The downturn in today’s economy is making many small and medium-sized businesses look for innovative, yet inexpensive ways to boost their visual impact and convey trust to prospective customers online. But how can you accomplish this?

One good way is find the story in your business. You may reply, “But, we only do…”. But, every business has a story - we guarantee it. You may not have thought about it or you may be overlooking it. You just need to find it!

First, why is it important to find your business’ story?

Your web sites, sales collateral and press releases can be built around it, building trust and a connection to your prospective customer. Let’s look at this example:

A local, medium-sized vehicle repair and maintenance shop does a great business and has recently opened a larger shop. At first, the owner, who I'll call "Bob" told me, “I repair cars and trucks… what kind of a story is that?” As it turns out, when Bob was attending college years ago (his major was Theology) he would repair his friends’ cars in the dorm parking lot between classes. Bob’s friends started telling other friends about his talent and honesty so often that by the time of graduation, he had a small group of customers. These customers didn’t want to lose the best mechanic they knew, so they persuaded him to open his own shop and even helped him find funding through acquaintances and other business owners!

Imagine the trust and regard potential new customers will also have for Bob's business when they read or hear his story!

How do you uncover your business’ story?