What’s the value of delivering a Younique story?

Image of a BMW car featured in the film Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol via bmwusa.com

If you’re just like everyone else people will have trouble describing and/or referring you to their friends and business associates. Delivering a Younique story isn’t easy, but it’s worth it.

Al Ries is the author or co-author of 11 books on marketing, including by many accounts the most important marketing book of all time Positioning. Here’s how Al, a few years ago, quickly summarized BMW’s path to success in the US (still the most important car market in the world):

Back in 1974, BMW sold 15,007 automobiles in the American market, which made the brand the 11th largest-selling European vehicle. Here are U.S. sales of the top ten that year:

  1. Volkswagen 334,515
  2. Capri 75,260
  3. Fiat 72,029
  4. Opel 59,279
  5. Volvo 53,043
  6. Audi 50,432
  7. Mercedes-Benz 38,170
  8. MG 25,015
  9. Porsche 21,022
  10. Triumph 18,396

The following year, BMW’s new agency, Ammirati Puris AvRutick, launched an advertising campaign that would make both the agency and the brand famous: “The ultimate driving machine.

31 years
It’s been 31 years since the launch of the ultimate driving machine. So how is BMW doing? Not bad.
Last year BMW was the largest-selling European brand in the American market. Here are U.S. sales of the top ten:

  1. BMW 266,200
  2. Mercedes-Benz 224,269
  3. Volkswagen 224,195
  4. Volvo 123,587
  5. Audi 83,066
  6. Land Rover 46,175
  7. Mini 40,820
  8. Saab 38,343
  9. Porsche 31,933
  10. Jaguar 30,424

My 2¢:
Sometimes a remarkable product/service arrives with no story.
But for the most part in life, all great things start with a story.

In my experience, one of the biggest challenges entrepreneurs face in growing their businesses is this: they fail to appreciate the importance of telling their story well. And if storytelling is not your strong suit, why wouldn’t you hire a professional to help you articulate your story? (Just like BMW did—see above.)

P.S. Please remember that the icing is not the cake, and the icing does not make the cake. Said differently, it’s true: your story is just the icing. Your product/service must be the cake. But when the two come together, you’ve got a package that’s hard to ignore.

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