This week it’s a book review & summary.
Story Brand by Donald Miller.
Using the 7 Elements of Great Storytelling to Grow your Business
For anyone involved in any form of business, I would think this is essential reading. It is for once, truly paradigm-shifting.
What I love about this book (also available on Audible) is that it is the pursuit of simplicity and Clarity. It hooks onto one of the most fundamental behaviors, to tell stories and applies this to running a successful business..
The idea of telling stories isn’t new, we’ve been doing it for all of human existence. However accurately and effectively applying story principles to a business and marketing strategy is new to me. I would guess that some companies and organizations have been doing this intuitively forever, and they are probably the more successful companies.
One of the fundamental mistakes many corporations make is to believe that their brand is the hero of the story and should take center stage. Or in my case, the design or the product is the hero. This is wrong, it’s actually the customer or consumer that is the hero. It is the customer that needs to “transform”.
All good stories no matter what they’re about will involve some form of transformation and change.
The change that the customer is looking for is a solution to a problem that will help them to thrive and to survive. As Miller says;
““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”.
All great stories are about survival – either physical, emotional, relational, or spiritual. A story about anything else won’t work to captivate an audience. Nobody’s interested””
We have evolved to conserve energy, particularly if the use of that energy doesn’t produce any reward.
The key to success is simplicity and clarity. Talking about the company or product, rather than about what you do and what problem you solve, will leave the customer confused.
The formula Miller proposes to organize your thinking, reduce marketing effort, obliterate confusion, terrify the competition and get your business growing is called the SB7.
The simple example he gives is of Steve Jobs, before he went to Pixar, in 1983, launched their computer Lisa with a 9-page ad in the New York Times spelling out the computer’s technical features. It was full of geek talk.
When Jobs returned to the company from Pixar apple became customer-centric, compelling and clear in its communication. The first campaign of the new regime was simply 2 words “Think Different!” He identified what the customer wanted (to be seen and heard) defined their challenge (that people didn’t recognize their hidden genius) and offered customers a tool they could use to express themselves. These are the 3 pillars of storytelling. The story is not about Apple, it’s about the customer.
· There are 3 critical questions:
· What does the hero want?
· Who or what is opposing the hero getting what they want?
What will the hero’s life look like if he or she does (or does not) get what they want?
This translates, in marketing terms, to:
1. What do you offer?
2. How will you make my life better?
3. What do I need to do to get it?
Simple and clear.
In order to implement these simple questions, Miller proposes a simple, universal framework that he calls the SB7 (Story Brand 7). All successful stories (Films, Novels, marketing, etc.) follow this same universal pattern.
A Character, has a problem, meets a guide, who gives them a plan, and calls them to action, that ends in success or helps them avoid failure.
This formula fits almost every movie or book ever made and fits with Christopher Booker’s famous story analysis, The Seven Basic Plots. But it’s important to understand what fits into which role.
1. A Character,
our reluctant hero is the customer, not the brand. Something stirs them to action. The hero wants something (perhaps our product or service) but lives in relative peace and stability.
2. Has a Problem,
which disturbs that stability. Companies tend to sell solutions to external problems, but people buy solutions to internal problems. On a deeper social level (and a marketing level) people face 3 problems:
· External Problems – My front garden is a mess and needs tidying
· Internal problems – I am upset because I want a beautiful space like my neighbor’s garden.
· Philosophical problems - Everyone has the right to a space for peace and tranquillity.
3. And Meets A Guide.
That’s us or the company. The Yoda of the commercial world. In my particular case, this would be the designer and perhaps even the design, which enables (when it’s well done) the customer to solve their 3 basic problems. Almost every film ever made has this role within it, sometimes it’s a thing rather than a person or company.
4. Who Gives them a Plan.
We need to set out their plan of action. What to do next. It is important to be clear about what the next steps will be and to find the focus of our attention.
5. And Calls Them To Action.
Characters (heroes) don’t take action on their own, they must be challenged. Calls to action must be clear and obvious. The Hero must take action on his or her own. This would be true for learning anything as well.
6. That Helps Them Avoid Failure.
As Miller says: every human being is trying to avoid a tragic ending. What is at stake? Is it worth it! If there’s nothing at stake, there is probably nothing worth gaining. Will he get the girl or will he live lonely and with self-doubt? We show the cost of not taking action.
7. And Ends in Success.
Transformation. Every good story (or product or brand) will leave the reader changed or different from where they started.
The secret in using the SB7 formula is to keep it balanced. This works like a recipe where failure is like salt: use too much and you’ll ruin the flavor; leave it out and the recipe will taste bland.
What this book also does, similarly to The Art of Speeches and Presentations by Phillip Collins (speechwriter for Tony Blair) is encourages you to distill your narrative and offer to its absolute essential necessity. Clarity and simplicity.
This book is deliciously simple, clear and concise, simple obvious calls to action and a message that really rings true. Highly recommended for anyone involved in any part of life.
““Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away”.”