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Marketing Canvas - Content and Stories
This article offers an extensive guide on how to harness the power of content and stories in your marketing strategy, following the renowned Marketing Canvas framework by Laurent Bouty. From understanding the significance of content in attracting and retaining customers, to choosing the right tools, and translating your content into actions - the article comprehensively covers it all. It further discusses how to evaluate and continuously improve your content and stories, ensuring they reflect your organization's goals and meet users' needs. Lastly, the article provides a practical use-case example to illustrate the application of these concepts. Whether you're a non-marketer, an entrepreneur, or a marketer seeking fresh insights, this article offers valuable knowledge and actionable strategies to elevate your marketing efforts.
Last update: 15/6/2023
In a nutshell
The Content & Stories sub-dimension in the Marketing Canvas emphasizes the importance of crafting compelling narratives that reflect your organization’s goals, resonate with your audience, and inspire action. Effective content and stories are built on a deep understanding of how users think and speak about a subject, leveraging appropriate mediums to maximize impact. Furthermore, these stories should be truthful, align with sustainability principles, and contribute to building trust with your audience.
For example, Green Clean might tell stories of families creating healthier homes by choosing eco-friendly products, illustrating both the emotional and practical benefits of sustainability.
Introduction
The Content & Stories sub-dimension within the Conversation category focuses on how organizations communicate with their audience. Stories and content are powerful tools for sharing your brand’s purpose, values, and solutions. To be impactful, they must address user needs, convey clear messages, and inspire desired actions while remaining authentic and aligned with sustainability.
Content and storytelling are not just about information—they are about connection, inspiring loyalty, and reinforcing your brand's relevance.
What are Content & Stories?
Content and stories are integral components of a successful marketing strategy. They represent how your brand communicates value, connects with its audience, and inspires action. Content marketing takes a strategic approach to creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and engage a clearly defined audience. Its ultimate goal? To drive profitable customer actions.
"Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action."
The true power of content and stories lies in their ability to act as catalysts within your Marketing Strategy. Reflecting on the concept of inbound marketing, the idea of engaging with suspects, prospects, or customers through an ongoing, positive dialogue immediately resonated with me. By designing thoughtful inbound funnels, we can craft compelling stories and create meaningful content that adds value and aligns with customer needs.
Creating impactful content requires more than just originality. Beyond producing your own content, alternative approaches include:
Curating: Sharing content from trusted sources that align with your brand values.
Co-creating: Collaborating with others to produce content that reflects your shared vision.
A quote from the CMO of General Electric encapsulates the essence of effective content:
"Content that tries to sell, doesn’t! Content that tries to help, does!"
Your content should resonate with your Purpose, align with your customers' Job-to-Be-Done and Aspirations, and consistently reflect your Value Proposition. Most importantly, it must integrate seamlessly into your funnels and customer Journey.
Marketing Canvas by Laurent Bouty - Stories
The role of storytelling
Storytelling elevates content by weaving narratives that captivate and resonate with your audience. It’s an age-old art that combines facts with engaging delivery to communicate a message effectively. Stories can be grounded in reality or creatively enhanced to emphasize core messages.
What makes a good story? According to HubSpot, great stories share these qualities:
Entertaining: They capture and hold attention.
Educational: They provide value and new insights.
Universal: They appeal to diverse audiences.
Well-Organized: They follow a clear, logical structure.
Memorable: They leave a lasting impression.
A strong story keeps readers engaged, ignites curiosity, and establishes an emotional connection. For example, Green Clean could share a customer’s journey toward sustainable living, highlighting how their products played a transformative role.
Aligning Content and Stories with strategy
For content and storytelling to be effective, they must align with your audience’s needs and aspirations. A fragmented or irrelevant strategy will fail to resonate and drive action. When aligned, content and stories:
Reflect your brand’s Purpose and connect to your audience’s identity.
Address the Journey by mapping to critical moments.
Reinforce your Value Proposition with relevance and authenticity.
The power of stories and content lies in their ability to make your brand unforgettable, fostering loyalty and driving sustainable growth.
