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Building a Storybrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen

Building a Storybrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen

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  • Create Date：2021-04-24 14:55:06
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Donald Miller
  • ISBN：1400201837
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Summary

New York Times bestselling author Donald Miller uses the seven universal elements of powerful stories to teach readers how to dramatically improve how they connect with customers and grow their businesses。

Donald Miller's StoryBrand process is a proven solution to the struggle business leaders face when talking about their businesses。 This revolutionary method for connecting with customers provides readers with the ultimate competitive advantage， revealing the secret for helping their customers understand the compelling benefits of using their products， ideas， or services。 Building a StoryBrand does this by teaching readers the seven universal story points all humans respond to; the real reason customers make purchases; how to simplify a brand message so people understand it; and how to create the most effective messaging for websites， brochures， and social media。 Whether you are the marketing director of a multibillion dollar company， the owner of a small business， a politician running for office， or the lead singer of a rock band， Building a StoryBrand will forever transform the way you talk about who you are， what you do， and the unique value you bring to your customers。

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Reviews

Georgios Koutsogkilas ，

Easy ， fast read。Clear message and helping you becoming Clear and understood with your business message

Kjo1984 ，

Helpful info for when you're establishing a brand。 Helpful info for when you're establishing a brand。 。。。more

Rodrigo Silva ，

It gives a clear and actionable framework for delivering marketing messages， it has plenty of examples and the ideas can be implemented for any company that want to give focused messages

Xenia Mampe ，

An excellent book for a new ， modern ， point of marketing view。Donald Miller goes through steps with details to explain to the readers how they can describe their product to their ideal customer。

Ron ，

Well organized and simple messages are much better for advertising。 Donald Miller provides a clear explanation of how to develop your company or brand story。Highly recommended for anyone with any size business or those looking to develop a brand。 Especially valuable plans for any ecommerce venture。

Jeremy Lenentine ，

Tired of spinning your wheels in business？This book is a must read if you know you have a better product than People realize you do。 You might not know how to get your name out there but this book will help you know how。

Manuela ，

brandscript， das online ausgefüllt werden kann， als basis für alle kommunikation。 basierend auf storytellign

Casey ，

I hate business or self help books that are full of fluff。 This was the complete opposite - was direct and entertaining and kept me interested start to finish。 Excited to put words to action！

Marco Matos ，

Por vezes damos de caras com livros destes: que conseguem juntar dois tópicos que adoramos num só livro。 A obra de Donald Miller é simples e vai direta ao ponto: a melhor forma de conseguir consumidores é a partir do stroytelling。 Mas aí esta o spin interessante que eu nunca tinha pensado e que faz todo o sentido: o consumidor é o herói da história。 A empresa serve como guia que irá solucionar o problema do consumidor， tal como o Yoda ajuda Luke Skywalker a resolver o seu。 Espantoso！O livro está Por vezes damos de caras com livros destes: que conseguem juntar dois tópicos que adoramos num só livro。 A obra de Donald Miller é simples e vai direta ao ponto: a melhor forma de conseguir consumidores é a partir do stroytelling。 Mas aí esta o spin interessante que eu nunca tinha pensado e que faz todo o sentido: o consumidor é o herói da história。 A empresa serve como guia que irá solucionar o problema do consumidor， tal como o Yoda ajuda Luke Skywalker a resolver o seu。 Espantoso！O livro está super bem dividido nos enredos da história quee fizeram lembrar Vladimir Propp。 Basicamnete: um heroi tem um problema que o leva a fazer uma ação para o resolver。 Então encontra um guia empático e autoritário que lhe oferta um plano que o levará ao sucesso e evitará o seu falhanço。 Tal pode ser feito pelo marketing empresarial。 Pensemos no caso da Apple: o herói， o consumidor， necessita de se expressar ao mundo mas tem o problema da tecnologia ser inacessível e complexa。 Então， a Apple， o seu guia， da-lhe uma plano de computadores e smartphones intuitivos， pelo qual se pode expressar。 O resultado é feliz para o herói: o consumidor。Só discordo um quanto quando Donald diz que a empresa é só o guia。 Discordo。 A empatia e a autoridade do guia vêm exatamente do facto de eles serem heróis da própria história。 O Yoda é aquele que ajuda Skywalker， mas também o que， pela ajuda a Skywalker， se reúne de novo com a força。 Nesse sentido， Donald Trum， por exemplo， é o guia da massa silenciosa nos EUA mas apenas porque， na verdade， ele tb é o herói da sua história de autoconhecimento， onde os eleitores podem ser os guias que o levarao a esse resultado。Em suma: romantizar a vida dos consumidores é a melhor forma de vender um produto。 。。。more

