#6. Show you can serve a new market
This last lesson in storytelling comes from companies who are growing new markets without necessarily having to change products or their company mission. While everyone is on the hunt for new customers, sometimes brands take a bigger leap and create a brand-new story for a segment it didn’t traditionally target.
Harley-Davidson is a prime example, as it started to pivot away from purely macho marketing around 2011, with a specific focus on letting women know they were welcome and encouraged to join the ride. It started out as a part of its website that was dedicated to women and featured the best bikes or how to get started riding.
What you can learn from Harley is that traditionally masculine and feminine things can be bent or inverted – it’s actually the same technique as the Always advertisements.
How you can implement this
Take the things you love about your brand or products. Now, define a new market you want to tap. Show how your brand values or characteristics match with that market, even if you’re going against the “norm.”
People are nuanced. Treat them that way with your story, image, and branding. This way, you can dive in and capture groups that share the same values or mentality as your brand, no matter what they look like or who they are. Harley’s Mother’s Day ad above won’t speak to all moms, but it’ll resonate with some who want to be a badass on a bike.
Sometimes the story you tell is about who you are fundamentally. Other times, it is about who your customers are on a fundamental level. The one thing to remember about business is that everything can change. Embrace your values and your customers today to find the right story.