Content & Stories: an in-depth perspective
To create effective content and stories, businesses must:
Align goals with needs: Ensure that storytelling serves both organizational objectives and user expectations, striking a balance between informing and inspiring.
Adopt a user-centric approach: Understand how your audience thinks and communicates to ensure your stories resonate authentically.
Include clear CTAs: Guide users toward meaningful actions that align with your goals, such as making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter.
Optimize medium selection: Choose the right channel or format to maximize the story’s impact, considering both the audience and resource constraints.
Communicate sustainability: Use truthful, engaging content to share your sustainability efforts without exaggeration or greenwashing.
For example:
User-centric: Green Clean’s content addresses common questions about eco-friendly cleaning, reflecting customer concerns and language.
Sustainability focus: The brand publishes blog articles about reducing plastic waste through refillable packaging.
Translating Content & Stories into action
Content and stories should seamlessly connect organizational goals with customer expectations. To achieve this:
Plan strategically: Ensure all content aligns with both business objectives and audience aspirations.
Engage authentically: Use user-friendly language and relatable narratives.
Inspire action: Include clear, actionable CTAs to guide customers effectively.
Leverage the right channels: Adapt your content to the medium that maximizes impact.
Maintain transparency: Build trust through truthful storytelling, especially around sustainability.
Questions to consider:
Do your content and stories reflect both your organization’s goals and your users’ needs?
Are your content and stories structured based on how your audience thinks and speaks?
Do your stories include clear and actionable CTAs?
Have you chosen the right medium for your content, balancing impact with resource constraints?
Are your stories truthful and aligned with sustainability principles?
Statements for self-assessment
For a comprehensive evaluation of your understanding and application of the Content & Stories concept, rate your agreement with the following statements on a scale from -3 (completely disagree) to +3 (completely agree):
Your content and stories goals are reflecting your organisation's goals and user's needs.
Your content and stories are created and structured based on your understanding of how users think and speak about a subject.
Your content and stories have clear calls to action. You know exactly what you want your users to do after reading.
You have chosen your content and stories medium adequately in function of your type of story as well as resources, like time and money.
Your content and stories are truthful and communicate about sustainability.
Interpretation of the scores
Negative scores (-1 to -3): Negative scores indicate that your content and stories are disconnected from your goals, fail to meet user needs, or lack clarity and credibility. These issues can lead to disengagement, confusion, and mistrust. Immediate action is needed to realign your storytelling with audience expectations and organizational values.
A score of zero (0): A neutral score reflects partial alignment of your content and storytelling efforts with user needs and organizational goals. While some aspects may be effective, gaps remain in structure, messaging, or authenticity. Additional effort is required to refine your approach and ensure consistent impact.
Positive scores (+1 to +3): Positive scores suggest that your content and stories are well-aligned with organizational goals, user needs, and sustainability principles. They are structured effectively, include clear CTAs, and leverage the right mediums to maximize engagement and impact.
Case study: Green Clean’s Content & Stories
Misaligned understanding (-3, -2, -1): Green Clean’s content is generic and fails to connect with its audience. The brand uses overly technical language that alienates users and lacks clear CTAs, making it unclear what actions customers should take after engaging with the content.
Surface understanding (0): Green Clean’s content addresses some user needs but lacks consistency and focus. For example, while blog articles discuss sustainability, the storytelling is not user-centric, and calls to action are vague or absent, limiting engagement.
Deep understanding (+1, +2, +3): Green Clean creates compelling content that reflects user concerns about sustainability and provides actionable insights. Stories about families using eco-friendly cleaning solutions are shared through engaging videos on social media, with clear CTAs to subscribe to the brand’s services. The content is authentic, transparent, and highlights the brand’s commitment to sustainability.
Conclusion
The Content & Stories sub-dimension is vital for crafting narratives that connect with your audience, inspire action, and reinforce your brand’s values. By aligning storytelling with organizational goals, user needs, and sustainability principles, businesses can create impactful content that fosters trust, loyalty, and engagement.
