The scariest campfire story ever...

Do you remember being totally freaked, heart pounding, hair standing straight up while your eyes peer cautiously into the night? The glow of the campfire provides the only light separating you from the unknown. You know you’re safe, in fact, you know for certain that monsters aren’t real. Right? Yet, your mind keeps entertaining the “what if”. Is that the wind really?

Did I just feel something lightly touch the back of my neck?

Silence...shreak...then it grabs you! Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhh.!!!

That feeling, the emotion that a great story invokes in us, the sheer terror of it all, has now become your most valuable marketing tool. I am not talking about make-believe or stretching the truth. I’m referring to your business as a remarkable story that once heard is worth sharing over and over again. The art of telling a compelling story, one that your audience will hang on every word is now… ALIVE!!! The new way to tell that story is social media, and just like the scary campfire stories of our youth, the stories that stick are the businesses worth talking about!

Today you cannot tell a willy-nilly, average, run-of-the-mill story to your customers and expect them to listen. We don’t have time and we don’t care. You cannot run a 30-second commercial on television or a one-minute blurb on the radio when I'm listening to my iPod and using my TiVo to skip your message. The consumer rules the day now, nothing is force fed to us anymore (unless of course you’re a congressman) and we choose who we want to listen to. If your story is boring, we tune you out for good. My charge to all business owners including me is, be authentic and compelling. Build relationships not sales pitches. Let your customers know that you care so deeply for them, and just how passionate you are about being remarkable! We are all listening, thousands of tuned ears leaning forward, hearts pounding and waiting. Waiting to hear, the greatest campfire story ever   told. Be that story, and we will never forget it.