In a global economy, innovation is the lifeblood of business. 

Whether you’re a world-renowned Fortune 500 company or an up-and-coming start-up looking for your next break, to be a market leader today you must continually search for opportunities and new ideas. And to find them you need to discover new markets – and build credibility in those markets by establishing trust, credibility and connection.

The best companies do that through storytelling – specifically, innovation storytelling. This type of storytelling is more than just a story about what makes your product great — it’s a story that goes beyond your product. It’s about how your product solves a problem, how it makes people’s lives better, and how it changes the world for the better.

Focus on end results and benefits. What makes it innovative? What does it do that isn’t being done by other companies? Why should customers care?

Here are two examples that illustrate how you can use this type of storytelling to establish credibility in a new market:

1. A new brand enters your category, but markets their product as more than just a product — it’s a lifestyle experience, cultural movement or social change. By telling the story of how their product is part of something bigger, they capture people’s attention and get them talking about it, helping the brand gain credibility in a new market.

2. A company enters a totally unrelated business and uses innovation storytelling to show how their products and services have applications in that space. For example, North Face might enter the food business by creating a line of healthy snacks for hikers, athletes, or anyone who wants to eat cleaner while on-the-go. They could use innovation storytelling to highlight the benefits of this new product line and create awareness around it by showing how they’re contributing to a healthier lifestyle or sharing the backstory of founder Doug Tompkins.

If you want to be able to stand out in order to gain the attention of customers, influencers, and the press, the innovation story you tell might be the most effective tool at your disposal.

In my workshop, Mastering Credibility In A New Market, I talk more about this and equip attendees with: 

  • A breakthrough positioning technique to stand out in a new market.
  • A storytelling framework to help build trust, connection, and credibility.
  • A practical method to facilitate communications with key stakeholders.

Interested in having me deliver this workshop for your organization? Schedule a call with me to discuss the possibilities today, or reply to this email for more details.

SL.

This Week’s Best Articles on Innovation

  • #FutureProof on Culture: What Did We Learn? – Sifted
  • 10 Innovation Tips Big Businesses Can Learn From Small Businesses – FORBES
  • Four Tips For Building Digital First Brands – Fast Company
  • How Culture Kills Innovation – Fast Company
  • How Companies Can Incorporate Diversity & Inclusion Into Product Design – Fast Company
  • The Critical Difference Between Core And Strategic Innovation – Chief Executive
  • Why Decentralized Innovation is Critical – FORBES