The Power Of Stories

Stories over time are what creates your brand, it’s easy to say that its the single most important thing to consider in this busy world of 2019.

Based on the book “StoryBrand” by Donald Miller. The aim of this piece is to break down the book into an action plan and 7-piece framework for all your marketing material that your label will need to succeed in building a strong brand through the method of story.

The SB7 Framework is broken down into the following:

1. The Hero

2. Occurs a Problem (External, Internal & Philosophical)

3. Meets A Guide

4. With A Plan: (Agreement & Process)

5. That Calls the Hero to Take Action: (Direct & Transitional)

6. Avoids Failure

7. End with Success

-— — — — T . H . E . — — B . R . E . A . K . — — D . O . W . N . — — —

“Thousands of companies shut their doors every year, not because they don’t have a great product, but because potential customers can’t figure out how that product will make their lives better”

Simple, clear messages that are relevant to your customer’s result in sales.

“confuse and you’ll lose”

Planning your company’s story starts with 3 critical questions:

1. What does the hero want?

2. Who or what is opposing the hero to get what she/he wants

3. What will the hero’s life look like if she/he does or doesn’t get what they want?

Does it pass the caveman test? (aka the grunt test — If your customer acted like Tarzan, could they grunt the answers to the following questions within 5 seconds of seeing your marketing material?

- What do you offer?

- How does it make my life better?

- What do I need to do to buy it?

Let’s use Nike as an example: “you sell sneakers, make me feel athletic, buy at footlocker”

1. The Hero

First things first, position your customer as the hero, not your brand. Companies make the mistake of positioning themselves as the hero that can save the day. But it’s more important act as the guide and invite the hero into the story. Create an environment where the hero can see themselves in. (i.e. wearing the sneakers, or in the outfit, etc.) When you define something your customer wants, the customer is invited to alter their story in your direction. If they see your brand as trustworthy and a reliable guide, they will likely engage.

You need to identify and be clear about who you are attempting to help. Targeting everyone is like targeting no one. What kind of change do you want to affect? You need to strictly define who you are helping.

“Nobody will listen to you if your message isn’t clear, no matter how expensive your marketing material may be.” — Donald Miller

Once you understand and define what the customer wants and feature it in our marketing materials will open a story gap.

Placing a gap between the character and what they want = attention

Examples of story gaps:

• Arousal is the opening of a story gap, sexual fulfillment brings its closing.
• Hunger is the opening of a story gap, the meal ushers its closing.

It’s important to define a specific desire that you can help your hero achieve its important that it relates to the customer's sense of survival. It cannot be vague. Use Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to find a desire that relates to your customer's sense of survival.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

Case Study: Ralph Lauren

When you think of brands such as Ralph Lauren, what comes to mind? People tend to think of wealth and leisure (activities such as polo, golf, sailing, golf. etc.)

More importantly, wearing the brand perceives a level of status (i.e respectable, wealthy and active) and connects the customer to a tribe. Thus fulfilling the esteem and belonging needs in Maslow’s table above. Thriving as a leader of a tribe is directly connected to survival. People will always choose a story that helps them survive and thrive.

Survival = primitive desire to be safe, healthy, happy and strong.

One we have our overall brand’s desire, we can start to introduce subplots/other divisions and products.

Division

Denim = classic fit, quality, long-lasting

Product

classic fit, nature materials, quality

“The first mistake brands make is they fail to focus on the aspects of their offer that will help people survive and thrive.”

“The second mistake brands make is they cause their customers to burn too many calories in an effort to understand their offer.”

Overthinking = burning too many calories = disinterest

Processing information causes humans to burn calories, the human body is programmed to conserve calories so the easier your message is to understand the fewer calories are needed. When it becomes difficult for the customer to decipher our brain's survival mechanism tunes us out.

Everyone Wants To Be Taken Somewhere

If you asked your potential customer, where your brand wants to take them, would they be able to answer? Would they be able to repeat back to you exactly what your brand offers?

