Yesterday was Groundhog Day. You know the routine – a groundhog named Phil (a.k.a. a woodchuck) in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania comes out of his den. If he sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter. If he doesn’t see his shadow, there will be an early spring. For the past 136 years, Phil has been making an appearance to the delight of weather reporters across the country.

Here are two questions: who concocted the story of groundhogs being able to predict the weather and why do we keep telling the story over and over again? The first answer is we really don’t know who started the story. There was some European Medieval folklore about animals coming out of hibernation halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox to see if they could see their shadow. That legend made its way to the shores of America. Woodchucks abounded in the eastern woodlands of the U.S. and Canada, so the story somehow was put upon them. But why do we keep retelling it? Because it has the components of a good story: it is simple enough to remember, it is fun and engaging, and it has a slight bit of unpredictability to it. That arouses our natural curiosity and we anticipate hearing what Phil saw when he comes out of his burrow every February 2. But it also brings in 20,000 people to Punxsutawney for the event annually. The story is the marketing for local businesses who bring in over $1 million in sales on February 2 each year.

Storytelling in marketing is a great way to engage your audience beyond being a transaction. Here is a clue to making customers for life: if you are seen by them as being simply a corporation with whom they have no connection, you will relegate your brand to competing on price alone. The first time someone can leave you to find a better deal, they will. Why? Because you have not engaged them on a human level. Humans have feelings, big corporate machines do not. Your marketing needs to draw your customers into a human relationship with your brand.

This leads me back to storytelling as a marketing tool. Have you told your story to your target market? You may think, "What would I tell my them? The story of my business and my brand are non-stories!” That’s where I would disagree with you. Every business starts with a vision and a lot of hard work. Every brand was conceived as a solution to a problem that created an opportunity for business. These may be ordinary to you, but they are fascinating to people who buy from you. Why? We love a feel-good tale. It is why we keep watching movies with the same general plot (introduce hero/introduce villain, something happens that looks like the hero will lose and the villain will win, hero prevails and lives happily ever after. The end.) It is also why we tune in each February 2 to see if Phil has seen his shadow. We were made for human interaction. Storytelling features human feelings. Attaching a story to your business is a great way to do this and a smart marketing ploy.

I would encourage you to write down a simple story of your business history. Don’t just list the dates you incorporated or when you purchased your first office furniture. Put some human feeling into it. Follow these points.

1. Who founded it? How and why did it begin?

2. What were the obstacles that had to be overcome and how did they get over them? This is the most important part of your story. Build some intrigue in this portion of your storytelling. Arouse some curiosity. Leave your customers thinking, "Wow, that’s amazing!”

3. What happened on the other side of those obstacles to make your business succeed?

Take my challenge. Put that simple story on your website and link your social media to it. Count how many people read it and engage with you. You might be surprised at how appealing a good story can be for your target market and your bottom line. Engagement is the first step in creating customers for life. Ask the people in Punxsutawney.