The StoryBrand framework is one of the best tools to use to grow your business and design your website. Learn how to master the framework for your business and turn your website into a money-making lead generator.
What is the StoryBrand Framework?
The StoryBrand Framework is a popular messaging tool designed to improve your business' marketing strategy by clarifying your message. By using this framework, you can communicate immediate value, connect with your ideal customers, and grow your business. Donald Miller created and introduced the StoryBrand Framework in his 2017 book, Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen.
The StoryBrand Framework is not just about convincing your audience to buy from you; it's about educating them on why they should and how they can solve their problems with what you have.
The StoryBrand framework is about both acknowledging and acting on your customer's perception of your brand's role in their story in order to earn their business.
Why should you implement the StoryBrand framework?
Here are two reasons you should use the StoryBrand Framework in your Marketing or Web design:
1. It guides you in developing a brand that people will value. Customers are more willing to connect with and buy from you if your brand is authentic.
2. It helps you increase your sales, leads, and clients. As mentioned, when your brand is authentic, people are far more likely to connect with it, share it with others, and buy from you again (and again).
The StoryBrand 7-Part Framework: Your Complete Guide to a Clearer Message
Every classic story, from Homer's Iliad to Star Wars, follows a similar formula—the hero's journey. In his book “Building a StoryBrand,” best-selling author Donald Miller lays out the StoryBrand Framework for businesses.
Here are the steps:
A Character (your customer)
Has a Problem (they need to solve)
And Meets a Guide (your business)
Who Gives Them a Plan (your solutions)
And Calls Them to Action (to start the buying process)
That Ends in Success
And Helps Them Avoid Failure (what would happen if they don't buy)
When you implement the StoryBrand Framework, you dive into what your customers are looking for—their needs, their motivations, and their challenges.
There's a reason why marketers love the power of storytelling in marketing. The human brain is hardwired to prefer stories. This powerful framework helps you create a message that’s easier to understand and remember, so customers pay attention.
It also helps businesses shift their focus from themselves to what they do to help their customers.
1. A Character
Every story begins with a main character, the hero, who is always your customer. Your goal is to reveal the problem and the desire that your hero is seeking and help solve it.
You are the Guide. Your message and story must center on the Hero and what they want.
Who is your customer and what do they want?
What is their ultimate end goal?
Begin your message by speaking directly to the needs and desires of your customer. If you talk only about yourself, your company, and how great you are, the customer will lose interest.
The hero is your customer, not you. When you define what your customer wants, you invite them into an exciting story.
2. The Problem
Now that you have defined what your customer wants, you must clearly define the problem your customer is attempting to solve. What are the problems your customer is facing?
3. The Guide
Customers aren't looking for a Hero. They're searching for a guide.
The guide provides the character with a plan to help them win the day and solve the existing problem they’re experiencing.
A good guide possesses two fundamental characteristics:
Empathy: you understand the Hero's problems
Authority: you have the answers to help the Hero overcome their problems
Are you establishing yourself as the Hero or the Guide?
4. The Plan
The guide's job is to cut through the hero's confusion and give them hope that their life can improve. They accomplish this by providing the hero with a plan. A plan should be simple and clear with a maximum of three steps to solve the problem.
5. The Call to Action (CTA)
Are you giving your customers clear direction on how to solve their problem?
A call to action is the point at which your customer is encouraged to take action on the plan. The customer must decide whether to stay in their comfort zone or follow the guide's plan.
Direct CTAs: buy our product or engage our services.
Book a Free Call
Buy Now
Reserve Your Table
6. Success
Drama is added to a story only when something is at stake. When we understand what's at stake, we become much more invested in the story.
As a brand, you must paint a clear picture of the future for your customers. Remind them of their happy ending and why they should choose you.
Map out the Character Transformation of your Hero. The Hero goes from _______________ to __________________.
7. Avoid Failure
To create suspense, good screenwriters help us imagine dire outcomes. Audiences zone out and lose interest if we don't know what failure might befall the hero.
Remind the Hero/Customer what will happen if they don't choose you as their Guide.
Start Growing Your Business with StoryBrand
Still confused and want to gain more clarity? StoryBrand offers a free tool if you're interested in going through this exercise with your company's brand. To create a message with all of these elements, create an account at mystorybrand.com or get a free StoryBrand marketing assessment here.
Want to get a crystal clear message for your business? Proof Marketing has helped businesses clarify their message for success. Schedule a call, and let’s get started. - Onawa - CEO, Proof Marketing