José Fernando Solano Pájaro ，

Una joya para estrategas de marcaLlevo varios meses leyendo libros sobre posicionamiento， marketing y marca， debo decir que este libro es uno de los pocos que va más allá de las teorías y te da una ruta inicial para aplicar en tu emprendimiento。 Recomedadisimo！

Liesl Baart ，

I loved this book。 It's so easy to read， concise chapters， very clear about action steps to take。 Highly recommend。 Can't wait to see the results for my business。 I loved this book。 It's so easy to read， concise chapters， very clear about action steps to take。 Highly recommend。 Can't wait to see the results for my business。 。。。more

Maddie ，

Lots of great ideas， but the end felt like an infomercial for their product。

EMGEE ，

A good read， with a strong， unique guiding principle: that businesses， especially those in services， should position themselves as the guide in their customer’s story， instead of as a protagonist hero。 Always make the customer the hero。 The author’s tone is casual but confident， and although this book was longer than it needed to be， I will look into his other books， for I enjoyed much of Building A Storybrand。

Brandon Passley ，

Probably the best marketing and branding book I’ve read 🙌

Caroline ，

Incredible book！ my business just hit a new level

Gordon ，

Too bad Miller's associated website is an annoying sales machine for his extra courses （daily promotional emails）。 Unfortunately I don't see any story being told in selling his own courses。 Disappointed that he's not walking his talk very well。 This makes me conclude that this book is only to sell ideas people are willing to pay for， and not necessarily real practical advice。My original review:Super helpful advice on how to effectively communicate your offering consumers and workforce。Miller pro Too bad Miller's associated website is an annoying sales machine for his extra courses （daily promotional emails）。 Unfortunately I don't see any story being told in selling his own courses。 Disappointed that he's not walking his talk very well。 This makes me conclude that this book is only to sell ideas people are willing to pay for， and not necessarily real practical advice。My original review:Super helpful advice on how to effectively communicate your offering consumers and workforce。Miller proposes to use a 7 component story involving 1） a main character （the customer）， 2） who has a problem （an emotional/philosophical feeling they need to address）， 3） and meets a guide （you are Yoda guiding Luke Skywalker customers）， 4） who gives them a plan， 5） and calls them to action， 6） that ends in success， （convince the customer with positive reasons）7） and avoiding failure （convince the customer with negative reasons）Along the way he mentions key points including how customers only care about things that help them survive or thrive while ignoring everything else。 Another aspect is that customers typically place orders primarily because of how the offering will make them feel - not because of other factors such as functionality， features， or value。Miller's analysis of Starbucks:Starbucks succeeded because they offered an emotional feeling of sophistication， belonging， and an relaxing environment。 Starbucks philosophically provided inspiration and nurturing。 Starbucks offers status through their membership card。 Miller's analysis of Apple:Apple addressed the emotional intimidation that most people feel about computers。 。。。more

Josie ，

as fan of donald miller's other non-fiction writing， this book was hard for me。 more marketing mush， and redundant。 as fan of donald miller's other non-fiction writing， this book was hard for me。 more marketing mush， and redundant。 。。。more

