Tag Archives: purpose

Your first story should reveal your purpose

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By making sure your first story has a purpose statement, you're more likely to engage with your potential audience
Your first story in a business is a chance to show your purpose, to engage our emotions. Make it count.
Photo by Rucksack Magazine on Unsplash

The story a business tells about itself heavily weights our opinion of it.

Indeed, purely based on its story we may or may not purchase its products or service.

We quickly read beyond its what…what it sells. This is the ‘head’ bit we readily take onboard.

We really want to know who the business is.

We want to know why we should buy. This is the ‘heart’ bit.

To appeal to our heart, to our emotions, a business needs to reveal its purpose.

That is, the reason it exists, and why you may be interested.

Xero makes ‘Beautiful Business & Accounting Software’.

Punchline ‘co-designs clarity of value proposition in 2-10 words’.

What’s your business purpose? Do you appeal to potential customers’ hearts?

If you, or a colleague is having trouble nailing your first story, give Punchline a call.

We’re powerful business storytellers.

‘Solutions’ is not the solution (even if it feels like it should be)

messages that matter, Metaphor, million dollar message, punchline, slogan, Tagline, value proposition, , , ,

Solutions is a wasted word in a tagline, strapline, value proposition or slogan. Avoid it
The great default word of many people’s first story is ‘solutions’. It is a wasted expression. Avoid it. Photo by Hans M on Unsplash

The great default word – solutions – should never be used in your value proposition, or Million Dollar Message.

(Actually, there is one place is can be, race to the end if you want to know where).

For a start, all businesses provide a solution in one way or another.

So, to use it in your slogan, strapline, tagline or BBQ answer to the question “what do you do”, reveals a stunning lack of imagination.

Your first story needs to tell me what your solution is – not leave me guessing.

Your first story needs to tell me why your solution may be exactly what I need.

‘Solution’ is a surrender term, signalling you’re not too sure of your specialness or purpose.

So, exclude solution from your vocabulary…solutions is not the solution.

P.S. The one possible situation ‘solutions’ can be use is if you’re a chemical company. Then you’d be using it as a noun – and it may be exactly what you do provide!