Susan Boyle’s Story & Your Business

by Jon on 2009/04/20

in Best Of, marketing, storytelling

'Susan Boyle: Britains Got Talent'

'Susan Boyle: Britains Got Talent'

If you haven’t heard of Susan Boyle in the last week you’ve probably fallen off the face of the earth. The singing spinster from Scotland who stunned audiences of British TV show Britain’s Got Talent with her performance of a song from Les Miserables has become world famous in little more than a week.

Check out the interview with me on digital storytelling.

As we watched her performance for the third time on YouTube this weekend in this household, I couldn’t help but think that we can all share in Susan’s story.

The point here is that she’s dared to dream. She got up on stage in front of a packed house and belted out a song dear to her heart. She didn’t apologise for who she was. She didn’t seem to worry too much that people were laughing at her. She just showed them what she’d got and the whole thing rocked.

What Does Your Company Do Differently

Too often I come across companies and small businesses who are trying to be like someone else. They want the gloss of Big Company X, the gravitas of Corporation Y.

Sit down and talk to some clients and what you hear is: “We want to be better than X, learn from Y, and be something like a more successful Z.”

I do wonder if we’ve got to the stage where things are so homogenous, where businesses are so alike, that it’s getting harder to stand out from the crowd. We’re over-analysing everything.

What I loved about Susan Boyle and her story is that she got up and, in a refreshingly honest way, pitched her “brand” just as it stood. And it worked.

Not only did it work: she brought the house down.

It was refreshing to see people respond warmly to something that wasn’t as styled, glossed or calculated to succeed.

How many businesses are trying the Susan Boyle approach?

Print

Related posts:

  1. Is it the Coffee or the Story that Sells?
  2. Marketing Yourself with an Exclusive Story
  3. Are You Promoting Your Business Offline?
  4. Your Website like Your English Tells a Story
  5. The Online Story of You

Tagged as:

Jon Buscall - Communications Consultant

Communications Consultant Jon Buscall

I'm an available-for-hire online communications consultant based out of Stockholm, Sweden.

What I do:
  • Online Marketing and Communications Strategy
  • Speaking
  • Teaching
  • Training
  • Write stuff: articles, blogs, brochures, copywriting, presentations, the works!

Contact me today to set up a free consultation to discuss how I can help your business succeed online.

  • Jon
    @becky,
    Although my company is "jontus media - handelsbolag" I decided to go with my name after about 2 years as it's just me anyway! In the beginning I felt embarrassed to do that, but now I don't worry. I just couldn't hack the "we". It's me that does the work and I've found that some customers like the personality of knowing who they are working with.

    Good luck with your own website. When it's ready send me the link and I'll add you to the blogroll.
  • interesting take on the susan boyle story! i've watched her performance several times, and each time i watch it, her singing brings tears to my eyes. absolutely lovely and so honest.

    i also like alan's comments on your post as well. i'll have to keep that in mind as i'm writing for my company's website [in development] since it's just me! alan's so right that people shouldn't be ashamed about being a one-man organisation. in reality, being a 1-man company takes lots of guts, eh? :)
  • I agree entirely... i know of many single-person companies who use terms such as "About Us" "Our Values", or in other ways try to imply they are a huge corporation (like it's a good thing) when they are not.

    People shouldn't be ashamed that they are a one-man organisation, or that they work from a home office, etc... it's a positive thing, showing self-sufficiency and that you believe in following a different path.
  • Jon
    Thanks for your comments Alan. I appreciate it. I think there's a strong culture of positivity towards freelance work at the moment, perhaps as people are trying to find different ways of working and getting by in the current economic climate.

    I suppose I've always been attracted to the idea of a digital office on a mountain top (or the French Riviera!).

    Best wishes,
    Jon
blog comments powered by Disqus