A banana story can lead you to success!

Have you ever thought why a banana dessert costs 10$ in a 5 star restaurant although the actual cost of the same bananas is less than 20 cents. If you have answered that question then you have understood the art of storytelling.

I remember an instance about 5-6 years ago at a restaurant. I took waiter’s advice for a dessert after main course. He suggested a banana dessert and explained the recipe (Nice ripened bananas, baked on the charcoal fire, served with dark chocolate sauce, a touch of caramel, nuts and strawberries. Wow! I was intrigued and excited to try the same. It created a sense of urgency and couldn’t wait to relish the dish. Realised after I received my cheque………I was charged USD10 (Indian Rs 500) for the same. Phew!!.........but learnt an interesting proposition by paying 10$.

We all package various stories at multiple instances; a job-seeking candidate packages his story in a resume. The soft-skills, hard-skills and achievement story help him/her to create a selling proposition among rest of the candidates and once the story is sold to the interviewer it gets good pay package. Isn’t it? There are many such examples from an individual’s day-to-day life. The marketers can learn from these instances to create a compelling and selling proposition to enable brand success and premium earning for their brand, business or service.  

Many global brands have been successful in storytelling and creating a compelling proposition. Christian Lacroix one of my favourite Haute Couture designer is an expert in mixing Art, History & Fashion. Most of his designs are creation of Topsy-Turvy mix. He favors hot colors of the Mediterranean region, a hodgepodge of patterns, and experiments with fabrics, sometimes hand-woven in local workshops. The story of CL’s mystique designs involving art, history and fashion has created a differentiated proposition amongst other Haute Couture brands.

Nestle, speaks about good food leading to good life. The product development, positioning and communication are always focused on nutrition. Nestle’s brand identity itself communicates the story of warmth and care. Dabur in India talks about 100 years of legacy in effective and natural cure to celebrate life. There are numerous such examples around us. The story creates a differentiation for a brand, business, service or an individual in the crowded place.

I was attending a panel discussion on brand building last year. We were five panel members addressing the queries of 200 promoters and business owners. The discussion was moderated by one of the renowned brand consultant (don’t want to share the name). Apart from me, we had chairman of an edible oil company, a media expert and another brand consultant from Middle East. I was surprised to see that I was the only person who was formally dressed up with a tie and a jacket among 205 attendees and panel members. The moderator signalled at me and addressed the audience that he (the moderator) will never wear a tie in this kind of event as he doesn’t want to look different from the crowd. Well! My response to his statement was “among all the people present in this room I stood out in the crowd and our moderator was able to recognise me through this differentiation. Similarly the market place is crowded like this banquet hall and each one of us must create a differentiated look, a differentiated story to break the clutter and standout”. The entire room was filled with the sound of whistles and claps, as if I won some competition. I think audience loved that argument.... :-))

Nevertheless, the bottom-line is that each one of us is a good storyteller and the same skillset must be manifested in our business, brand, and service. Who know a simple banana story may lead you to success!