88: Build a Better Brand Narrative and Create Apps People Actually Want to Use

Becoming a great B2B company starts with one thing: creating a better brand narrative. The story you tell about your brand is the driving force behind every action your team takes. A great brand narrative inspires quality product design and links every team member to your common values and goals. Throughout this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite, Drew and Barry also discuss why marketers need to go out and be the face of the company through making sales and speaking with customers. Finally, Barry shares his best tips for creating apps people ACTUALLY want to use. You can learn from his clear insights that break down app design into a few easy ideas. You'll enjoy and learn from this podcast - check it out! Subscribe on Apple Podcasts - Stitcher- or Podsearch What You'll Learn Professionals should do these 3 things in the B2B marketing industry B2B marketers do more than create content to be shared. The best professionals break out of the marketing mold regularly and become salespersons for the day. By going out and talking to prospects, understanding their problems, and making sales they are better equipped to create campaigns that target the heart of a prospect. Barry explains that marketing professionals should also do these 3 main tasks in order to best serve the company: Develop the "why change" and "why change now" stories Express and condense the brand narrative into 2-3 sentences that can be repeated by every team member Create authentic content that backs up the brand narrative Here's how to build a better brand narrative for your company Drafting a better brand narrative goes beyond restating the company's mission. A truly great narrative paints a picture to the customer that resonates deeply with their problems and need for solutions. Writing a better brand narrative becomes a process of deconstructing and reconstructing your company's mission, values, core principles, and positioning. Barry explains this process in full detail on this episode. It's not an easy road, but it's one that 100% worth it. Your app shouldn't be just a mobile website - give it a job to do and problem to solve Barry explains the 3 main types of apps: those used to waste time, those used to connect people together, and those used to save time. The entire idea behind productivity-based apps is to minimize the amount of time a user spends on the app itself. If you understand the fundamental reason behind WHY people need your app, you can use those insights to design a better, more efficient user experience. And remember, not everything should be about marketing within your app! To hear more about why user-first app design is so important, and even more details behind authentic brand narratives, be sure to give this episode your full attention. Timeline [1:20] Barry's Renegade Rapid Fire segment, and why marketers need to become salespeople [15:20] Could machines take over a creative marketer's job? [18:35] Constructing a great narrative for your company [25:57] Professionals do these 3 things in the B2B marketing industry [32:40] Barry's best advice for creating apps that people ACTUALLY want to use [38:42] Barry's #1 tip for designing great apps Connect With Barry: Swrve's company webpage Connect with Barry on LinkedIn Follow Barry on Twitter Resources & People Mentioned Swrve website Swrve on Facebook Swrve on Twitter Ep 67, "How DocuSign's CMO Discovered How to Develop a Marketing Vision through Orchestration" Connect with Drew http://renegade.com/ On LinkedIn On Twitter On Facebook On Instagram