Storytelling is an integral part of any marketing strategy and one of the most powerful ways to engage your customers in your brand journey. Having recently attended a press evening at their Liverpool Flagship store, it’s clear that the team at Lush know how to tell a good story – from their perfume collection to their spa treatments, there’s a passionate focus on sharing their product development journey with their customers in an entertaining and engaging way.

There’s no doubt that Lush is a brand built around storytelling. Whether it’s the creation of iconic beauty products such as their Rose Jam range (“jam” referring to the unique scent of crushed petals left in the base of a shipping container transporting roses from the Middle East) or their Charity Pot, where 100% of the purchase price is donated towards humanitarian and animal rights charities, Lush excel at being authentic, transparent and honest with their customers.

But for Lush, their storytelling isn’t only about selling their product. It’s about educating the customer on issues around the environment, animal testing or charitable groups. Passionate staff enthusiastically share the stories around product creation, ingredients and sourcing. Their entire range is fresh, handmade and ethical. 100% of products are vegetarian and around 80% are vegan. They produce a large number of products in solid form to reduce the need for packaging, and where packaging is required it’s often made from innovative sources such as recycled coffee cups. Gifts are wrapped in reuseable fabric scarves rather than paper, and there’s even an incentive for customers to return their empty packaging in return for a free gift.

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The Lush Spa in Liverpool even offers a treatment called “The Tales of Bath”, an immersive sensorial experience in which the recipient is immersed in a warm bath and read a story specifically created to invoke memories of childhood. The effects are powerful, with many customers being reduced to tears during the treatment. Lush also believe in storytelling with their perfume range, and each scent has a unique tale around its creation.

Earlier this year an audit of their social content and strategy showed that Lush were only reaching an average of 6% of their followers, and their desire to ensure that “all voices are heard” drove the conversation around changing the way they communicate and tell these stories. Lush UK subsequently took the controversial decision to remove themselves from all major social media platforms. In a world where social media is seen as a key marketing tool for customer and brand engagement, Lush made a bold move to switch the conversation to more traditional means – including talking to their customers by email and telephone. The team at Lush claimed that they were “tired of fighting with algorithms”, a statement that many brands would most likely agree with as the social media landscape becomes increasingly pay-to-play.

Are you a retailer or restaurant looking to tell your own story? Why not get in touch…