The StoryBrand Framework, developed by Donald Miller is a system for developing marketing material that can build trust with clients. According to Miller, the most difficult step in making marketing materials is to identify which customer has the problem you solve. Once you define your target audience and what problems they have, you're well on your way to creating effective marketing materials unique to their problems instead of throwing out generic marketing messages for everyone.
Your target customer is the hero in your story- this concept is at the core of the StoryBrand Framework. You want to invite them into a great story that they will be attached to because they are the ones who must take action in order for you to receive results and grow your sales.
What Is The StoryBrand Framework?
The StoryBrand Framework is a messaging roadmap based on the greatest stories ever told. It has seven parts that identify what your customers want, how you're going to help them achieve their goals, and the possible best and worst-case scenarios depending on how your customer responds to your offer.
Think of the StoryBrand Framework like the sales funnel. Every potential customer steps into the funnel, and those that choose your brand go deeper into the funnel, and those that don't feel like they need what you've made opt-out. The StoryBrand Framework helps you create messages made especially for the people you serve, so you don't waste time trying to appeal to someone who will never be interested, and make it easy for people who are looking for what you're offering.
Your marketing materials should focus on letting customers know how your product or service can solve their problems. For example, when people are still considering whether or not they need something you offer, it's important to give them reasons why they might need it and information about why it will help them solve their problem better than other solutions out there. Once they have purchased your product or service, the StoryBrand Framework doesn't stop working. It simplifies your message so you empower your existing customer to tell more people about your brand.
With your simplified message and their positive experience with your products or services, spreading the word about your brand will feel as natural as breathing.
The StoryBrand Framework is also a useful tool for marketing teams to better understand how they are engaging with their customers throughout the sales funnel. Companies that adopt the principles of the StoryBrand Framework see improvements in their internal communication, company culture, and the way every single employee communicates with clients.
This system can help guide your brand's efforts towards creating marketing messages that speak directly to each customer's problem. These messages will resonate more with individual customers than generic messages that seem like they could be written for anyone else. Your customers deserve something better than the generic stuff. Give them messages that speak directly to their needs, and you'll be hard to ignore.
Who's at The Center of Your Brand Message?
The StoryBrand framework is unusual in that it places the customer at the center of the story. However, when you take a close look at this idea, it makes perfect sense. The StoryBrand framework's main objective is to develop a marketing message that enables customers to move through their personal hero journey with ease. The customer is always the hero during their journey. Our brand exists to serve them, so it only makes sense to put them at the center of our story.
When Does The Hero Play an Important Role?
The customer doesn't just appear in your brand story strategy when you're writing marketing copy - they are there all along the way! A good StoryBrand strategist should be thinking about how to place customers into stories to help them connect with what you have to offer long before they ever receive your products or services.
When creating your brand's story, you should be thinking about how to help customers by inviting them on a journey of transformation where they come out on the other end as better people or at least the same kind of people living a better life.
Define The Hero's Ambition
A lot of times, a story begins with the introduction of the hero and the goal they want to reach to achieve a happy ending. The StoryBrand Framework teaches us to define the hero's ambition to get the reader's attention and give them an engaging experience.
Not only that, but you have to establish a clear message right from the beginning. It's important to avoid failure at all costs, and by giving your audience clear messaging on what you're helping them with from the get-go, you avoid any confusion or mixed signals.
What It Means to Survive
Knowing the ambitions and goals of your customers is one part of making effective brand messages. But not all goals and ambitions are relevant to their survival. Defining a desire that relates to their survival adds an element that makes them want to need your products and services. Customers buy solutions that help them survive even without knowing it.
What does survival really mean? Survival, in the most basic sense, is the capacity to have resources that allow you to have a safe, healthy, and happy life. When customers have social and economic resources to eat, ensure the survival of their family, and fight off invaders, they survive. As a brand, you'll know that you are helping your customers survive and thrive if they gain the ability to Conserve, Build, and Gain with what you offer.
Conserve
Conservation means the careful use, preservation, or storage of something so that it can be used later. A hunter will find success with a bow and arrow, not an assault rifle. A farmer will find success with hoes and shovels, not bulldozers. A soldier will find success with spears, not grenades. If you are helping customers conserve their financial resources and time, they find success in their lives with your products and services. When we show up for the people we serve, we better carry the exact message they need and give it to them before it's too late. If your customer needs to spend lots of energy to understand your message, they won't reward you with their attention.
Clarity in your marketing messages helps potential customers conserve energy. By having a clear message and using stories in your marketing, you make it easier for the human brain to process information and use less energy to understand a good story. The sooner they understand what you are saying, the sooner you generate interest in their minds.
Build
Building often requires tools, processes, and raw materials. Without the proper materials or tools, it's difficult for a person to build something that doesn't crumble easily. A stone ax might be the best tool to use when cutting down trees for building a house, while sharpened sticks may prove more effective in cutting plants and vegetables. When helping customers build social networks with your products and services you provide them with tools that allow them to create lasting connections that benefit all parties involved.
When it comes to your sales copy, emails, websites, and even social media posts, giving them the right tools mean that you should have a plan on how your customer can achieve their goals. Make their next moves clear and easy to understand, and then call them to action.
A call-to-action is an efficient way to help potential customers know what they can do next after learning about your offer. They need clarity on how they should proceed so they don't feel lost and confused about which product or service they should purchase from you.
Gain
A customer can gain social status when they are able to do something that garners respect from others, especially if it's beneficial for the community. A person gains respect by being generous with their time and talent, giving people what they need in order to better their lives, or fighting off invaders who wish to cause harm in communities. Brands that help customers gain high-level positions in their social circles find success in helping them achieve personal goals through connections with your brand message.
If you want your marketing messages to generate interest among potential customers, call-to-actions can help by directing people towards buying one of your products or services. You should make sure call-to-actions are specific about what you want users to do and how they will benefit from taking the call-to-action. This ensures they know exactly what to expect when purchasing your products or services, cutting down on confusion about what you offer and what they get in return.
The Hero's Journey
The hero's journey is a concept heavily included in the StoryBrand Framework. According to Donald Miller, every story we tell comes from some type of call to adventure, which sparks interest within our customers, and we need a Guide or Mentor who can help us succeed in life. The call to adventure relates to survival because it tells people that they must have a character transformation if they want different results.
Mentors, like StoryBrand Certified Guides and a StoryBrand Certified Agency, provide guidance throughout the hero's journey to eliminate confusion so they don't feel lost along the way. You can be a Mentor for your customers by creating call-to-actions that lead them to success by purchasing your products and services or providing tips on how they can connect with other people in their social networks. The call to adventure will spark interest in potential customers when you direct them towards call-to-action that helps them save time or money, give back to their community through connections with others, or gain a higher position in their businesses and social circles through the aid of your brand message.
Conserving, building, and gaining status are concepts from the StoryBrand framework that make it easier for companies to market themselves more effectively by guiding customers towards obtaining what they want most. Companies who provide easy call-to-actions that help their customers gain social status or connections with other people in their community find success when they call on potential customers to create call-to-actions.
Start Simplifying, Improving, and Clarifying Your Brand Story
Join the next StoryBrand marketing workshop today to effectively apply the principles of the StoryBrand Framework to your company. In this workshop, you'll be working with StoryBrand Certified Guides like us to help you simplify your message, improve the way you communicate your brand, and empower your customers with clarity so it will be easier to spread the word around about your brand.
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If you're ready to take on new heights this year, we hope you'll join us at the next StoryBrand Workshop.
