Unlock the Secret Ingredient: How Storytelling Adds Value to Your Products

“These are delicious! Can I have your cookie recipe?”

“Over my dead body.”

Well, she wasn't wrong…

The children of Naomi Miller-Dawson engraved her famous (and closely-guarded) Spritz Cookie recipe atop her gravestone, because “It's a favorite memory of our mother; it's a tribute to her.” You can see it here.

In short, doing this was the simplest way to capture her warm, loving personality, their lifetime of memories with her, of course, her passion for baking.

“It's more than just a recipe; it's an acknowledgment of the love that went into her baking,” said her son Richard.

Now:

Would you rather have plate of Mrs. Miller-Dawson's legacy Spritz Cookies, or a box of similar cookies from the local grocery store?

–And wouldn't you be willing to pay more for the legacy cookies?

Love in action…

The marketing lesson?

Find the story. Accentuate what's special about what you offer.

(And there's always something special).

Aside from the Curse of Knowledge, one of the downsides of being “in your own head” with your work is that everything you do can feel so… ordinary.

You're constantly immersed in your business, so it's easy to forget what is interesting or special about what you do, or even the meaningful “Why” story that got you started in the first place.

But, it's the special details or story that help people connect to the value of what you're offering.

Can't think of anything special?

Try harder.

There's always something special.

Proof: here's Mike Rowe selling a pencil in less than one minute, and finding the special story. ("It's the tool Einstein figured out the Theory of Relativity with!").

What's something special about what you do/offer?

Really brainstorm and have fun with this one.

Don't take it to the grave –hit reply and tell me about it ;)

You've got this,

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