It’s a simple enough question. It’s a great starter. It begs for deeper interaction. It has the potential to bring emotion and fact together into an amazing experience.

Every time I get the opportunity to chat with an elderly person, I love to hear their stories. My wife’s grandpa was probably my favorite person to just sit and talk to about his life experiences. His eyes would light up as he told stories of WWII or Florida or gardening. And because he was so engaged in the telling of the story, I remember many of his stories as if they were mine.

It’s why I love to chat with business owners. Hearing the story of how the business started, grew, evolved, struggled, changed, adjusted, adapted, kept growing – it’s always unique and always amazing. And ALWAYS backed with a ton of passion.

I believe the businesses that will be around for the long haul are going to be the ones who are able to accurately tell their story online. They will find a way to squeeze out the passion and heart from the founder/owner/driver and build that into their online experience so that everyone who first meets this company will just “get it”. Whether you like it or not, most people’s first impression of your business will be online. Could be through your website or from an article written about you or some video they saw. Even if you are a “relationship only” business, someone along the chain of command is vetting you online right now.

There will never be a technology that can replace the actual human, face-to-face interaction. However, the technology that exists right now can take your website from being an online brochure to a thriving amplifier of your mission. It can turn your greatest advocates into your top-salespeople and convert your greatest skeptics into champions. It can extend your reach to corners of the world you never thought possible.

But it all starts with your story.

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Author

With over a decade of experience, I have managed online marketing for a wide range of industries including biotech, high-tech, financial, higher education, non-profit, manufacturing, hardware providers, and startups. My specialty is helping business make the right turn with their online efforts focusing on lead generation and analytics.

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