission of the companies they are investing in for the future. Too often, we hear from investors that a company’s messaging sucks and their mission is ill-defined or short sighted. Don’t fall into that category!
- Delaying the work on your narrative means you’ll be losing to those that aren’t. For companies large and small, you’re never finished working on your narrative. Companies will be faced with challenges from external market forces and internal struggles, but there’s no better time than now to adopt, implement or further develop an industry narrative.
- You can start today and it’s 100% free. All it takes is some basic information and a team of strategic communications experts will deliver analysis and recommendations. “Catapult’s Strategic Narrative Marketing Approach uncovered our true company vision which is to rapidly accelerate the growth of our industry,” said Colin O’Neill, founder and CEO of LeanIntent.
How to Get a Free Strategic Narrative Assessment
It’s super easy and takes less than 60-seconds to get started. Your narrative assessment will be evaluated in no time! All it takes is to:
- Tell us your company name and website URL.
- Name at least two of your top competitors.
- Provide your first and last name.
- Provide your email address to get the results.
- The Catapult Team does the rest! We will analyze your company website, value proposition, industry space, top competitors and industry news cycles to provide your free narrative assessment.
Fill out the short questionnaire today at: https://www.catapultpr-ir.com/messaging-assessment-v2/
Actual feedback from an assessment participant, “Thank you so much for this thorough review! Your insights are truly great, and exactly what we are looking for.”