Sources
Download first chapter of ebook on content here
Download ebook on content: https://qualifio.com/blog/en/content-marketing-professional-practical-guide/
Ultimate guide of storytelling (Hubspot), https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/storytelling
More on the Marketing Canvas
Originally published August 2019, updated December 2020
Marketing Canvas - Positioning
Demystify brand positioning with the Marketing Canvas methodology. Understand its significance, different types, and evaluation process. Enhance your brand's market presence with effective positioning strategies.
Last update: 29/05/2023
In a nutshell
The Positioning sub-dimension in the Marketing Canvas helps define how a brand is perceived by its target audience. Effective positioning differentiates the brand from competitors, conveys unique value, and aligns with the needs and aspirations of its customers. A strong positioning strategy shapes the brand’s identity, supporting its place in the market and creating a meaningful emotional connection with its audience.
For example, a company like Green Clean might position itself as “the eco-friendly cleaning solution prioritizing family health and environmental impact,” highlighting its unique benefits and commitment to sustainability.
Introduction
The Positioning sub-dimension is an essential element of the Brand category in the Marketing Canvas. It establishes how a brand is perceived compared to competitors, how it fulfills customer expectations, and the unique values it communicates. Positioning is more than a slogan or tagline; it’s an overall strategy that guides a brand’s communications, customer experience, and market identity.
A well-defined positioning strategy helps a brand build loyalty, stay relevant, and stand out in a crowded marketplace.
What is positioning?
Positioning represents the perception a brand creates in the minds of its target audience. It reflects what makes the brand unique and why customers should choose it over competitors. Successful positioning resonates with customers by emphasizing specific benefits and values that align with their needs and aspirations.
For instance, Green Clean’s positioning might emphasize its commitment to “safe and sustainable cleaning solutions,” appealing to customers who prioritize health and environmental responsibility. By clearly conveying its unique benefits, Green Clean establishes a distinct identity within the cleaning products market.
Positioning: an in-depth perspective
Positioning goes beyond words; it shapes a brand’s identity and influences how customers experience and remember it. A strong positioning strategy aligns with the brand’s core mission, resonates with its target audience, and clearly differentiates it from competitors.
For example:
Differentiation: Green Clean’s positioning emphasizes its eco-friendly values, setting it apart from traditional cleaning brands.
Relevance: By aligning with customer priorities like health and sustainability, Green Clean’s positioning appeals directly to its target audience, strengthening loyalty and trust.
When positioning is effectively implemented, customers can easily understand and identify with the brand’s unique purpose and value.
Positioning Types: Leader, Challenger, Disruptor
The 'Positioning' in the Marketing Canvas proposes three potential roles: Leader, Challenger or Follower, and Game Changer or Disruptor.
Leader Brand: This is the choice of mass consumers, often at the risk of losing early brand enthusiasts. These brands enjoy substantial mindshare and market share. They represent the category and dominate the space. For example, in the clean energy sector, a leader might be a company like NextEra Energy, known for its extensive wind and solar power production.
Challenger or Follower Brand: These brands turn leaders' strengths into their weaknesses. Recognized as viable alternatives to Leader brands, Challengers often leverage differentiation or provide cost-effective solutions. In the context of green energy, a challenger brand could be a new renewable energy startup offering innovative, localized energy solutions that large-scale leaders cannot provide.
Game Changer or Disruptor Brand: Disruptor brands find a 'Blue Ocean' market space for themselves, using a unique product, distribution channel, target market, or price point. For example, a clean energy disruptor might be a brand that creates a new technology for harnessing renewable energy, redefining the industry norms.
Translating positioning into action
Positioning is only effective when consistently applied across all aspects of a brand, from marketing and customer service to product development. Ensuring that all brand elements reflect its positioning strengthens its identity and reinforces customer expectations.
Questions to consider:
How does your brand’s positioning clearly differentiate it from competitors?
What unique value does your positioning highlight for customers?
Does your positioning align with customer values and long-term expectations?
Are you consistently reinforcing your positioning across all brand touchpoints?
