Is Your Brandstory Increasing Sales?

Story is an important element of all marketing but can be a strong driver of revenue growth when linked to a pricing strategy. In 2005, Michael J. Hiscox, a Harvard professor of social sciences and his student, Nicholas F.B. Smyth conducted research to see of consumers were motivated to purchase products they knew to be created by workers in good working conditions as opposed to products created in sweatshops.

With an upscale retail store in New York City as their stage, they began by selling two brands of towels, both labeled as being made from organic cotton. They measured sales of both brands to establish a baseline. Then they labeled one brand of towels as created in working conditions that adhered to, and met, certified Fair Trade practices. The label stated, “These towels have been made under fair labor conditions in a safe healthy working environment which is free of discrimination, and where management is committed to respecting the rights and dignity of works.”

Over the next 30 days, sales of the brand of towels with this label increased by 11 percent while sales of the towels not labeled remained stagnant.  Next, they increased the price of the labeled towels by 10 percent and witnessed a 20 percent increase sales. It seems consumers related strongly to the towels with a positive story. This has been proven time and again by cause-marketing brands such as Tom’s Shoes who donate a pair of shoes to the poor with every pair sold.

While an increase in sales is always desirable, the real power of Hiscox and Smyth’s experiment the discovery of a brand's story. For here a brand can create a powerful story that engages customer interest and loyalty to support new products over the life of the brand.

What cause do you support? How can you weave it into your marketing to make a positive impact on your target audience, your brand, and the world? #marketing, #brandstory, #sales,