In this episode of The Vignette Effect, Raquel sits down with business storytelling consultant John Elbing, creator of the Story Building Method, to unpack why so much “brand storytelling” falls flat. John explains the difference between telling stories and building the right story structure first, so your message actually guides people from “this is for me” to “I get it” to “I can see myself doing this.” Together, they dig into why your brand can’t be the hero (sorry), how “recognition, perception, and projection” mirrors what’s happening in your customer’s brain, and why emotion isn’t optional even in B2B. They also get practical about carrying a story through your marketing, from a social post or ad to the landing page, and share an easy litmus test to see if your homepage is actually speaking to the right people.
Brand storytelling has become an overused term that’s pretty vague. John’s take will give you a new take and things you can apply today to your website and marketing. He’s focused on building a customer-centered story framework you can use everywhere, so your marketing doesn’t end up sounding like a company talking about itself.
Links and resources:
John’s book: Story Building: Your Brand From Their Standpoint (https://standpoint.ch/the-book/)
John has generously offered listeners a free hour of consulting if they contact him at https://standpoint.ch/my-persona/ and mention you heard this episode of The Vignette Effect
As always, you can connect with Raquel on a call here or on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/raquel.furman