Evan ，

Been awhile since I've read a book about marketing。 A great practicable book with a good framework。 I like storytelling in general and the ideas presented in this book。 Recommended！ Been awhile since I've read a book about marketing。 A great practicable book with a good framework。 I like storytelling in general and the ideas presented in this book。 Recommended！ 。。。more

Sarah Magruder ，

Anyone starting their own company or wanting to re-brand would benefit from this book。 I really enjoyed the Audible version and then ordered the hard cover for reference。 There are great worksheets to go along that you can request off the website。 And then they started a wonderful podcast I tune into every week that has since morphed into the current book title of Business Made Simple。 I do feel like the author spends a lot of time promoting his companies services and workshops， that is kind of Anyone starting their own company or wanting to re-brand would benefit from this book。 I really enjoyed the Audible version and then ordered the hard cover for reference。 There are great worksheets to go along that you can request off the website。 And then they started a wonderful podcast I tune into every week that has since morphed into the current book title of Business Made Simple。 I do feel like the author spends a lot of time promoting his companies services and workshops， that is kind of the point of it， so he’s practicing what he preaches！ Although I do feel like it’s overkill if you’re a frequent listener。 。。。more

Anujin Jamiyangombo ，

Маш энгийн юм шиг атлаа маркетингийн төлөвлөгөө гаргахад тус болохуйц хэд хэдэн зүйлсийг дурдсан нь ихэд таалагдлаа。 Маркетингийн чиглэлийг сонирхдог хүмүүс， өөр мэргэжилтэй бизнес эрхлэгч нарт дэм болохуйц ойлгоход хялбар ном байна гэж бодлоо。 7 хэсэгт аргачлал бүр дээрээ дурдсан жишээнүүд нь сонирхолтой байлаа。

Hosein Naseri ，

ارتباطی که کتاب از منطق روایی داستان‌ها و الگوی درام ارسطویی با کسب‌وکار و بیزینس برقرار می‌کند بسیار دلنشین و قابل توجه است اما در طول کتاب در دام تکرار بسیار می‌افتد و از نیمه کتاب به بعد مخاطب حس می‌کند دیگر مطلب جدیدی وجود ندارد。

Dodi ，

The author employs most of the recommendations he suggests in his book。 At times it sounds like a commercial for the website associated with the book。 Overall it's a short book with solid guidance。 The author employs most of the recommendations he suggests in his book。 At times it sounds like a commercial for the website associated with the book。 Overall it's a short book with solid guidance。 。。。more

Carina Duffy ，

Must read for anyone in marketing or sales who has influence over how a company messages themselves。 The framework is super simple and easy to understand - the real challenge is actually implementing it in your own context。