2. Occurs a Problem

Companies tend to sell solutions to external problems, but customers buy solutions to internal problems

“The only reason our customers buy from us is because the external problems we solve are frustrating them in some way. If we can identify that frustration, put it into words, and offer to resolve it along with the original external problem, something special happens. We bond with our customers because we’ve positioned ourselves more deeply into their narrative.”

The Villain

Every story needs a villain just as much as a hero. The villain gives conflict a clear focal point. First, clarify the problem the hero is facing, the more we talk about the problems the customer faces the more interest the customer will have in the brand.

For your customers (the hero) the villain could be anything from dull, rough, unpolished, artless, unstylish, cheap, uncool, etc.

Characteristics that make a good villain

• A Root Source — Frustration is not a villain, it’s what the villain makes us feel
• Relatable — immediately recognize it as something to disdain
• Singular — one villain is enough. otherwise, it will lack of clarity, the focus

If we are selling a sweater, for example, the villain may be “pilling” the weapon against the “Pilling” (Brands Product) A 100% tightly-spun Australian Merino wool sweater.

3 levels of problems you, as the guide, help your customers solve

• External — a physical, tangible problem
• Internal — a backstory of frustration the external problem generates
• Philosophical — a story bigger than just the customer that adds meaning

“The purpose of an external problem in a story is to manifest an internal problem”

In almost every story the hero struggles with the same question: “do I have what it takes?” Creates a feeling of frustration, incompetence, and confusion. A sense of self-doubt makes it relatable to others. This is an internal problem.

“What stories teach us is that people’s internal desire to resolve frustration is a greater motivator than their desire to solve an external problem.”

A philosophical problem can best be talked about using terms like “ought” and “shouldn’t” “deserve”

Examples:

• I ought to be able to wear comfy clothes in a corporate environment.
• I shouldn’t have to spend $1000 on a suit to feel important.
• I deserve to wear luxury sneakers.

“Before music went digital, Tower Records promoted their chain of record stores using the tagline- “No Music, No Life” Not only did they tagline help sell more than a billion dollars in records each year, but they sold thousands of number stickers and T-shirts featuring the tagline to fans who wanted to associate with the philosophical belief that music mattered.”

People want to be involved in a story that’s larger than themselves. Brands that give customers a voice in a larger narrative add value to their products by giving their customers a deeper sense of meaning.

The Perfect Brand Promise

Offer more than just products resolve an external, internal and philosophical problem. When this is done in movies it’s often called a “climatic” or “Obligatory” scene.

LuLu Lemon Example:

• Villain — Thin Transparent dancing pants
• External — Better activewear for yoga, Solving the camel-toe issue
• Internal — I want to feel confident in my activewear.
• Philosophical — I shouldn’t have to feel uncomfortable while working out.

Questions

• Villain — Is there a single villain your brand stands against?
• External — What’s the external problem the villain is causing? (is there one that seems to represent the widest swath of products)
• Internal — hows the external problem making your hero feel? ( frustration or doubt, is there one that stands out as a universal experience for your customers?)
• Philosophical — Why is it unjust for people to have to suffer at the hands of this villain?

**don’t include more than 1 villain, 1 external problem, 1 internal problem and 1 philosophical, stories are best when they are clear and simple.

3. Meets A Guide

Customers are not looking for another hero but a guide. Guides that help make sense of our problems, or tools to overcome obstacles.

The story is not about us — “The larger point here is simple: the day we stop losing sleep over the success of our business and start losing sleep over the success of our customers is the day our business will start growing.”

2 characteristics of a guide

• Empathy
• Authority

Empathy:

When we empathize with our customer's dilemma, we create a bond of trust. People trust those who understand them.

Oprah Winfrey explained the 3 things every human being wants the most are to be seen, heard and understood. This is the essence of empathy.

Empathetic Statement starters

• “We understand how it feels…”
• “Nobody should have to experience…”
• “Like you, we are frustrated by…”

Once we’ve identified our customer's internal problems, we simply need to let them know we understand and would like to help them find a resolution.

Make sure you let them know! because customers won’t know until you’ve told them! Real empathy means letting your customers know we see them as we see ourselves.

