For almost two decades, we’ve taken pride in being a multidisciplinary team whose work helps a variety of businesses and nonprofits in a mix of industries. No two clients are alike, and no two needs are the same.

However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t similarities. The use of that double negative is intentional.

In the thousands of new business meetings I’ve been a part of, I get to hear a lot of stories and ask questions of a wide array of talented, industrious, and busy people. Entrepreneurs who have started companies take their expertise and seek out community and industry needs and try to fill in the gaps. Before long, they are gaining momentum and begin to attract new customers, patients, or clients. The same is true with nonprofits — a gap exists, and before you know it, you have bylaws, a board, regular meetings, and your expertise is making a difference in the community.

There are plenty of restaurants, doctors’ offices, and home services companies — each with their own personalities, methods, strategies, and key differentiators. No matter what these businesses and nonprofits are doing, one consistent need remains the same.

Every time.

Shaping Messages4Your Organization

My premise was reinforced personally over the past few months when I attended meetings with a broad range of prospects — a roofing company, a museum, a medical practice, and an institution of higher learning. They all had different objectives and needs and were hiring us for different kinds of projects. Naturally, their leaders brought different personalities and many areas of expertise.

Do you know what was the same?

It’s simple, but it’s an important throughline. Each of these meetings included a conversation about the power of storytelling. There are many ways to share your stories with the public. You are familiar with most of them: social media, your website, email marketing, advertising, video production, and more. These avenues help you share what is happening inside your organization with those outside it (and maybe inside of it as well).

It’s simple really.

Tell more stories. People understand best when you explain your purpose, how you can help, why you are different, and why working with you, visiting your nonprofit, or supporting you is a worthy investment of time or resources. The power of storytelling is clear, and the approach is, without fail, the way to go. This isn’t a radical idea, but you might be surprised how often prospective (and current) clients wander away from the forever-true path of storytelling, missing out on building value, trust, and stronger connections through strong and meaningful narratives. As different as each prospect may be, the need for storytelling remains unwavering.