Your brand is insanely dull.
It’s not juicy.
And no one cares about it.
But there’s hope. If you can tie your brand to the things your customers are obsessed with, your brand can get a hell of a lot more interesting.
One thing your ideal customer cares a lot about is, well, themself. Here is how to create a brand that actually centers your customers as the focal point of your story.
1. Create a ‘Story Brand’ – Make Your Customer the Hero & Be Their Guide
A framework to help you tap into this concept is the Story Brand framework. The main idea of this framework is that you should be the “Obi-Wan Kenobi” to your ideal customer’s “Luke Skywalker.”
Stop trying to be the hero of the story!
Here’s a formula for creating a “Story brand”:
2. Make Sure Your Brand Story Taps into Highly Powerful and Common Human Motivations
Research powerhouse and consultancy firm Bain & Company determined there are 31 elements that make up most human values.
Here they are in all their glory:
How can you use these to dazzle your customers and add some sizzle?
As you write your customer hero story, add in some “risk reduction,” add in some “nostalgia.” Add as many of these elements as possible that make sense for your brand. Then, and only then, can you benefit from that deep instinctual response of desire for your products or services.
3. Make Sure Your Brand Story is ‘Made to Stick’ — Make it More Concrete, Simple, Credible, and Emotional.
You can mix in specifics into your brand story so that it’s not all “pie in the sky.”
How can you bring it down to earth and simplify your brand story so that it’s easy for anyone to understand? This infographic courtesy of ReferralCandy is an excellent place to start.
Can you name drop awards or certifications? Can you make sure the biggest emotional drivers for your customers are liberally spread throughout your brand story, vision, and mission? Those are the tickets to a memorable brand story.
Get it Boiled Down and Build Your Brand’s Story into All of Your Marketing Collateral.
Last—and most importantly—are you taking what you build as your brand story, vision, mission, and values and building it into everything you put out as far as marketing materials?
Or are you burying it where no one can find it?
If it’s not built into your website’s home page headline, your Facebook ads, or your print materials, then your brand isn’t going to benefit from your new glorious brand story.
If you’re in Minnesota, learn more about Brand Story in Bea and I’s workshop in a couple of weeks on Wednesday, February 13th at 3 pm at Construction2Style in Elk River!