Remember: The human brain likes to conserve calories, so when a customer can relate with a brand, they will fill in all the unknown nuances with trust, essentially, the customer breaches their thinking in “Chunks” rather than details. Commonality, whether taste in music or shared values, is a powerful marketing tool.

Authority

Nobody likes a know-it-all or wants to be preached at. But neither do you want to talk to a personal stylist and say you are after a capsule wardrobe so you don’t have to think about what to wear every morning and they reply “me too”

Authority = Competence

“When looking for a guide, a hero trusts somebody who knows what they’re doing. The guide doesn’t have to be perfect, but the guide needs to have a serious experience helping hero’s win the day.”

Four easy ways to express authority without bragging

1. Brief Testimonials (3 is a good start, add too many and you become a hero)
2. Statistics (amount of customers helped, percent of businesses grown, etc.)
3. Awards. (i.e “designer of the year” Again not too many)
4. Logos (Brands helped etc.)

First Impressions

The 2 questions people sub-consciously ask when meeting someone new

1. “can I trust this person?”
2. “Can I respect this person?”

human beings will only want to continue to know someone further after the trust is established. which is established by expressing empathy and demonstrating competence.

4. With A Plan

Making a purchase is making a commitment to the brand and it carries a level of risk of making a mistake the “what if” thought start to arise. (“What if it doesn’t look good with other outfits?” “What if I'm a fool for buying this?” What if I look silly? etc.)

The plan needs to be broken down into easier stepping stones and clarify how our customers can buy from us & remove the sense of risk.

Remember: “If you confuse, you lose”

Once the value is given to a customer they all wonder “What do you want me to do now?”

Just adding a “Buy Now” or “Add To Cart” button, isn’t enough to motivate them to buy from us, if we are selling a reversible jacket. subconsciously wondering whether it will fit, the colour will look good, if the quality will be any good etc. But if we can spell out how easy this whole thing is and let them know they can get started in three easy steps, they are more likely to place an order. We must tell them to…

1. Use the measuring guide

2. Order the items that fit.

3. Delivered in 2 days

Even though the steps may seem obvious, spelling it out makes it even more simple and obvious for the customer.

2 types of Plans

Process plans: (steps, 1,2,3)

Alleviates confusion key is to simplify their journey in 3 steps (no more than 6) so they are more likely to do business with us.

Pre-purchase:

1. Schedule an appointment

2. Allow us to create a customised plan

3. Let’s execute the plan together.

Post-Purchase: (includes pre, med & end)

1. Try the pants on.

2. Purchase the pants

3. Enjoy free tailoring

Agreement Plans

Is a list of promises or agreements, Create an agreement plan by listing all the things your customer might be concerned about as it relates to your product or service and then counter that list with agreements that will alleviate your customer's fears.

“Our Quality Guarantee”

• Made with the highest standard possible.
• Quality Craftmanship
• Tested against stretching, shrinking and pilling
• Colour safe

5. That Calls the Hero to Take Action

Customers do not take action unless they are challenged to take action. In the movie “Taken” Liam Nelson would have flown to another country had his daughter been kidnapped.

“The reason characters have to be challenged to take action is because everybody sitting in the dark theatre knows human beings do not make major life decisions unless something challenges them to do so.”

“One of the biggest Hindrances to business success is that we think customers can read our minds….They can’t”

There should be a buy now button visible on the front page of your site, and throughout each page.

When we sell our product passively (lack of CTA) we communicate a lack of belief in our products.

The 2 kinds of call to actions are

1. Direct CTA ( i.e Order now, buy now, add to cart etc.)
2. Transitional CTA

Direct CTA

Can be included on all pages of the website, email blast, email signature (including all team members) business cards, etc.

Transitional CTA

1. Creates authority — positions yourself as an expert.

2. Create Reciprocity — The more you give the more likely you’ll be to receive something back in the future.

3. Position Yourself as The Guide — when you help solve a problem even for free, you position yourself as the guide.

⁃ Free Information — free PDF educating customers about your field of expertise. Educational videos, podcasts, webinars, and even live events are great transitional calls to action that on-ramp customers toward a purchase.

