Score St.Louis - March 2020

St. Louis Bi-State Region

March 2020

a product they’re developing is viable for their area or if their price points are appropriate.

While it might feel like you should have it all figured out just because you’ve been in business for 5–10 years, you don’t have to know everything! Case in point: Several years into my business, I was struggling with the decision of whether or not to hire an employee. I contacted SCORE and spoke with a mentor, and they were able to talk me through it. Having that coaching was so helpful in steering me in the right direction. It felt like someone had my back. What’s so amazing to me about SCORE is it’s a free resource with the sole purpose of helping you grow your business.As entrepreneurs, we know the path can be lonely.You don’t always have someone to bounce ideas off of or troubleshoot a problem with.With SCORE, you do.You have access to a free, readily available resource in your mentor, who’s matched with you based on their skill set.Why wouldn’t you take advantage of that? No one succeeds alone.We’re in this together, and SCORE has your back. Not sure if you need a mentor? It doesn’t hurt to schedule an appointment to meet with one. Call 1-866-726- 7340 or visit StLouis.Score.org right now! –Kim Henson

My first question to them is always,“Have you checked out SCORE?”

SCORE is an amazing resource for startups, but it’s also perfect for folks who are in the first several years of business and need guidance and resources to get over some of those early humps and to the next level. Even before I became a volunteer, I would send clients to SCORE when they were feeling stuck or needed resources for a skill set I didn’t have. SCORE offers free guidance to businesses at different phases. Firstly, for those just starting out with their business ideas, SCORE offers mentorship and workshops that assist with things like business plans and accounting processes. Secondly, for people who’ve been in business for 1–5 years but want to get to the next level of growth, SCORE provides guidance and mentorship. Thirdly, for businesses at the 10-year mark, the organization also provides business scans, or snapshots, of an entire business to see where SCORE can help.

Over the years, SCORE St. Louis has helped many budding entrepreneurs turn their ideas into viable businesses. But SCORE isn’t just for startups — it’s a free resource available to anyone who wants to grow their business. Below, business owner and SCORE volunteer Kim Henson shares more about why our organization might be what you need to take your idea to the next level. I often have conversations with other entrepreneurs who are at the leveling-up point in their business. Some are looking to expand and aren’t sure what their next steps are, and some are ready to take their business out of their home office and into an office space but aren’t sure where to turn. Others aren’t sure if

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1-866-726-7340

Tell Me a Story The Marketing Secret as Old as Mankind

It’s not too hard to imagine that somewhere out there, a marketing manager is crying out in frustration because their marketing messages are being utterly ignored.You’ve likely been there yourself. No, this isn’t a worldwide conspiracy among consumers to make your job harder — it’s the result of consumers seeing 5.3 trillion ads per year just on the web alone.And that was in 2012, so the number has likely skyrocketed since then. If you want your marketing to break through the clutter, you need to give the people what they want: stories. Americans consume more than 100,000 digital words every day, and 92% of these consumers want to internalize those words in the form of a story. In the information age, branding is less about the flashy logo and more about forming true relationships between customers and companies. John Naisbitt, author of world- renowned book “Megatrends,” says,“The more high tech we create, the more high touch we will want.” A great brand can help you stand out and give your business a unique way to differentiate itself in a crowded marketplace. To really succeed, you have to be able to captivate your audience with a story. By doing so, you give your products and services context, as well as an identity that exists beyond the basic problem-solving your business offers. Best of all, you connect with your target audience on an emotional level, making your message more meaningful, more memorable, and easier to pass along.As a matter of fact, science shows us that more parts of the human brain are used

the reader. For example, aWeightWatchers testimonial may feature someone with an amazing story of overcoming adversity and achieving their lifelong goal weight, which addresses the “what’s in it for me” factor. Readers may think that if someone else can do it, then so can they. In a 2015 interactive marketing campaign,WeightWatchers posted hundreds of scales on a wall with the words “weigh me.” On each scale was written an intangible thing, such as “laughter,” “feeling free,” or “playing with my kids.” It told observers the story of the things they could weigh in their lives if they weren’t so busy being preoccupied with a scale. The same story could be diluted by talking about someone’s career, their rivalry with their older siblings, or their love-hate relationship with dark chocolate, but that would just muddle the actual message.Too many specifics take away the impact, and too few have the same effect. Make sure the story you craft is compelling and relevant to your brand, and know who you’re selling to. Most importantly, keep in mind that the story is never about you or your company. Even if you’re talking about your business, the story should be about the value you can deliver to your customers or the common ground you share with them.Your company is just a supporting character.You created your product or service for a purpose, and you know the scenarios in which it is most important.Why not share that knowledge with your demographic? You can harness these tips through a variety of media, so don’t be afraid to tell your story through blog posts, case studies, your website’s home page, frequently asked questions, newsletter articles, videos, podcasts, and more. Infusing your marketing with human storytelling is a remarkably effective way to engage and connect with your audience.You can take advantage of it right now by revisiting your brand message and marketing collateral to see where storytelling makes your business stand out to your customers. Once you start engaging with your prospects and clients in a way that brings the narrative to them, you’ll find your own story has a very happy ending.

when digesting a brand story as opposed to the very basic parts that are engaged when we’re slurping down >Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4

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