How to Share Your Brand Story, Build Trust and Boost Sales

Once upon a time, people preferred to buy from other people, in real life—not from faceless online corporations like Amazon or Walmart (that's a newer phenomenon).

Think back to a time you've stepped foot into a mom-and-pop retail store, a friendly face likely greeted you; it might've even been the owner, eager to help suggest products personalized to your taste. And make a sale, because every sale counts when you're small. 

Now take that same experience and shift it online. That friendly-face suddenly vanishes. The human interaction, which is a vital part of building connection and trust, lacks in the online world.

Thankfully, there are ways to replicate that personalized 1:1 experience for example using a great customer service software like DelightChat, or offering virtual video shopping experiences like Mejuri does with their styling appointments.  

And finally, the written way you can imitate that human experience is brand storytelling.

The art of brand storytelling is crafting a narrative that sparks an emotion, feeling, or an identity within your core customer. You're linking your "why" to the values you share with your audience, to help drive action on your website, whether it’s a sign-up, add-to-cart or a sale. 

Let’s dive into how you can craft the perfect brand story that will evoke trust and connection. 

Ask yourself these questions to craft the perfect brand story

You might be thinking, “okay, great, but what story should I tell?” Or maybe you believe that your story is not interesting enough to share. Well, I’m here to tell you that your business journey is often the reason people buy from you—choosing your offer over the competition.

After the initial excitement of landing on your website design or viewing the shiny new products wears off, what's left is your messaging, which is what compels your audience to choose you over your competitors.  Sharing your story helps you connect with your customers on a deeper level, build trust, leading to not only one sale—but repeat sales in the future. 

Here are some questions you can answer to get your creative juices flowing: 

1. Why did you start your business?
2. What makes your products stand out?
3. What’s the meaning behind your business name? 
4. What are your core values, and why should your customer care?
5. Does your business give back to the community in some way? 

Keep it short and sweet because you’ll be sprinkling it throughout your buyer journey in the next step. 

Story Showcase: Sweet & Spark

Sweet & Spark does a fantastic job of telling the audience exactly why and what they stand for when creating new collection for their boutique. Not only does it live on their About page, but their Instagram Stories and Blog. 

Where to share your brand story 

As we mentioned, you should make your brand story visible throughout the entire buyer journey—not just on your “About” page. Each and every place that may influence your customer to purchase what you’re selling is the perfect place to share, build connection and a community. 

Here are some ideas on where to share: 

• Homepage — Include a short snippet of your about page and link to the full about page.
• Product page — A great place to share what makes your products unique, like Hydrant.
• Email Sign-up — Send a welcome email “from the founder” when someone signs up.
• Placed order — Include an automated “thank you” email that feels personalized. 
• Video — Share a behind the scenes on how your products are made like Glow Recipe.
• Blog — A Q&A style interview (with yourself) about different topics like Sweet & Spark.

People trust buying from other people. If they can see or listen to the face behind the business, they’re able to connect and make a quick decision whether or not they want to head to the checkout. 

Why storytelling leads to customer trust, and conversions

It’s proven that a good story leads to more sales.

According to Headstream, if people love a brand story, 55% are more likely to buy the product in future, 44% will share the story, and 15% will buy the product immediately.

Think about if you were to land on an eCommerce website with no “about page,” product pages that lack detail or maybe they’re missing the essential pages that every eCommerce store needs like shipping and returns or privacy policy page. Would you buy?

You’d likely start questioning if it was a legitimate and safe store to shop on...

1. Will my personal information be safe if I place an order?
2. Am I at risk of a financial security breach or stolen identity?
3. Will I receive the products I’m spending my money on?
4. Does the product quality match what I’m shown on the website?

Storytelling helps combat fear of a privacy or security breach, because you're showing them the human side of your business, you're a real person, and you're here to help them with their order if they need it. Privacy can be confusing, we get it. You might be asking yourself, do I need to comply with GDPR? CCPA? What's the difference? At Enzuzo we make privacy compliance really easy.  

Final thoughts

So, by taking that perfectly crafted eCommerce brand story, and spread it across different marketing channels like your website, email, and social media channels—you’re immediately creating a trusted experience for your customers. You're giving them peace of mind that your eCommerce brand is safe to shop from day one.