How to Use Stories Effectively in E-Commerce and the DVP Philosophy
“We humbly recognize that we do not know as much about their business as they do, but we will do our best to deliver our expertise in the areas we know.”
– Michael Kulik, President
No Longer an Elevator Pitch
Storytelling is a huge part of our culture – we as humans communicate through stories and they are a central part in how we naturally engage in conversation. Not only is a story easier to consume, but it resonates deeper and people can create a connection. A story has a point – it has a hero, it has a crisis, it solves problems.
E-Commerce allows for a new narrative to be told. The eCommerce platforms allows for a variety of formats and mediums, different ways to reach out to customers and appeal to them. This includes images, videos, text, social media, etc. Digital storytelling is still valid – it’s just another form of business communication without it being dry, boring, and unappealing.
How do we get started?
When you’re embarking on a content marketing journey for your online business, brand storytelling is important. It’s the basis of all content development. It’s not disjointed articles – everything is connected and works to tell your brand story to the customer and to a general audience. What is your company about? What are these products? It gets into why people should care. When people care, you’ve got something valuable.
What are your strengths?
Every business has a passion behind it or a specific area of expertise. Having a webshop is another way to convey it to the public. What are you good at? Why are you so good at it? Consider story-showing as a strategy instead of just storytelling. For example, if you’re passionate about coffee, using a back story gives context and brings it to a more personal level. It can be the telling of a specific moment when you decided to bring said-delicious coffee to the world, and showing why those moments are important. Using visuals like videos and high-quality description photos also speak volumes about your company the image you wish to portray.
At Digital Vantage Point – Integration and understanding Microsoft Dynamics™ NAV deeply – this insight and technology and our expertise allows us to understand customers better, their pain points, their struggles, see what it is they need and want – and deliver. This is our particular passion and expertise. We see several businesses struggle with eCommerce and we want to help them. They are not only opportunities of sales – we forge relationships with our clients. This involves continuing to grow with them, keeping up with technology trends and advancements, and finding ways to utilize the new things we into their business to make it better.
The Team – Behind the Scenes Action
Another part of brand storytelling is talking about the people behind the brand. This approach in storytelling is important too because a business is run by and shaped by the people involved. People don’t do business with branded – they do business with the people behind the brands and the company. Ultimately, we’re all Human 2 Human businesses. This develops trust and loyalty. How do you get to be top of mind? Do you let the product and service speak for itself? Or if you sell something like bicycles, is your staff completely knowledgeable and helpful? Are they as passionate as you are? Your staff is essentially an extension of your company and help shape the brand’s image.
At Digital Vantage Point, we believe in a professional approach. Your business is important to you and you want it to be taken seriously. We respect that. We take our business seriously too. We only allow certified NAV developers to touch anything NAV-related. That speaks to our integrity and how serious we are about NAV and your business solutions. We try our best to be forthcoming about the cost and effort in what we’re being asked to do.
Tell People How You Solve Problems
You have a product that solves problems. It fulfills a need. It’s up to you to frame it in a compelling way so that people don’t see it as “They sell this item” but instead as “That’s the solution – that’s what I need. It makes my life better.” A bike is just a bike, but it’s also a healthy lifestyle, exercise, a new happy and a new way to meet people, it’s a way to keep the environment green, it’s a summer spent in parks on the trails, etc. A product has many dimensions. Standard descriptions can come off cold; inject some life and personality into the content you write.
Our Product – A webshop’s function is to sell while its form should be usable, optimized, and visually appealing. Our philosophy is that we need to deal with the architecture first, placing function before form. We prefer a clean design. It’s important that it be customizable because it’s for customers – they need to be able to visualize it in a way that suits them and in a way they want. It’s built in such a way that it won’t break because function is firmly in place and is the backbone. Our company has a similar core, and in a way, the product reflects what we’re like as a company. We’re flexible and adaptable because we have created solutions to a wide variety of industries all over the world. But we hold fast to our beliefs and our intent. We take the high road and every action and impression reflects our unique brand. Structure and internal quality is at our core; we have this solidly built and we stand behind it.
What about the future?
Where do you want to take things? Goals and aspirations are something that many people can relate to. Always striving to be better or continuing to be the pillar that people lean on, there is always an intent. Convey it to the public and customer. Sometimes it can reflect on where your company started. At Digital Vantage Point, we’re going to continue our commitment to fostering a community, with customers and our partners. We will stay current with technology and strive to best the best eCommerce platform for Microsoft Dynamics™ NAV.
So what’s your story?
E-Commerce is another platform for telling your brand story and coming up with compelling content. There’s the product descriptions and About Us page, and other ways content can tell your story, like blogs, videos, and various resources. A lot of components on your webshop can serve to relay your story to the customer. This is what engages them and creates business opportunities.
Content + Commerce = Winning Combination
Want to learn more about how the right eCommerce solution can tell your story? Contact us!
To see our product live in action, why not Request a Demo?