Kat Riethmuller ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Takeaways:Revitalize your marketing plan by creating a story with the “StoryBrand 7-Part Framework。”Make your customer the hero of your story。Customers will find you if you solve an “external problem”; they will buy from you if you solve an “internal problem。”Help your customers recognize that you are the “guide” they seek。Advise your customers to follow a simple plan。Challenge your “hero customer” to take action。Help your customers avoid tragedy。Show your customers how your brand will transform Takeaways:Revitalize your marketing plan by creating a story with the “StoryBrand 7-Part Framework。”Make your customer the hero of your story。Customers will find you if you solve an “external problem”; they will buy from you if you solve an “internal problem。”Help your customers recognize that you are the “guide” they seek。Advise your customers to follow a simple plan。Challenge your “hero customer” to take action。Help your customers avoid tragedy。Show your customers how your brand will transform their lives。Your script is your blueprint for transforming your marketing materials and corporate culture。Summary:Revitalize your marketing plan by creating a story with the “StoryBrand 7-Part Framework。”The human brain is hardwired for stories， which is why storytelling conveys marketing messages so well。 A good story gives your customers a “map” that makes intuitive sense and helps them engage with your brand。 A story guides them through the noise， including the noise you may inadvertently mix in with your current marketing。 However， if your story doesn’t engage people within their hierarchy of needs， they won’t care about your message。 “Story is atomic。 It is perpetual energy and can power a city。 Story is the one thing that can hold a human being’s attention for hours。”For your story to reach your customers， it has to pass the “Grunt Test。” That is， if a caveman read your story， would he grunt yes that he knows what you’re selling， sees how it could improve his life and knows where to buy it？ If so， it passes the grunt test。 The most important thing in telling your story is what your customers hear – not what you’re trying to say。 The ideal communication framework breaks down into seven messages in seven categories that constitute the StoryBrand 7-Part Framework （SB7）。 Its structure follows the seven crucial moments central to every story:The hero （your customer） wants to reach a goal。 The hero hits a dilemma that precludes achieving the goal。When the hero begins to lose hope， a “guide” arrives。The guide offers a plan。The guide issues a “call to action。”The hero takes action and avoids failure。  The story ends with the hero achieving “success。” “People will always choose a story that helps them survive and thrive。”  The SB7 method enables you to distill your brand message to one page and filter out the parts of your corporate information that essentially only bore your customers。 To begin， identify a core message for your overall brand。 Then you can write a BrandScript for each corporate division， or each market segment， or each product。 Your story can fulfill many possibilities， but keep the following basics in mind。  Make your customer the hero of your story。In the SB7 framework， the hero of your story is the customer， not your business or product。 A story isn’t compelling to your audience until you define what the hero – that is， your customer – wants to achieve。 This opens a “story gap” which the human mind seeks to close by finding the answer。 Will the hero triumph？ The suspense draws people into your story。“Every human being is already speaking the language of story， so when you begin using the SB7 framework， you’ll finally be speaking their language。”Focus on defining and fulfilling a pivotal customer need。 “Everything else is a subplot。” Make sure the desire that your brand fulfills connects to your customer’s sense of survival and desire for safety， health or happiness – for example， saving time or money， being part of a community， improving social status or increasing profits。Customers will find you if you solve an “external problem”; they will buy from you if you solve an “internal problem。”Draw your customers further into your story by identifying their problems。 As long as the conflict stays unresolved， you’ll have your customers’ attention。 Ultimately， the source of conflict in every riveting tale is the villain。 The best sort of villain gives your audience members a place to focus negative feelings， to root for the hero and to engage。 Depict a dastardly villain， and position your product or service as the right weapon to vanquish the foe。 Your villain doesn’t have to be a person; it can be the problem your product solves， but the audience should be able to recognize it instantly as a threat。  “Simply turning our focus to the customer and offering them a heroic role in a meaningful story is enough to radically change the way we talk about， and even do， business。” Villains thwart heroes on three successive levels: through an “external problem” that becomes an “internal problem，” which in turn is ultimately a “philosophical problem。” Villains set up obstacles between the hero and the quest to solve the problem in order to achieve stability。 In movies， external problems are often physical， like a countdown to an explosion。 In real life， they are more mundane。 Restaurants solve the problem of hunger。 Plumbers solve leaky pipes。 Identify the external problem you can solve。“Leaders desire to be seen as heroes when， in actuality， everything they think they want from playing the hero only comes by playing the guide。 Guides are respected， loved， listened to， understood and followed loyally。” But， remember， people buy because you solve their internal problem。 In movies， the “backstory” fills in all the reasons why the hero may not be able to overcome the obstacle。 Maybe it’s past failure or fear of not measuring up。 The drive to resolve that inner frustration is greater than the drive to overcome an external problem。“People don’t buy the best products; they buy the products they can understand the fastest。”When your brand identifies an internal frustration and solves it – while also solving the external problem – you’ve put yourself deep inside your customer’s narrative。 CarMax， for example， positioned itself to sell used cars without hiring what many customers stereotyped as annoying salespeople。 By addressing the external and internal obstacles to buying a used car， CarMax succeeded in a difficult market。“Story is a sense-making device。 It identifies a necessary ambition， defines challenges that are battling to keep us from achieving that ambition and provides a plan to help us conquer those challenges。”  Solving philosophical problems will gain customers。 It gives your hero a sense of belonging to an epic theme such as good versus evil or love conquers all。 The perfect brand position is a promise to resolve all three problems – external， internal and philosophical。 Automaker Tesla solves the external problem of buying a car， the internal desire to adopt cutting-edge technology and the philosophical desire to be environmentally conscious。 “As a brand， it’s our job to pursue our customers。 We want to get to know them and for them to get to know us， but we…need to take the initiative。”The best stories are simple。 Resist the urge to have several villains and multiple problems。 