17 May How to write your website – Part 2
So now you understand your customer has a problem that needs to be solved. And they want to solve it using a little brain power as possible. You know WHO your audience is and WHY they are at your website.
The next step is to give them all the right information at the approriate step on their customer journey. This helps them make an informed decision before taking action to solve their problem.
As a reminder, the Storybrand script is:
A character – your customer, visitor, reader.
Has a problem – what is the problem they are trying to solve by visiting your website or buying your product
Meets a guide – Introduce your product service or brand. You are the knowledgeable guide, not the hero. You don’t save they day. The customer saves the day by choosing you.
Who offers them a plan – outline the information, product or service that will solve their problem
And challenges them to take action – show them how they can use this knowledge to their benefit
To avoid failure – what will happen if they don’t take action
And achieve success – what will happened if they do take action.
You can use this process to create robust homepages, landing pages, product pages and much more. It serves as a good reminder to always keep your customer at the centre of your process and structure your content for consistency.
A character
Write down who your customer is. How old are they. What are they like. What frame of mind are they in when they are interacting with your brand. And, importantly what do they want.
The customer rarely wants more than one thing. So don’t include more than one per page. This makes your messaging more confusing and makes them work harder to solve their problem.
Has a problem
If you’re a car mechanic, fixing customers’ cars is the solution you provide to their external problems. But every mechanic does this.
So you need to speak to them on a deeper level and solve their internal problems. These are things like the hassle of having to take your car to a mechanic; the lack of transport while your car is there; the issues of trust.
If you can solve these problems while solving their basic needs, then you put yourself ahead of the competition.
Meets a guide
It can’t be stressed enough, you are the guide and your customer is the hero. Your company helps customers solve their problems and win. So guide them to success.
A simple way to do this is with empathy and authority. When you empathise with a customer’s internal problems you create trust. Supporting this with a demonstration of your competence helps the customer trust that you know what you are doing!
Authority can be shown through items like testimonials, statistics or a demonstration of your previous clients.
Who offers them a plan
The plan is the process a customer takes to buy or use your product or service. Do they make an appointment first? Do they sign up and pay later? Do they have to build the item themselves?
What’s your offer? Break it down for them. Can you outline it in a three step process? Tell them what to expect and how it will make their lives better.
And challenges them to take action
You won’t get if you don’t ask. Challenge your customer to take action! But remember, people are bombarded with thousands of messages everyday so your call-to-action needs to cut through. Don’t be afraid to be direct – believe in your product or service!
Do it now, it will change your life.
To avoid failure
Regardless of how awkward it makes you feel, people are motivated by loss aversion. We need to highlight the stakes to increase the value of your call-to-action.
There are delicate and ethical ways to do this without sounding like late-night TV shopping channel. In psychology there is a process called a ‘fear appeal’. A fear appeal example is FedEx’s using the fear of your package not arriving safely or arriving on time.
We need to highlight what there is to lose. What are you helping your customer to avoid?
And achieve success
This is where you tell your customer how your brand can change their lives. They won’t know if you don’t tell them.
Think about what they have before your product or service and then tell them what they will have after. Show them what success looks like.
And this is the Storybrand process!
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