Donald Miller's bestselling book, Building A StoryBrand, shows a marketing approach that captures our need for a better understanding. Donald Miller identified a universal story point that everyone reacts to.
In addition, Donald Miller establishes these points in his model that would ensure successful marketing of any product. Apply this StoryBrand formula to how you communicate your product to your potential customer and Miller believes you'll see success. In this blog post, we're going to discuss how an outline can help you capture your audience.
How Does StoryBrand Work in Marketing?
A good story has the power to attract the right people to your website, engage and hold their attention, and convince them that you are the guide to solve their problems. If you can communicate customer-focused stories on your website/emails and other social media sites then you could expand your business. If there is no clear or concise message, your prospect will have an unhappy consumer and be confused.
The StoryBrand 7 Framework
Donald Miller lays out a framework that every marketer should take the time to understand and implement. The StoryBrand strategy can be found in his bestselling book, "Building A Storybrand." Donald talks about this formula throughout the entire book so it's important you get familiar with all of these terms:
1. The Character
Your customer is the heroine, not your brand. Most brands make the mistake of being the hero in their marketing materials. In the StoryBrand framework, you still have an important role to play in the story but you are not the main character or the hero.
2. Has a Problem
Nearly every story has a villain. The villain is the number one tool storytellers are using to help develop conflict. In stories, the villain begins an external problem that leads the character to internal frustration. Companies tend to sell solutions for external problems, but often, customers buy solutions to internal problems.
The only reason customers buy from us is because the external problem we solve is also causing an internal problem in their story in such a way that demands resolution. If we can recognize exactly what this frustration is and put it in words and offer to solve it alongside the original external problems, we hit two birds with one stone.
3. And Meets a Guide
When it comes to positioning your brand you MUST communicate empathy and authority. As Oprah herself put it she said, the three things that any person desires are: seen, heard, and understood. Real empathy means letting people know we see people just like we are seeing ourselves.”. Amy Cuddy says that the people who value trust think it's only when trust is established that the person starts thinking about how to understand them.
The way you show empathy in your marketing is by communicating to your customers that you've been through the same struggles and that you know what it's like to be in the same situation as they are. Displaying authority is as simple as letting them know that you know what you are doing and that you've helped others achieve success before.
4. Who Gives Them a Plan
If you offer to sell now, your customer can only see a stifling gap where they're at and where they're going to. The idea of grabbing out our purses is frightening. So, we offer customers a bridge: a bridge that starts with understanding their problem and ends with the delivery of your product.
The guide offers customers a step-by-step plan on how to get from where they are to where they want to be. This is what customers need before they hand over money—a guarantee and not just another sales pitch. Without a plan, you lose potential customers and customers lose money if you fail them. This is why you need a plan and a guarantee.
5. And Calls Them to Action
Stories teach us that heroes don't take action unless they are challenged to do so. If a story is about a hero's life and how he does things out of his own volition and without any outside force challenging him, no one would pay attention to it. As the guide, you must challenge the hero to take action. Brands usually challenge customers to take action with a direct call. The most common direct calls come in the form of a "Buy Now!" button.
You must have confidence in what you offer. Believing in the value of your products or services gives you confidence that what you are offering is useful to your customers and that they are not wasting their resources on you. Customers trust brands that are assertive and show authority in their marketing materials. Believe in your brand and show confidence in your calls to action.
6. And Helps Them Avoid Failure
If there's no stake in the game it's very possible that people would lose interest in the quest of the hero. This is why you need to show the hero how you are gonna help them avoid a tragic ending. Tell the hero about the negative consequences of not having you as a guide.
7. And Ends in a Success
You must show customers the change that your brand will bring into their lives. Offer them a vision of what their life will be like after doing business with you. Never assume that your customers understand how your brand can change their lives. You have to tell them and you have to tell them clearly. So clarify your message with the StoryBrand Framework.
How Do I Get The Most Out of StoryBrand Framework?
Donald Miller's book Building a StoryBrand presents some great examples of using the StoryBrand framework. The framework is designed to organize your company's message around the hero's journey. In this section, we will brush through some of the different ways StoryBrand can help your brand achieve success.
The StoryBrand Framework is a powerful tool that helps you clarify your message. With a clear message, you won't be needing fancy terms to attract a potential customer. The goal of this framework is to make your brand message so clear that you will only need very few words to get your message across.
It Will Help You Guide Potential Customers to Success
The Storybrand framework helps brands shift their focus to place potential customers at the heart of their marketing material. By creating a BrandScript you'll have a brand message the customer can resonate with and trust. The best brands are guides that help a customer survive and find success & the best brands help them find success in the world of marketing.
It Will Help You Leverage on Marketing Materials to Drive Customer Engagement
If properly implemented, the StoryBrand Framework helps to create an open story loop. An open story loop leads your customers to engage with your brand while they explore their own stories. The human being and more particularly the human brain finds peace in the absence of confusion and struggle. StoryBrand uses a proven framework to address people's internal desire for clarity.
With the StoryBrand Framework, you’ll be able to clarify your story and then strategically develop it into a powerful marketing plan that will help you reach your goals. The framework is broken down into seven different components including an identity statement, guiding principles, values proposition, character arc, customer journey map, etc., which are all used for developing a content strategy.
If this sounds like something you want guidance with or would even enjoy going through yourself in a workshop setting come join us at ROI Online! If you want to learn how StoryBrand can help you communicate with your prospects better, book a StoryBrand workshop with us today by clicking the link below.
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