Choose the external problem that calls for the largest application of your brand’s solutions， solves your customer’s internal problem and fits a larger philosophical framework。Help your customers recognize that you are the “guide” they seek。Engage customers by offering a solution to their problem in which you are the guide。 Stories usually thrust heroes into high-stakes situations for which they feel unprepared。 The wise， experienced guide – think of Yoda advising Luke Skywalker in Star Wars – offers them a plan or path forward。 Successful guides exhibit empathy and authority。 Show your customers that you understand their pain points and that you care。 Having the authority to be a good guide means you are competent and have applicable experience。 Convey authority in your marketing materials by including statistics， awards and logos of prominent customers。Advise your customers to follow a simple plan。You still need to convince your customer to make a commitment and buy from you。 At this point in your story， customers aren’t yet ready to take the plunge。 They worry that buying won’t solve their problem。 Remove all sense of risk by having a plan。 When you send out a marketing message， customers want to know what to do next。 If they’re confused， their next step won’t be buying from you。 They need to feel sure about you， so give them the exact steps they need to take。 Clarify the way forward to get them to buy – and now。“We create lead generators for each revenue stream our company offers。 This allows us to segment our customers by their interests and offer different products to solve their various problems。” You can offer “process plans” or “agreement plans。” For process plans， give customers three to six steps that include buying your offer and continue to include something that will happen after their purchase。 This clarifies the solution to their problem and makes it easy for them to give you their business。 Alternatively， design an agreement plan to reduce customer fear。“When we empathize with our customers’ dilemma， we create a bond of trust。 People trust those who understand them， and they trust brands that understand them， too。”For example， CarMax’s four-point agreement promises customers they won’t have to haggle over the price of a car， and it offers its certification program to alleviate fears。 CarMax solves its customers’ external problem of buying a car， while solving their internal problem – fear of a used-car salesman pushing them or deceiving them。 Devise your plan by brainstorming about your customer’s potential concerns。 Give your plan a title to improve its “perceived value。”Challenge your “hero customer” to take action。Heroes won’t act until they’re challenged。 Challenge your customer to place an order。 If you don’t ask for the sale， you won’t get it。 Put a “buy now” button at your website’s top right corner and in the middle of the page。 Repeat your call to action。 Show that you stand behind your offer。 When a blunt call to action doesn’t work， try a transitional call to action， which starts with deepening your relationship with your customer。 Free， educational information is a type of transitional call。 A free sample or a free trial can remove any risk your customer might feel。 Be gently， entertainingly， informatively persistent。 Make the process of doing business with you easy。Help your customers avoid tragedy。Riveting stories can end in success or tragedy。 The uncertainty is what engages people。 The hero’s potential downside raises the stakes。 Fear sells。 Website copy or articles that spell out what failure could look like for your customers bring a sense of urgency to the decision to buy。 Let your customers know what they might lose without your guidance or solution。 Then explain your plan， and deliver your call to action。 Be careful， since a little bit of fear goes a long way。 Too much will turn customers away。Show your customers how your brand will transform their lives。Describe success to your potential customer by defining the customer’s goal。 Make a simple three-column chart to map out the “before” showing what your customers have， how they feel， their average day and their current status before they use your brand。 Then repeat the exercise to map the “after” – how your brand will solve their dilemma and improve their lives。 The after column captures your “end vision。” List the ways you solve your customer’s external， internal and philosophical problems。 Determine what transformation your customers seek， and find their happy ending。 To create an “aspirational identity” for your customers， consider how they’d like their friends and peers to view them。“The whole point of your website is to create a place where the direct call-to-action button makes sense and is enticing。” Position your brand to offer status by providing “access。” Starbucks does this by giving customers a card to track points for purchases and earn a free cup of coffee。 Offer your best customers a premium， or build their perception of your product as a luxury brand， like Mercedes and Rolex。 Fulfill your customer’s need for self-knowledge or self-acceptance by associating your brand with behaviors， people or events that inspire them， emphasize the inherent beauty in things or invite them to be part of a transcendent mission。 In the “success module” of the SB7 framework， close all the “story loops” that you opened。 Your resolutions are the happy people now using your goods or services。Your script is your blueprint for transforming your marketing materials and corporate culture。Implement your storytelling message throughout your marketing materials。 Begin with your website。 Keep your message succinct and simple。 Include five elements :On your website， state your offer up front and at the top， before your visitor scrolls down the page。Place your call-to-action buttons where customers can see them right away， at the top right and in the middle of the page， also before customers scroll down。 Present images of happy， satisfied customers。Consolidate multiple or complex business products or services to one unified， overall message。Be brief。 Reduce information to bullet points。“How many sales are we missing out on because customers can’t figure out what our offer is within five seconds of visiting our website？”The StoryBrand approach will help transform your corporate culture。 Having a “narrative void” in your organization will keep employees from pulling together。 The explosion in information fuels this disengagement。 Many people are subjected to 3，000-plus advertising messages daily。 Replace this distracting overload with unifying， clear， concise story messages。Crafting your narrative begins with bringing new employees onboard as heroes and inviting them into your story so that they see their jobs as transformational opportunities。 During orientation， teach them about their part in representing the organization as guides for your customers。 Use the StoryBrand approach to make sure that everyone paddles in the same direction。Use the first four modules of the SB7 Framework – “character， problem， plan and success” – to distill your main marketing message into one powerful statement。 Collect website visitors’ email addresses by creating a lead generating offer， such as a free PDF document。 Automate an email “drip campaign” to nurture customers toward a future purchase。 Present the stories of people you’ve helped to minimize potential customers’ sense of risk。 Develop a system with incentives to encourage customers to promote your business and your story。 。。。more