⁃ Testimonials: Video or PDF from happy clients creates trust and removes fear.

⁃ Samples: If you can give away free samples of your product, do it.

⁃ Free trial: Offering a limited-time free trial

6. Avoids Failure

Every human is trying to avoid a tragic ending. It needs to be evident what's at stake for the hero? and all the things that can go wrong if they don’t use our products.

“If there’s no stakes, there’s no story”

People are motivated by loss aversion

“In 1979, Nobel Memorial Prize winner Daniel Kahneman published a theory about why people make certain buying decisions. Prospect Theory, as it was called, espoused that people are more likely to be dissatisfied with a loss than they are satisfied with a gain. In other words, people hate losing $100 more than they like winning $100. This, of course, means loss aversion is a grater motivator of buying decisions than potential gains. In Fact, according to Kahneman, in certain situations, people are two to three times more motivated to make a change to avoid a loss than they are to achieve a gain.”

First, we must make the hero know they are vulnerable to a threat. For example:

• Over 80% of fashion brands are not ethically or sustainably made
• Over 62% of brands don't use quality fabrics
• Most people pay too much for their products

Second, we should let the reader know that since they’re vulnerable, they should take action to reduce their vulnerability.

“Don’t be fooled by paying too much for your clothing”

“Since it's so important to take responsibility for the environment, you should do your part..”

“Nobody wants poor quality clothing, you deserve to wear high-quality products”

Third, we should let them know about a specific call to action that protects them from the risk.

“We only stock high-quality ethically made clothing”
“Know exactly how much it costs for your clothing to be made”

Everlane — Transparent Pricing

Fourth, we should challenge people to take this specific action.

“Save on looking good, order today”

“do your part and order something today”

“Fear is equivalent to salt in a recipe, we don’t need too much, use a pinch.”

If the level of fear is too high, individuals will disregard, likewise if levels of fear are too low it will fail to produce the desired effect. Messages containing moderate amounts of fear-rousing content are most effective in producing behavior change.

“Too much and your customers will resist you, too little and they won’t know why your products even matter.”

7. End with Success

Never assume people understand how your brand can change their lives. Tell Them

“people want to be taken somewhere”

Where is your brand taking people? The ending should be specific and clear.

“In a good story, the resolution must be clearly defined so the audience knows exactly what to hope for.”

BEFORE AND AFTER

Fill out the below table to help imagine the before and after effects of your customers once they purchase your products.

By: Ryan Deiss at DigitalMarketer

The next step is to say it clearly. We must tell our customers what their lives will look like after they buy our products, One of the best ways to do this for fashion is visually using images and/or video.

Resolve the external, internal and philosophical problems

“If you want to take the concept a little deeper, it’s worth exploring how most stories are resolved by story experts. Over the centuries, storytellers have learned what really gives an audience closure and a sense of satisfaction.

The three dominant ways storytellers end a story is by allowing the hero to:

1. Status — Win power or position (the need for status)

2. Union — Be unified with somebody or something that makes them whole

3. Self-realization — Experience some kind of self-realization that also makes them whole.

How to offer Status

1. Offer access (membership points to cut the queue, extra service, special privileges, etc.)
2. Create scarcity (Limited time only, limited no. etc.)
3. Offer a premium (diamond member, special title)
4. Offer identity ( I am a ____ Owner = status)

How to offer Union

what are some of the ways we can offer external help for customers looking to become complete or whole? Here are a few examples:

1. Reduce Anxiety: (talk/show/create a feeling of satisfaction for a job well done, a feeling of closure, relief of stress, a feeling of completeness)
2. Reduce workload: customers who don’t have the right “tools” must work harder. “tools” are the things that will make them a superhero.
3. More Time: time can be seen as an ‘enemy’ if your product can expand time. This will make your customer feel a sense of relief/completeness.

“we’re offering to solve an external problem that is causing an internal frustration. Not being able to “fit it all in” is often perceived by our customers as a personal deficiency. Any tool, system, philosophy, or even person who can expand time may offer a sense of completeness.”

