Don't try to be the hero of the customers story
Many businesses are consumed with becoming the ones that save their customers from failing, and be the hero in the customer’s story.
How many ‘about me’-stories have you read that are obviously meant to create a story where they try to show why they can solve the customer’s problems. They try to prove that they can be the hero that saves you from failure. Sounds familiar?
Once upon a time I was naive and thought good storytelling was 'random’. I usually thought people were generally good at storytelling if they just came up with a good text. Until I read “Building a storybrand”. Because of that, I realized that there was a framework for good storytelling that good storytellers follow, which made me change the way I wrote stories. I finally managed to create great stories worth reading, and it’s brought me great results. (Written in the Pixar storytelling framework by the way)
When you’re trying to sell a product or service, it’s easy to fall into the trap of “we’ve got the best background to solve all your problems.” It’s even easy to forget about the problem you’re solving altogether and just focus on your solution. Marketers also seem’ reluctant to take inspiration from the masters of storytelling: Movie makers, and authors.
Our Stone-age brains don’t change
A marketer once told me “But that’s a completely different context, it won’t work for us”. I acknowledge that the what, how, and when should differ from context to context, but the human psychology and what type of storytelling we relate to, do not. Our brains still use the same shortcuts and biases that have transcended from generation to generation since the stone age. Not taking this into consideration is a bad decision.
Don’t be the hero
As a business that wishes to do storytelling, you have to remember that you must fit in somewhere in the customer’s story. Ever heard of a customer that wanted to be the “side-kick” of their own story. I’d say probably not. So the next question is then: Where do you fit in? Imagine Lord of the Rings. Aragorn, the consumer, is the hero - you have to be Gandalf, the guide through Middle Earth. Or Star Wars with Luke Skywalker, the consumer, the hero and you have to be Yoda. You have to be the guide that helps the hero achieve everything he wants, and solve his/her problems.
Remember this the next time you try to tell a story, and maybe even grab a copy of “Building a storybrand”. On the even bolder side? Reach out to me, and let’s have a chat!