Dustin ，

Reading this is a similar experience to watching an infomercial。 The reader is constantly pitched to go to the author’s website， where the reader will be up sold on more products。 Despite this experience， this book made me better understand how to engage in marketing conversations with my colleagues。 The marketing advice is framed around the stories companies tell。 I enjoyed the structure’s similarity to the Hero’s Journey。 I am a more valuable employee after reading this book。

Douglas Kendyson ，

I'll update this when I implement the tips in the book， but it was quite insightful I'll update this when I implement the tips in the book， but it was quite insightful 。。。more

Regimantas Urbanas ，

A simple yet rather comprehensive framework for building a compelling brand story for businesses of any size， in any industry。 Some good advices even for the old marketers like myself :） At the same time， it felt like an extensive "free PDF" of the StoryBrand company， luring the reader into the purchase of their service/certification etc : A simple yet rather comprehensive framework for building a compelling brand story for businesses of any size， in any industry。 Some good advices even for the old marketers like myself :） At the same time， it felt like an extensive "free PDF" of the StoryBrand company， luring the reader into the purchase of their service/certification etc : 。。。more

Kin Paquibo ，

SB

Jessie Miller ，

Good ideas but so redundant

Robert Gebhardt ，

The author basically equates your brand message with a movie， and， using movie plots， shows you how to structure the message。 It seems a bit of a stretch， to be honest， but it is very well structured and I took quite a few notes so I'm curious to see how it works。 We'll see。。。 The author basically equates your brand message with a movie， and， using movie plots， shows you how to structure the message。 It seems a bit of a stretch， to be honest， but it is very well structured and I took quite a few notes so I'm curious to see how it works。 We'll see。。。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Building a Storybrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Building a Storybrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Building a Storybrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0