How to offer Ultimate Self-Realization or Acceptance (The Need to Reach Our Potential)

Whether it’s by fulfilling some purpose or accepting themselves as they are, this return to contentment resolves something in a story that is universally human: the desire for self-acceptance. So how can a brand offer a sense of ultimate self-realization or self-acceptance?

Here are a few ideas

1. Inspiration Under Armour — have associated themselves with athletic and accomplishment and thus a sense of self-actualization.”
2. Acceptance Helping people accept themselves as they are isn’t just a thoughtful thing to do; it’s good marketing
3. Transcendence Brands that invite customers to participate in a larger movement offer a greater, more impactful life along with their products and services.

“ Tom’s Shoes built a name for itself by selling stylish shoes while simultaneously giving a pair to somebody in need in what they called a “one for one” model. Those who wore the shoes claimed a major factor in deciding to make the purchase was a sense of involvement with a larger movement. At less than ten years old, the for-profit brand sold for more than $700 million. Another example of a brand that helps customers achieve a level of transcendence is Daymond John’s clothing brand FUBU, an acronym for “For Us By Us,” in reference to the African American community being represented in the marketplace. The brand offers more than fashion; it offers a sense of unity, transcendence, and entrepreneurialism for the African American community.”

Closing the story Loops

The success model in the SB7 framework offers a close to a story loop. Humans are searching for resolutions to external, internal and philosophical problems. This can be achieved through, status, self-realization, self-acceptance, and transcendence. If our products can help people achieve these things, we should make this a core aspect of our brand promise.

“If we don’t tell people where we’re taking them, they won’t follow. A story has to go somewhere.”

Have you told your customers where you want to take them?

Participate in their Transformation

It's a human desire to transform, everyone wants to develop and become something more or better or just self-accepting. As a brand being apart of this process in the identity transformation creates passionate brand evangelists.

“Feelings of self-doubt are universal, as is the desire to become somebody competent and courageous. And all of this matters when it comes to branding our products and services.”

Important questions to ask ourselves:

• Who does our customer want to become?
• What kind of person do they want to be?
• What is their aspirational identity?”

Smart Brands Define an aspirational Identity

To identify an aspirational identity we need to consider how they want their friends to talk about them.

“Think about it. When others talk about you, what do you want them to say? How we answer that question reveals who it is we’d like to be.”

Abercrombie and Fitch = Young, Strong, Confident (The customer can feel this way by wearing the brand)

Once we know who our customers want to be, we will have the language to use in all our marketing material.

A guide offers more than a product and a plan

“it’s a position of the heart. When a brand commits itself to their customers’ journey, to help resolve their external, internal, and philosophical problems, and then inspires them with an aspirational identity, they do more than sell products, they change lives.”

“Great brands obsess about the transformation of their customers”

It's important that the audience is told very clearly how far the hero has come, especially since the hero usually struggles with crippling doubt right up until the end and they don’t even realize how much they have changed. (i.e. from ‘Rags’ to ‘Riches’ or ‘unrecognized’ to ‘recongised’

So What's Next?

Create Your Story Brand

To create your brand's story, go to mystorybrand.com to fill out the template.

Build The Story Into Your Online Presence

Donald Miller suggests starting with your website. When your customer visits your site they need to know straight away:

• What’s in it for me? (short and sweet and BOLD remember the grunt test)
• Understand Their aspirational identity: (Who will they be after they’ve engaged us? This can be shown with images)
• What problem we solve.
• State clearly what we do (i.e. sell backpacks)

Key Features:

• Actions on the website need to be obvious — Direct CTA & Transitional CTA (i.e download lookbook etc.)
• Less words the better (people don’t read, they just scan)
• Email capture i.e. sign up to our newsletter, promo deals, etc.

Ensure You Have

1. A one-liner: ensure you and all your staff know it off by heart. feature it on your e-mail signature, website, and all marketing material.
2. Create an e-mail drip campaign: start with 3 nurturing emails (i.e practical value, solutions to common issues, news and info, etc.) and 1 sales email with a direct CTA.