With more and more businesses shifting towards an online presence, it is imperative to make sure that a business identifies its target audience. They must ensure that their marketing efforts perform they way they intend to, get conversions and create lifelong customers to succeed. Many business owners make the mistake trying too many different marketing messages, and often fail and end up wasting both their money and time.
Instead, they must present “a powerful image of their brand” and “a very clear message” to their prospective customers to make a relationship with them by applying the story brand framework to their marketing strategy.
Why Do You Need Story-based Marketing?
In a scenario where many discount offers and business tactics fail, a compelling story can be enough to resonate with your prospects and bring in potential customers. Business owners should understand that all they need is to design their success story around their clients and connect with the audience to turn their site visitors into real customers.
The goal here is to build an aspirational identity for your business to ensure your customers know who you are and how you reached where you currently stand in terms of success.
- How you will bring them from A to B
- Your Past Client Success Stories
- Where you started, and why you do what you do
- What problems do you solve for your Clients
Not only that, but storytelling has also been proven to be one of the most successful digital marketing strategies and leaves a powerful image of the brand to customers.
Adding The Storybrand Framework
An average customer spends less than a minute on a particular brand’s landing page before they can select whether to choose the business for their required needs or not. Less than a minute! To convert those probabilities, you must use your brand’s story to help connect your audience with real-life and make it relatable for them.
The best way to do that is to follow a few simple steps and develop a ‘story brand website design’.
As per Donald Miller’s storytelling approach to a hero’s life, you can create your business’s aspirational identity by following the given simple steps and delivering a powerful message via real-life connections.
Let’s get into the details of these simple steps and how you can use them to run a successful business.
The Character of Your Story (The Hero)
Most business leaders treat their ideal customers as heroes, which is the primary aspect of their success. You need to realize that the hero, the main character of your business story, is your customer, not you or your company.
When going for story-based marketing, you need to ensure you are addressing your customers as per their needs and demands because if they don’t demand your product, you might not be selling it. This has given birth to the concept, demand marketing or demand generation.
Moreover, since the character is the root of your brand story, you need to view it as customer personas to get them interested in going through it till the end.
So, instead of telling your customers about yourself and how many years you have been doing your thing at a particular business, tell them something ‘they’ can relate to; hence, speak directly to your customer personas and their buying triggers!
Address The Villain
When you have a hero, you must also have a villain. This villain will be “the problem” or even “a hellish state of despair” your customers are in now, but…. when your solution is provided … it will carry them into the Promise Land.
Take a look at the following couple of examples;
– A dishwasher is a solution to the time-consuming and detailed process of washing dishes (external problem).
– A meditation kit is a solution to the problem of stress and anxiety (Internal problem).
As per the Story brand framework, a villain must be;
-The root problem that needs to be solved.
– It must be something customers could relate to in their everyday lives.
-Keep a single villain to keep your message clear.
-It must exist in reality and in the everyday life of customers.
Introduce A Solution
Now that you have gained your customers’ attention, the next step is introducing them to a solution. This would mean providing them a guide to work with and get out of the problem they are facing.
To ensure audience retention, your guide must have the following two qualities;
– Empathize with customers in a way that they feel that you can feel their problem and want to help them out with your solution. You need to tell them you care! Use concise statements but the ones that create an impact and a connection.
-Show authority to the customers, not in a way that you dictate to them but in a way that you tell them that you are the best solution to their problem. Use customer testimonials, case studies, statistics, social proof and past logos of companies you have worked with to reveal to your audience that you are the authority in the industry!
Bring A Plan
Instead of stating your best sales pitch, instead you must give your customers a plan of action. Again, this is going to layout, how you will get them from point A (Hell) to point B (Heaven)… that might be a little extreme, but you get the picture. (and that is exactly what you need to do, get them to imagine their new success!!@!!)
This could include a process plan where your customers can go through a thought out process before they purchase your product, or service for example, taking a taste test before buying the right flavor of ice cream, or a complete marketing plan where they better understand the service and can see the clear benefits before signing up. A simple product example, would be trying on a dress and enjoying the quality, look and feel before actually bringing it home.
Call To Action
Now that you are through with your plan, it is time to introduce a direct CTA to make them perform the action you wish them to take. Usually a well designed button placed strategically on your landing page with a phrase such as “call now,” “buy now,” or “chat with us” that makes the customers get in touch with your business.
Helps Avoid Failure
Now you need to introduce “and paint” the negative side, as to what bad things could happen if continue down the road with out your help or what they could eventually lose in the long run.
You need to hit the weak points and make them realize what’s at stake! “FOMO, or Fear of Missing Out” is a real marketing tactic that works well. No need to over do it, just explain to them all the value and benefits they would be missing out on, if they don’t sign up, etc.
Success Is the Result you Need to Sell!
Coming to an end for your story brand framework, you must ensure that you get your customers on the same page as you. The finish line, inside of the success circle!!
Show the happy ending to your story by delivering your customers’ needs and saving the day. You can also add a powerful message in the end to enhance the integrity of your brand.
Developing Your Story Brand Framework with Cowlick Studios
Every brand has a story; all it needs to do is to bring that story out to the public eye. Use a simple approach to copywriting and enhance your brand’s purpose (Simon Sinek the Why of What you Do) and speak to your audience! And there, you will be on the road to success!
If your business or brand is struggling to build the right story brand framework, contact us at Cowlick Studios. We will provide consultation on how your business can go about doing so, keeping you ahead of the competition in your industry. We have built our website design process around the successful elements of strong story brand concepts.
Call us now with all your requirements or book a chat, and give us a chance to help you develop the perfect story brand framework for your web designs.
