Poet Maya Angelou often said, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” In Seth Godin’s book All Marketers Are Liars, he says, “Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make but about the stories you tell.”

When someone visits your website today, they are not just hunting for a list of services you offer. They want to know what it would be like to work with you, whether your team seems trustworthy, and if your operation looks competent enough to handle their jobs.

If your site reads like an equipment inventory instead of a story about who you are, you’re missing chances to make important emotional connections that are unrelated to the mechanics of producing mail.

I’m not suggesting you remove the good, informative content on your site. Keep listing your capabilities. Prospects need to know you run high‑speed inserters, handle transactional documents, and use NCOA and DPV. Go ahead and include sections about personalization, matching, or various document types you handle, so prospects can quickly see that you can take on their work.

But communicating your capabilities does not differentiate you enough from the competition or make your company especially memorable. As Angelou and Godin imply, you might consider strengthening the emotional aspect of your messaging by adding some stories to your content lineup.

Stories Are Impressive

When you stimulate positive emotions through stories, you make your company relatable. Emotional connections can make a difference, allowing your brand to stand out among all the others a prospect may have researched.

Use stories to move your business from a name in a search result to a company customers will remember and trust.

On our PMC Content Services site, we added a short origin story on the About Us page. That one piece works harder than any list of services because it shows visitors what we care about, how we think, why we’re in business, and why we might be the right partner for them. It helps website visitors remember us when they are ready to talk about content marketing.

Steal this idea: write a short story for your own About page. Explain why you started in the print/mail business, who you like to serve, and what results keep you excited about coming to work.

You don’t want website visitors to leave without making a connection. They probably won’t fill out your Contact Us form, so the content on your website has to do that job for you. When customers interested in mailing services finish comparing costs and features, it is their emotions that will frequently influence their decision to reach out to your sales department.

When you incorporate a little storytelling into your marketing strategy, you can expect to see benefits that affect awareness, loyalty, and the quality of leads you attract:

· Highlight your unique history, values, and personality so prospects feel like they already know you before they ever meet your sales rep.

· Lift brand awareness and recall by giving people a story they can repeat when they explain to a colleague why they picked you.

· Deepen loyalty and trigger referrals by letting customers see the people and values behind the print and mail machinery.

Stories to Write About Your Operation Right Now

Start this month with one or two stories that only you can tell. Describe how your company got started, why you chose this industry, or what kept you going through a rough patch and connect each story to a benefit your customers enjoy today. Cite real examples that show customers how your company operates.

Add stories about community involvement, customer wins, and team milestones so prospects see that real people, not just machines, will be handling their jobs and watching out for their interests.

Keep the language simple and human, write the way you talk to a customer across a conference table, and let the results speak for themselves instead of loading every sentence with sales claims.

Leverage the Power of Storytelling

In a highly competitive environment, you need more than just a list of products and capabilities to capture the attention of potential clients. Storytelling turns a website from a static brochure into an asset that cultivates trust, builds relationships, and leaves a memorable impression. Sharing authentic experiences and personal histories reveals the human side of your business, making it easier for prospects to envision working with you.

Your stories invite visitors to connect on a deeper level. Whether you’re highlighting your company’s journey, showcasing community outreach, or spotlighting team members, authentic storytelling will set your print/mail business apart and encourage meaningful engagement.

Look at your website this week with fresh eyes and ask yourself: “If I knew nothing about our company, would this content help me remember what sets this business apart?”

If your answer is anything less than an honest “yes”, you should start adding stories that explain who you are, how you treat customers, and why your team is different. Let those stories work alongside your equipment list to win the jobs you really want and keep those customers coming back.

Mike Porter at Print/Mail Consultants creates content that helps mail service providers and other companies in the document industry attract and retain customers through content marketing. Learn more about his services (and see the About Us page) at www.pmccontentservices.com. Follow @PMCmike on X, or send him a connection request on LinkedIn.