What Is StoryBrand?
Your website should be the central part of your marketing. If it’s not, then everything else you do marketing-wise is just a waste of time (and money). Because we live in an increasingly digital worl...
25+ years in digital marketing | StoryBrand Certified Guide | HubSpot Platinum Partner | Author of 'Building a Business That Lasts'
Your website should be the central part of your marketing. If it’s not, then everything else you do marketing-wise is just a waste of time (and money). Because we live in an increasingly digital world, most people are going to find you or look for you on the internet. Whether you sell directly online or not doesn’t actually matter because your website is the representation of your business on the internet either way. And if your website doesn’t have clear messaging and good design, you’re driving away customers.
Unfortunately, most businesses don’t know this or believe it. So, they spend thousands of dollars on marketing, only to find that it isn’t working. Then they get frustrated and, in many instances, give up. As a result, they miss out on massive growth and all of its rewards. It’s not that the customers aren’t out there — it’s that the business isn’t connecting with them!
How Words Help Sell
People only buy products and services after they read or hear words that make them want to buy those products. Words sell, so you need to have the right words in place if you’re going to reach your ideal customers. The SB7 Framework teaches you how to improve your messaging, so you can connect with your customers and grow your business.
StoryBrand is a filter that helps businesses understand how to write so they can engage their ideal customer. This is important because a lot of people struggle to do this in business. When they write, they write about themselves — they don’t write to their customers, which is what they should be doing. And when they do, they need to cover three main points:
- What product or service they offer
- How it will make their customer’s life better
- What the customer needs to do to get that product or service
You can be a successful, amazing business, and that’s awesome. But that doesn’t mean anything to your customer unless you’ve shown them that you can help them or solve a problem they have because, at the end of the day, that’s all they care about.
How to Use StoryBrand to Grow Your Business
Many businesses don’t put much time into their websites. They get one up, pull together information about themselves, put it online, and call it a day. Doing that just checks a box; it doesn’t make an impact, and that’s what your website should be doing.
How StoryBrand Worked for Us
We’ve been in the marketing a business a long time. So, we know how to write. We know how to design. But back in 2017, what we didn’t know was how to use story-based marketing to meet our goals and grow our business.
We learned, though! And then we changed the words out on our homepage. We didn’t change anything else. Just the words. When we did that, we doubled our incoming leads.
That's how much impact this can have on your business.
It’s such a simple thing, but it makes a lot of sense. People like stories. They like knowing you want to help them. Put the two together, and it’s a recipe for true success.
How The SB7 Framework Can Work for You
We've successfully used story-based marketing for every kind of business, in any industry you could name, including non-profits.
So here's how it works, and how it can work for you.
- Character
Your character, or customer, is here because they want something. What do they want? Know what they are looking for, and make sure you have the solution.
- Problem
There are three parts to the problem: the actual problem (external), the way the problem makes them feel (internal), and what they believe about the problem (philosophical belief).
- Meets a Guide
This is where you come in. As the business, you’re the guide, and you enter into the story to help your customer solve their problem. You do this with empathy and authority.
- Who Gives Them a Plan
Next, you give your customer a clear vision of how to solve their problem. A simple 1-2-3 step process is always best. When they follow these steps, make sure you offer an agreement, telling them exactly what you promise when they do business with you (excellent customer service, a money-back guarantee, etc.).
- Calls Them to Action
Beyond a plan, you need to give your customer a clear next step by calling them to action, so they know exactly what they need to do to move forward with you. This CTA, or call-to-action, can be direct (“Call today!”) or transitional (“Download 5 Ways We Can Help!”).
- Which Leads to Success
Show your customer what success looks like when they work with you! Offer an aspirational identity. Do this through words and images. When they see this, they’ll instinctively want to be part of it. As a result, they’ll be more likely to actually call you or take the actions that you're asking in the call to action.
- And Helps Avoid Failure
Why should your customer buy from you? What will happen if they don't buy from you? What is at stake? What's it going to cost them to not buy? Because that's the thing. People often focus on what it costs to buy. There's always a cost to not buy, too, right? So focus on those risks, and make sure your customer knows that their best move is to choose your business.
Follow StoryBrand and See the Results Yourself!
So many businesses only focus on themselves and how they can sell more of a product or service. They talk all about themselves, never address the true problem and available solution, and then their customers are left wondering, “Can this business help me?” Then they go find someone else to do business with — someone who “gets” them.
When you use this framework on your website, your social media, your print advertising, and everywhere else, you will get more leads. Your customers will see that you not only want to help them, but can help them. It will make a difference for them, and it will make a difference for you, helping you grow your business the way you deserve.
We know getting started with something like this can be overwhelming. There’s a lot of information to learn and, let’s be honest, a lot of writing to do! As a StoryBrand Certified Agency, our whole team has gone through training to implement this for clients for impressive results. We’ve done it for hundreds of businesses, and we’d love to do it for you, too.
Click here to schedule a discovery call with our team today and find out how we can help you grow your business.
Ready to apply StoryBrand to your business? As a certified StoryBrand marketing agency, Business Builders can build your BrandScript and execute your entire marketing plan.
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Put these insights into action with our expert team. We help businesses like yours achieve measurable results.