Statements for self-assessment
For a comprehensive evaluation of your understanding and application of the Purpose concept, rate your agreement with the following statements on a scale from -3 (completely disagree) to +3 (completely agree):
You have a well defined and clearly formulated brand positioning.
Your brand positioning is very relevant in the company's current and future context, addressing all the influencing trends.
Your brand positioning is attainable taking into account resources and limitations.
Your brand positioning is aligned with your company culture and capabilities.
Every aspect of your positioning is in line with the concept of sustainability
Interpretation of the scores
Negative scores (-1 to -3): Negative scores suggest that you disagree or strongly disagree with the statements, indicating a lack of clarity, relevance, or alignment in your brand’s positioning. This can result in a weak brand identity, limited customer loyalty, and minimal differentiation from competitors.
A score of zero (0): A neutral score reflects uncertainty or incomplete understanding of your brand’s positioning. While some positioning elements may be present, they lack cohesiveness or fail to fully resonate with the target audience. Further refinement and alignment are necessary to strengthen the positioning.
Positive scores (+1 to +3): Positive scores indicate that you agree or strongly agree with the statements, suggesting a clear, well-defined positioning that aligns with customer expectations, differentiates the brand, and consistently communicates its unique value. This strengthens customer loyalty and brand perception.
Case Study: Green Clean’s positioning
Misaligned Understanding (-3, -2, -1): Green Clean lacks a clear, distinct positioning strategy, failing to differentiate itself from other cleaning brands. Without focused positioning, customers see Green Clean as generic and have little reason to choose it over competitors, leading to a diluted brand identity.
Surface Understanding (0): Green Clean has a general positioning related to eco-friendliness but does not fully leverage it to create a distinct identity. Although it acknowledges the importance of sustainability, the positioning is vague or inconsistently communicated, which limits customer engagement and weakens brand perception.
Deep Understanding (+1, +2, +3): Green Clean has a strong, clearly defined positioning centered on safe and sustainable cleaning solutions. This positioning is consistently reflected across all marketing, customer interactions, and product offerings. By emphasizing health and environmental responsibility, Green Clean builds a unique identity that resonates with eco-conscious customers, distinguishing it from conventional brands.
Conclusion
Positioning is essential for defining a brand’s unique place in the market and ensuring it resonates with the target audience. A well-defined and consistently communicated positioning strategy enables brands to stand out, build loyalty, and create emotional connections. By defining and reinforcing its unique value, a brand can establish a strong, memorable identity in the minds of its customers.
Sources
DKY, 2016, https://dkyinc.com/2016/06/brand-strategy-leader-vs-challenger
Beloved Brands, https://beloved-brands.com/2018/04/11/disruptor-challenger/
More on the Marketing Canvas
Marketing Canvas by Laurent Bouty
Le Marché dans le Marketing Canvas
Dans l’enthousiasme de travailler sur sa stratégie marketing, on se précipite souvent et oublie l’importance de ce que je considère comme la première étape: la compréhension du marché dans lequel nous allons opérer (startup) ou nous opérons déjà (entreprise existante). Il y a 3 questions importantes à se poser lorsqu’on analyse le marché. C’est questions sont: …
Marketing Strategy Design Cards
Dans l’enthousiasme de travailler sur sa stratégie marketing, on se précipite souvent et oublie l’importance de ce que je considère comme la première étape: la compréhension du marché dans lequel nous allons opérer (startup) ou nous opérons déjà (entreprise existante).
Les questions qu’il faut se poser sont les suivantes:
Comment définir le marché?
Comment mesurer le marché?
Comment qualifier le marché?
Comment définir le marché?
Bien que la question puisse paraître simple et évidente, elle ne l’est pas.
Petit exemple: dans quel marché TESLA a-t-il décidé de se lancer avec son modèle S? La majorité des voitures électriques avant TESLA se situait dans un marché d’acheteurs urbains avec des petits déplacements. TESLA a privilégié le marché du luxe et plus particulièrement le marché des voitures sportives luxueuses dont la référence est … Porsche. En choisissant le marché, certaines constantes sont fixées telles que: le prix moyen (100k€ pour une voiture de sport de luxe) ou certaines caractéristiques clés du marché (performance, design, vitesse, …).
