Whether you realize it or not, your brand is made up of stories – your stories, your employees’ stories and the stories others tell about you. Your story is more than a catchy tagline. It’s rooted in your own experience and your company’s purpose. It’s also more than what you tell people. It’s also what they believe about you based on their experience of interacting with your company.

One thing is certain—you can’t expect to stand out from the crowd by telling the same story as everyone else. If you want to transform your organization, you first have to transform your story.

Your goal is to think differently about the stories you tell about your company. A good story is authentic, it’s creative, intimate and emotional. It inspires action and takes the audience on a journey with the brand. Great stories affect the way we feel, the way we think and react and how we behave.

To tell your story, first know who you are or, more precisely, who your company is. Your story’s main character (your business) has a personality. What’s it like? Write down some of these qualities and create a personality profile to refer to and remember. Once you identify who you are as a business—honestly, authentically and openly - make the main character of your story someone that your customers can relate to and identify with—a character with similar values, goals and aspirations. Make your customers a part of your story and your storytelling can be transformed into storyselling.

Think you can’t tell a story? Review these 6 Key Tips for Business Storytelling Like a TED Pro shared by John Bates, CEO of Executive Speaking Success & Business Coaching.

“The best brands are built on great stories.” – Ian Rowden, Virgin Group

Is what you communicate about your brand authentic? Does everyone tell the same story? Take the Brand Traffic Control Assessment and find out.