"Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen" chapter 6-7

StoryBrand Principal Three: A Guide

(Customers aren't looking for another hero; they're looking for a guide.)

Most stories have the guide characters to encourage the heroes and help them solve their problems. Katniss has Haymitch; Frodo has Gandalf; Luke Skywalker has Yoda. Just like the heroes, customers are sometimes troubled by problems that they cannot solve by themselves, so that's why they need a guide, which is a brand, to help. In this way, customers tend to choose brands that position themselves as the guide, not the hero. However, some brands, especially young brands that are eager to prove themselves, still make the fatal mistake of positioning themselves as the hero in the story, which ends in failure. There are two characteristics that a qualified guide must have, which are empathy and authority. These two characteristics can help brands make a great first impression with potential customers and earn their trust.

StoryBrand Principal Four: A Plan

(Customers trust a guide who has a plan.)

After brands position themselves as the guide, they create a bond of trust with customers, but it's not enough for customers to make a purchase. Customers still have concerns about the products or services, like what if they don't work. To ease their concerns, brands have to provide a plan to guide them.

Plans can be in different forms, but all effective plans either clarify how to do business with the brand, or remove the sense of risk customers might have when considering purchasing the products or services. There are two kinds of plans that can effectively encourage customers to place an order. The first one is the process plan, which describes the steps customers need to take to buy the products, or the steps customers need to take to use the products after the purchase, or a mixture of both. Its aim is to alleviate confusion for the customers. The second one is the agreement plan, which can be understood as a list of agreements that brands make with their customers to help them overcome their fear of buying the products or services. What's different from the process plan is that the agreement plan often works in the background. It doesn't have to be shown on the website. And if it's short enough, it can be on the packaging or shopping bags.

Reflection

In chapter 6, how do the brands (the guides) demonstrate the right amount of authority without bragging about themselves so much that they become the heroes? The author shows four ways, which are testimonials, statistics, awards, and logos. But with the booming of video platforms and social networking sites, there's another way – influencers, like celebrities or YouTubers. It may not be a new idea now, but it's still astonishing to see how fast the times change.