Challenge · Our story no longer fits

The company has grown. The story hasn't.

‘Our story no longer fits our company’ usually means this: the organisation has grown in customers, offer or markets, but the way you explain what you do and why customers choose you has not grown with it. Your website, sales team and leadership each stress different things. As a result, it isn't clear enough what sets you apart.

That is rarely a writing problem. It is a choosing problem. As long as you haven't made a sharp choice about who you are for and how you differ, everyone fills in the story for themselves. People who are good at their job do that convincingly, too. That's why it can go unnoticed for a long time.

How can you tell the story no longer fits?

The managing director still tells the story best, and nobody else can take it over.
Your website, presentations and proposals describe the company as it was a few years ago.
Sales adapts the story for each customer, because the standard story doesn't work.
You lose deals on price, because the difference from the competitor isn't clear.
After a month, new employees explain the company differently from their colleagues.
Marketing creates content, but sales doesn't use it.

When it usually starts to pinch

The story drifts out of step slowly. Even so, there is often one moment when it suddenly becomes visible:

A new commercial director or marketing lead has started and needs to show results within ninety days.
A big deal or pitch has been lost, and sales and marketing are pointing at each other.
A move into a new market or segment is planned, and nobody knows how the story should land there.

What organisations have usually tried already

Often something has already been done: an agency for a new website or campaign, more leads bought in, a junior marketer hired, or an away day that ended in a PowerPoint. That rarely works, because it is a marketing solution to a collaboration problem. Nobody looked at it from the inside, and nobody anchored the story in day-to-day work.

Choose first, then write

A strong story starts with three choices: which customers you are for, which problem you solve for them, and why you are better at it than the alternative. Only once those choices are made does it make sense to write the copy. Otherwise you get nicer words for the same confusion.

We don't get those choices from a workshop alone. We listen to customers, to sales and to the people who tell the story every day. Your customers' language is often stronger than your website's.

The STOF rhythm for your story

Look and listen — we talk to customers and to the people who tell the story, and put the different versions side by side.
Make a sharp choice — together we define the audience, the core problem, what sets you apart and the evidence, and make explicit what you will stop saying.
Align — we build one core message, with examples for the website, proposals, sales conversations and onboarding new people.
Follow through — teams start using the story; we gather reactions from the field and sharpen it until it comes naturally.

A good place to start: the Positioning sprint

In two to three weeks, a sharp answer to the question of why customers choose you. Leadership, marketing and sales sit at the table together, and we talk to a few of your best customers. After that, everyone in the commercial team answers that question in the same way. Read more about the Positioning sprint.

When is STOF right for this challenge?

STOF is a good fit when the value is there, but the story is too broad, out of date or fragmented, and you are willing to choose. We prefer to work with growing B2B companies of around 15 to 250 people, where the managing director still has to tell the story personally. If you only want a new logo or new copy, without first making the choices behind them, we're not the right partner. Choices first, then the materials: once the choices are clear, we also turn them into brand, copy and website, or give the agency you work with a sharp brief.

Want to get started yourselves? The guide on determining your B2B positioning shows in five steps how to choose what you stand for, with a positioning canvas.

Cases

What that looked like for others

Beweeg Wijs

A strong method, but a dated brand and one story for every sector. We sharpened the positioning per sector, renewed the brand and built the website ourselves, in sprints, with measurement from day one and a team that now runs the site itself.

Antonis Wijnkoperij

A wine merchant easily gets lost in countries, grapes and labels. We made one choice: good wine starts with choosing well. The brand story and a website with Emiel's selection at its heart followed from that.

Warana Film Company

A new production company was being presented as a documentary maker, while it makes feature films and series. We shifted the positioning to worlds as the inspiration, and built the brand, the brand book and the pitch decks on that.

Frequently asked questions

Isn't this just a new website?

A new website only helps once you have chosen what should be on it. Otherwise a nicer site tells the same divided story. We start with the choice, and make sure it then also shows up in proposals, sales conversations and onboarding new people.

How long before everyone tells the same story?

The choice and the core message are in place after a Positioning sprint of two to three weeks. After that, it's a matter of using them: in the first ninety days you'll see whether the story comes back in conversations. We agree together up front when it counts as done.

What does it cost?

We work on a project basis, not by the hour. After the free introductory call, if there's a fit, you get a proposal with a fixed price, a clear timeline and what you will have at the end.

How do we start?

With a free 45-minute introductory call with Nona or Carlijn. We look at where the story comes apart and what a sensible first step would be. Even if it turns out you don't need us.

One story, from the boardroom to sales.

In a free 45-minute introductory call, we look at where your story comes apart, and what a sensible first step would be.

Bring your challenge to the table