You've got a story. Your company has a story. Your customer has a story. Really...everyone has a story!
And your story is no less important than my story, or the neighbor next door's story, or Steve Job's story. Stories matter.
The Story Brand Approach
In his book Building a Story Brand, New York Times bestselling author Donald Miller built a company and podcast on that very concept. In case you are unaware, he likens company branding to the classic tradition of storytelling. There are key components in every great story, and he spells those elements out in this way:
A Character....Has a Problem...And Meets a Guide...Who Gives Them a Plan...And Calls Them to Action...That Helps Them Avoid Failure...And Ends in a Success.
The above seeming run-on sentence is actually a list of seven chapter titles from the book. But they each summarize the methodology in the plan Miller has created to help businesses identify who they are, who their customer is, who the villain is, and how the story can end happily for the protagonists.
One of the most important parts of the StoryBrand framework is the question on everyone's mind when a story begins: Who is the hero of the story?
It's so easy to see oneself as the hero in any story, as humans are, by nature, self-centered creatures. You react according to how things affect you; you make plans according to what suits your fancy; you most actively seek solutions to problems that you face.
I think it's safe to state that most every individual is the hero of his or her own story.
The Customer is the Hero
But when it comes to your business....who is the hero then? Donald Miller points out that many businesses make the mistake of setting themselves up as the hero of the story. They hype up their backstory, try to portray themselves as all things to the customer (often dividing their message to the point of dilution)...and in the end, they don't connect with the customer.
Why is that?
Because they were never the hero to begin with.
Remember the assertion that each of us is the hero of our own story?
When a customer has a problem that needs to be solved, he or she could care less how your business feels. Customers are focused on themselves--their own needs, feelings, concerns. They are seeking solutions to their own problems, as quickly and conveniently as possible.
When it comes right down to it, the customer is the hero, and should be treated as such.
Your Are the Guide
Businesses are not the heroes, rather, the guides. They guide the customer towards a solution that best fits that customer's needs.
A guide must add value to the hero in any good story. One of the great "guide" characters that comes to mind is in the classic 80's film The Karate Kid. Daniel (the hero) is being bullied by a group of karate fighters from the Cobra Kai dojo. He meets Mr. Miyagi, an unassuming mechanic who also happens to be a martial arts expert. He becomes Daniel's guide, helping him train to compete against the Cobra Kai.
When you, as a business owner, look at your customer in such a light, you realize that your job is to focus your messaging on solutions to their problems. You need to communicate why you are the best guide--the one with the best tools to help solve the hero's problems.
This type of branding approach can lead a business to sharpen it's focus. If all the headlines and subsequent messaging are clearly focused on the customer, then that customer will get the message, come to trust the brand, and likely invest in it.
It's Not About You
For example, a key bit of advice I got from a training program concerns the "About" page on a website. Many businesses focus on accolades that have been paid to them, their vast amounts of training or expertise....when really, the "About Me" page should be "About You" (the customer). Obviously, you want to use talking points to demonstrate why your business is credible and the best one to answer the customer's needs...but the communication should be crafted to demonstrate how you can solve the customer's problem. You want the overall message to be, "Because I have this particular background and these special skills, I am the best person to be your guide."
Remember the most important take-away from this marketing approach--your customer is the hero. You are the guide.
If you'd like to study the StoryBrand framework to take a fresh look at how you have marketed your business, click on the picture.
There is an art to great marketing writing that focuses the messaging on the hero of the story. I'm a copywriter who is trained to craft your marketing communication to portray you as the perfect guide in your customer's narrative. If you'd like to learn more about my services, click the button below to book a free Discovery Call.
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