What is a good story actually worth to your business? More than you might think.
Storytelling can help people understand what you do, connect with the people behind your organization, and even change how they perceive the value of a product or service. One survey put that last point to the test by showing people the same products with and without a story attached.
Researchers showed participants a series of products and experiences in two ways: once with a standard description and again with a story attached. The results consistently showed that storytelling increased perceived value.
Storytelling Can Increase Perceived Value
The difference was relatively small for some products and dramatic for others, but the pattern was consistent: people placed a higher value on something when it came with a story. Here are a few examples from the research:
A hotel room: Participants valued a hotel room at $126 when they saw a standard description. Add a customer story, and the perceived value increased to $133.
A painting: A painting presented with basic information was valued at $99.53. When participants also learned the artist’s personal story, the perceived value increased to $109.98.
A set of fish-shaped spoons: Yes, fish-shaped spoons. A standard eBay-style listing produced a perceived value of $42.83. Add a fictional story, and that jumped to $70.08.
As Ilya Vedrashko of Hill Holliday summarized the findings: “The product that had a story pulled in more money than the same product without one every time. Storytelling moves not only people, but it also moves product.”
Why Does That Matter for Your Business?
The point isn’t that adding a clever story automatically makes something more valuable. It’s that context matters. A story can help people understand where something came from, who created it, why it exists, or what it means to another person.
For businesses and organizations, that means there’s value in looking beyond features, services, and statistics. Tell us about the people doing the work. Introduce us to the customers you’ve helped. Show us why the work matters. Those stories can give an audience something a product description or list of bullet points can’t.
That right there is the true value of storytelling for your business.
At Moarly Creative, storytelling is at the heart of our approach to video production. We look beyond what a business or organization does to find the people and stories that give audiences a reason to care.
Learn more about our storytelling approach or contact us to start a conversation.