How industries are being disrupted through stories

I was recently working with a long-established, traditional US retailer that is being disrupted through stories.

But they didn’t know it.

“This is insane,” the brand manager said in exasperation. “All these new companies have come into our market. They’re selling virtually the same shirts that we are for $70. Our price is $20. How are they getting away with it?”

On one level, he is correct. These clothes are similar in almost every visible way. But he was missing a crucial component. The disrupting brands had a story, and he didn’t.

And people buy stories.

Let’s look at this more closely. How can you use “story” strategically as a disruptive marketing element, and is it sustainable?

The tradition of “position”

A key part of traditional marketing is owning a distinct position in your industry. We could use a simple 2 x 2 matrix to illustrate how a few common clothing retailers might be positioned in the marketplace in terms of style versus price: