A framework that I regularly use with clients is StoryBrand by Donald Miller. The first part of that framework is identifying who is the hero of your story.
The mistake that so many businesses make is believing that they are the centre of the story.
People want help with the problems they have today, and they are looking for a guide. They are looking for help to do the things they want to do in their story.
By being the guide, by being the facilitator, you are helping them achieve their goals, aspirations, and dreams.
The problem with your story is that until people feel like you can solve their problem, nobody really cares how you did it or how you got here, apart from maybe your mum and dad.
People are so wrapped up in their own story, in their own world. They just want to know how you can help them, how you can make a difference, and how you can improve their lives.
If you are working in the services industry, the clue is in the name: service.
We are working in the service of others.
So when we talk about our business and what we do, our customer should be at the centre of that story.
By being the guide, you become an essential part of somebody else’s story.
Something they cannot live without. Something they come back to time and time again for advice and guidance.
That is why case studies are so powerful, because they make it about your customer’s story rather than your story.
One of the best pieces of marketing I have seen was from a Christian college in the United States.
They created a series of videos featuring students who had gone on to do incredible things after attending the college.
One woman had started a business helping refugees, giving them purpose and employment so they could design and create their own bags, sell them, and build a life for themselves.
It was an incredibly inspirational story.
But there was almost no mention of the college until the very end.
Only then did she begin talking about the difference the college made, what it taught her, and how it gave her the confidence and platform to build this inspirational business.
That was all you needed to know.
If you saw something of yourself in her story and wanted to make that kind of impact, then clearly that college was the place to go.
That is the switch you need to make.
Go from being the hero of the story to being the guide.
Go from being Luke Skywalker to being Yoda.
One quick way to figure out whether you are making this mistake is to look at your marketing and ask:
Does it start with “I” and “we”, or does it start with “you” and “your”?
That is how you become a brand people actively seek out.