Comme illustré dans mon exemple, le marché conditionne certaines hypothèses de départ. On peut bien sur être un game changer et redéfinir ces règles toutefois elles restent pour l’acheteur un cadre de référence qu’il va utilisé pour comparer votre produit (lorsque vous louez une chambre chez AirbnB, vous comparez votre achat à une location dans un hotel, un gite ou un bed & breakfast).
Bien qu’il existe de nombreuses définitions d’un marché, celle que je préfère vient de Bill Aulet [1]. Il définit le marché en 3 règles:
Les clients dans le marché achètent tous des produits similaires.
Les clients dans le marché ont le même cycle d’achat et s’attendent à ce que les produits fournissent de la valeur d’une façon similaire.
Il y a du bouche à oreille entre les clients d’un même marché.
La première question est donc: Dans quel marché comptez-vous opérer?
Comment mesurer le marché?
Après avoir défini le marché dans le lequel vous allez opérer, il faut essayer de le mesurer afin de définir son potentiel et votre ambition. Une méthode provenant encore de l’entrepreneuriat s’appelle le TAM (pour Total Available Market), SAM (pour Serviceable Available Market) et SOM (Serviceable Obtainable Market) .
Derrière ces acronymes, ce cache des concepts assez simples:
Le TAM correspond au marché total possible. Si on prend l’exemple de Airbnb cela correspondrait à toutes les locations de chambres dans le monde pour une année.
le SAM correspond à la partie du marché où vous êtes actif (ou allez être actif si vous lancer votre activité). Le passage du TAM au SAM dépend de vos critères: géographique (là où vous êtes actifs), type de produit (ioS ou Android, premium ou cost), ...
le SOM est votre objectif en part de marché. Combien de % du SAM voulez vous obtenir?
la seconde question est donc: quelle est la taille du marché ?
Comment qualifier le marché?
Finalement, il vous reste à qualifier le marché. Qu’est ce que cela veut dire? Le marché a une vie et est dynamique comme un organisme vivant (il apparaît, grandit, se stabilise puis décline). Si vous ne comprenez pas l’etat du marché SAM dans lequel vous entrez, vous risquez de mal définir votre stratégie commerciale (le volume des ventes diffère entre chaque état).
Source: Wikipedia
La description ci-dessous provient de Wikipedia (https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycle_de_vie_(commerce))
Stade de lancement: Introduction du produit sur le marché
coûts élevés de production et de développement
faible volume de vente
pertes pour l'entreprise
prix élevés
Stade de croissance
coûts réduits par les économies d'échelles
croissance importante des volumes de vente
profits croissants pour l'entreprise et marges élevées
prix assurant une large part de marché
début de simplification du marché: les grandes entreprises achètent les PME innovantes
Stade de maturité
marges réduites, disparition des compétiteurs incapables d'économies d'échelle (absorption, retrait, faillite, oligopoles, stabilisation des parts de marché)coûts de production faibles, mais coûts de promotion commerciale et de services à la clientèle élevés
maximum des volumes de vente
forte sensibilité à la conjoncture
profits encore très importants mais stagnants
fortes segmentations : les gammes de produits se sont diversifiées pour répondre à une demande exigeante
tendance à la baisse des prix en raison de la concurrence
anticipation de produits de remplacement par la recherche et le développement
Stade de déclin
diminution des ventes
diminution des profits
diminution des prix
apparition de produits de remplacement
La dernière question est: quel est l’état du marché ?
Conclusion
En répondant à ces 3 questions clairement, vous aurez plus facile lorsque vous définirez votre stratégie commerciale. L’étape suivante dans l’exercice du Marketing Canvas est de définir la compétition.
Référence
Bill Aulet, Disciplined Entrepreneurship : 24 Steps to a Successful Startup, John Wiley & Sons (30 août 2013)
Cycle de vie, Wikipedia