What is a story brand? Why do you need one? Chances are, your brand has a story it is already telling. You need to make sure that story is compelling to your target customers. The story brand concept can help your brand stand out in the right way, positioning your customer as a hero and your brand as the solution to their greatest problems. Your story needs to insert you into your customer’s life, not the other way around. Luckily, creating a story brand that resonates is easier than you think – and we’re here to show you how

When I ask most business owners what their brand story is, most of them respond with something like their company history, how/why they got started, and what they hope to achieve. Most brands advertise this way. They place themselves at center stage, hoping their potential customers might be drawn by their amazing journey to support their business and help them achieve their goals. But the truth is that most customers don’t care about your company’s history, mission and vision as much as they care about their own experiences. So when you come at them with your brand-centered story, they are not likely to care as much as if you approach them with something that speaks to them where they are.

If you want to create a messaging strategy for your brand that resonates with customers, consider creating a story brand that looks and feels like your customer’s story and inserts your brand as the solution to their greatest problems or goals as they relate to your business. Then make sure that your story brand’s essence is mirrored in all of your marketing. Use it as a litmus so that if something does not line up with your story brand, it doesn’t belong in your marketing.

Your story brand doesn’t have to be long to be impactful. In fact, the best story brands are usually short and sweet. That’s because people have short attention spans and are looking for brands that can quickly show them how they will benefit from doing business with them.

So make sure you prioritize meaning over length. Make sure the story brand is focused on them – not you. Plan to use your story brand as a guide for all of your marketing initiatives so that everything lines up with the message you’re trying to communicate. And keep it short so that people can understand what you’re about without getting bogged down in the details.

You might be wondering how to begin to make your story brand about your customer. One way to begin is by thinking about the journey that the customer is on as it relates to your business. For example, say you are in the food business. You sell delicious, nutritious salads. You can begin by thinking about what is your customer’s biggest pain point as it relates to salads. Is it the taste or is it something bigger? Maybe they want to eat more salads to achieve a healthy life. How can your product help them? A story brand message can therefore be something like: “Our salads are ready to eat. We make it easy to eat healthily so you can look and feel great”

There is a formula for developing an effective story brand and messaging around it. You can dive into the formula in detail in Donald Miller’s Building a Story Brand. Here it is in a nutshell. The formula centers around your customer as the hero who is on a journey, encounters a problem, then meets a guide (your brand), gets a plan from the guide, is called to action by the guide, successfully resolves his problem, and avoids failure. These are the elements of a story brand that you can use to anchor all of messaging. The goal is to develop a story brand that you can use as a litmus test for any and all of your marketing messaging. Once you have a story at the center of your brand any messaging that agrees with the story, reinforces the story, and expands on the story can add value to your marketing.

Story branding is an effective way to make sure your message resonates with customers. It’s a story-driven approach that positions your customer as the hero while inserting you into their story as the guide who helps them achieve success. By understanding your customer’s journey and using the story brand formula, you can create a messaging strategy for your brand that speaks directly to them and resonates with what they need from you. To make this happen, it’s important to remember to prioritize meaning over length and focus on how your story connects with more people if it’s about them.

By creating a story brand rooted in empathy and putting yourself in the shoes of potential customers, you will be able to craft an impactful story that truly resonates with those who are looking for solutions – which could be exactly what sets you apart from competitors. When you leverage story branding you will be joining brands like Apple, and others that have come up with out-of-the-box marketing concepts that have catapulted them to success. What does “Think Different” have to do with electronic devices? Nothing when you consider the products themselves but everything when you consider the story behind that message. Apple is an example of a brand that they have become well-known for their story branding strategy, which not only positions their customers as heroes, but also emphasizes how their products can simplify and improve their lives and With thoughtful creativity, there is no limit to where storytelling can take both your business goals and customer relationships!

Crafting an effective story brand is essential for any business looking to stand out from the competition and create meaningful connections with customers. By understanding your customer’s journey, using story branding principles, and prioritizing meaning over length in all of your messaging, you can craft a story that resonates deeply with those who are searching for solutions. With thoughtful creativity and dedication to telling a story that puts your customer at the center as hero, there’s no limit to where storytelling can take both your business goals and relationships! Let’s get started creating memorable brands today. Get in touch with us for a consultation session where we can teach you more about how to apply this to your marketing!