According to StoryBrand author Donald Miller, “If you confuse, you lose.” In other words, keeping your message simple is crucial if you want to grow your business. Clarity piques your audience’s interest and drives them to take action. If you’re wondering how to simplify your messaging to get results, the StoryBrand framework offers you a road map!
Let’s say you run a multi-faceted B2C business. The heart of your business is a farm-to-table restaurant in a bustling urban city center. Because this endeavor has been so successful, a couple of years ago you added a food truck that serves some of your famous salads and sandwiches all around town during peak lunch and dinner hours. In addition, you have a private catering service that caters fine fare at events such as weddings and formal corporate gatherings.
Because, in your mind, each facet of your business is equally important, you highlight each one in your website homepage’s meta description. You also highlight each facet above the fold on your homepage and wrap all three into your headline.
Now imagine a prospective customer searching online for a local catering service for their upcoming formal business event. Your website populates in search, they click on it, and they’re greeted by your headline, “From Dirt to Delicacy to Dashboard Dining—Where Farm Fresh Meets Food Truck Chic and Fine Dining Flair.”
Their internal dialogue might sound something like this:
Is there dirt in the food? Do we have to eat in our cars? Do they serve caviar on plastic red and white checkered tablecloths?
Because the human brain is wired to conserve energy and make quick decisions, and this greeting is long, complicated, and overwhelming, your prospect will more than likely back out of your site and continue their search. And they’ll do this over and over until they land on one that’s simple, straightforward, and speaks to their need.
Make sure your message is clear so your audience immediately knows what your product or service is and if/how you can help them.
If you’re beginning to suspect you’re losing prospects because your messaging is muddled, StoryBrand offers the perfect solution. Even the most complicated business model can be distilled down into these seven critical elements and woven together in a comprehensive way.
One common mistake business owners make is positioning their business/brand as the hero.
Let’s use the example above. A simple brand-centric headline might read:
Serving the Best Food in Boston Since 1960
This statement may be true. Your restaurant opened its doors in 1960 and is consistently voted Boston’s No. 1 restaurant. However, your prospects prefer to be the hero, and appealing to that desire will create more momentum for your business. Replace brand-centric messaging with customer-centric messaging to increase your offer’s appeal and drive engagement with your brand.
Contrast the previous headline with a customer-centric headline for the same restaurant:
Eat Well and Live Your Best Life
Which one would be more likely to pique your curiosity??
When you distill it down, every hero has an external, internal, and philosophical problem/challenge/need that your product or service helps solve.
For example, in the scenario with the farm-to-table business above, your hero has a single external problem all branches of this business solve, namely hunger. People need to eat. In other words, in this example, our hero’s external problem is hunger.
Continuing with your hero, the internal problem that your business helps solve could be their desire to eat chemical-free and preservative-free food.
Ultimately, your hero’s philosophical problem might be their desire to support local farmers and make environmentally conscious choices.
In StoryBrand speak, your hero’s one problem (in three parts) is also known as their pain points.
Strive to clearly articulate your hero’s problem. Be direct and use simple language. And yes! It’s ok to make them a little bit uncomfortable—you want them to feel their pain. Don’t worry. They’re already feeling it! You’re just bringing it to the forefront. That way, when you offer them the remedy, they will be in touch with their need and be ready for relief!
If you’re realizing you need to rework your messaging so your business isn’t the hero of the story, you might be feeling a little lost right now. What role do you play? Obviously it’s a pivotal role. The answer: the guide.
Luke Skywalker has Yoda, and Frodo has Gandalf. Similarly, your hero has YOU.
You wear the hat of a sage guide, calling out your hero’s pain points, identifying their ultimate goal, and creating a plan to help them achieve it. You offer to walk with them, hand-in-hand, each step of the way.
This is where you clearly outline the steps your hero needs to take to engage with your business and move toward a solution.
Lay out a 3-step plan (4 at the most!) that your hero can easily follow. The easier the plan is to follow, the less hesitation they’ll have about doing business with you.
Again, you might be tempted here to over-complicate it. Resist the temptation. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to explain the process in greater detail once your hero signs up for the journey.
Remember, simple sells.
This section of your copy is where you tell your hero exactly what you want them to do first to begin their journey. You could do this with a button on your website or a link in a campaign email.
Keep in mind, however, that even if your prospect will soon enter the phone booth and don their cape to be transformed into their true hero self, they may not be quite ready to jump into the deep end with your business.
That’s why you want to provide both a direct call to action and an indirect call to action.
A direct CTA takes your soon-to-be-hero right to the offer. Examples of a direct CTA include Sign Up Today, Buy Now, or Get Started.
An indirect CTA provides a valuable next step that will help nurture your prospect into a customer. An indirect CTA could read: Download Our Complimentary Guide or Schedule a Free Consultation.
Make sure both of your calls to action are clear and not vague or boring. After all, you want to entice your prospect to click. While a direct CTA leads to a sale, an indirect CTA is your opportunity to gather basic contact information from them, provide them with upfront value, and continue to nurture them until they’re ready for their superhero transformation.
Now, paint the picture of your hero’s success. Using our earlier example, cast a vision for what your hero will experience if they eat at your restaurant, stop by your food truck for lunch, or book your catering service for their next event.
Here are some possibilities:
Similarly, share examples of what could happen if the hero chooses not to dine with you.
For example:
Take a moment to review the messaging across all your platforms—whether it's your website, newsletter, emails, or social media. Implement the StoryBrand framework to help you keep your message simple and invite your audience into a compelling story—one that addresses their challenges and positions them as the hero who comes out on top. With this approach, you’ll create stronger connections and see your business flourish.
If you’d like help simplifying your messaging and engaging your audience, book a 30-minute exploratory call to learn how we can help!