# Building a StoryBrand  ## Metadata - Author: [[Donald Miller]] - Full Title: Building a StoryBrand - Category: #books ## Highlights - Your customer should be the hero of the story, not your brand. This is the secret every phenomenally successful business understands. ([Location 256](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=256)) - Tags: [[pink]] - The fact is, pretty websites don’t sell things. Words sell things. And if we haven’t clarified our message, our customers won’t listen. ([Location 281](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=281)) - Tags: [[pink]] - The reality is we aren’t just in a race to get our products to market; we’re also in a race to communicate why our customers need those products in their lives. Even if we have the best product in the marketplace, we’ll lose to an inferior product if our competitor’s offer is communicated more clearly. ([Location 296](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=296)) - Tags: [[pink]] - The more simple and predictable the communication, the easier it is for the brain to digest. ([Location 314](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=314)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Mike went on to explain that among the million things the brain is good at, the overriding function of the brain is to help an individual survive and thrive. Everything the human brain does, all day, involves helping that person, and the people that person cares about, get ahead in life. ([Location 316](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=316)) - Tags: [[pink]] - The first mistake brands make is they fail to focus on the aspects of their offer that will help people survive and thrive. ([Location 332](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=332)) - Tags: [[pink]] - The second mistake brands make is they cause their customers to burn too many calories in an effort to understand their offer. ([Location 346](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=346)) - Tags: [[pink]] - The key is to make your company’s message about something that helps the customer survive and to do so in such a way that they can understand it without burning too many calories. ([Location 356](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=356)) - Tags: [[pink]] - In a story, audiences must always know who the hero is, what the hero wants, who the hero has to defeat to get what they want, what tragic thing will happen if the hero doesn’t win, and what wonderful thing will happen if they do. ([Location 381](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=381)) - Tags: [[pink]] - at StoryBrand we have a mantra: “If you confuse, you’ll lose.” ([Location 389](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=389)) - Tags: [[pink]] - The enemy I’m talking about is noise. ([Location 391](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=391)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Note: The every of business - What we think we are saying to our customers and what our customers actually hear are two different things. And customers make buying decisions not based on what we say but on what they hear. ([Location 411](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=411)) - Tags: [[pink]] - In fact, neuroscientists claim the average human being spends more than 30 percent of their time daydreaming . . . unless they’re reading, listening to, or watching a story unfold. Why? Because when we are engaged in a story, the story does the daydreaming for us. Story is the greatest weapon we have to combat noise, because it organizes information in such a way that people are compelled to listen. ([Location 435](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=435)) - Tags: [[pink]] - The brain remembers music and forgets about noise just like the brain remembers some brands and forgets about others. ([Location 449](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=449)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Here is nearly every story you see or hear in a nutshell: A CHARACTER who wants something encounters a PROBLEM before they can get it. At the peak of their despair, a GUIDE steps into their lives, gives them a PLAN, and CALLS THEM TO ACTION. That action helps them avoid FAILURE and ends in a SUCCESS. ([Location 496](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=496)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Truly creative and brilliant marketers and screenwriters know how to use the formula while still avoiding cliché. ([Location 524](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=524)) - Tags: [[pink]] - 1.  What does the hero want?        2.  Who or what is opposing the hero getting what she wants?        3.  What will the hero’s life look like if she does (or does not) get what she wants? ([Location 529](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=529)) - Tags: [[pink]] - anything that doesn’t serve the plot has to go. ([Location 537](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=537)) - Tags: [[pink]] - 1.  What do you offer?        2.  How will it make my life better?        3.  What do I need to do to buy it? ([Location 544](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=544)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Alfred Hitchcock defined a good story as “life with the dull parts taken out.”2 Good branding is the same. ([Location 570](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=570)) - Tags: [[pink]] - When we position our customer as the hero and ourselves as the guide, we will be recognized as a trusted resource to help them overcome their challenges. ([Location 594](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=594)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Communication expert Nancy Duarte has done extensive research on how to create powerful presentations. The strategy she recommends to her clients is simple: when giving a speech, position yourself as Yoda and your audience as Luke Skywalker.1 It’s a small but powerful shift that honors the journey of the audience and positions us as a leader providing wisdom, products, and services our audience needs in order to thrive. ([Location 596](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=596)) - Tags: [[pink]] - they want to solve a problem that has, in big or small ways, disrupted their peaceful life. ([Location 611](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=611)) - Tags: [[pink]] - there are three levels of problems a customer encounters. In stories, heroes encounter external, internal, and philosophical problems. ([Location 616](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=616)) - Tags: [[pink]] - The world revolves around us, regardless of how altruistic, generous, and selfless a person we may be. Each day is, quite literally, about how we encounter our world. Potential customers feel the same way about themselves. They are the center of their world. ([Location 636](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=636)) - Tags: [[pink]] - What customers are looking for, then, is a clear path we’ve laid out that takes away any confusion they might have about how to do business with us. ([Location 649](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=649)) - Tags: [[pink]] - People are looking for a philosophy they can embody or a series of steps they can take to solve their problems. ([Location 653](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=653)) - Tags: [[pink]] - One call to action is direct, asking the customer for a purchase or to schedule an appointment. The other is a transitional call to action, furthering our relationship with the customer. ([Location 668](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=668)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Stories live and die on a single question: What’s at stake? ([Location 675](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=675)) - Tags: [[pink]] - We must tell our customers how great their life can look if they buy our products and services. ([Location 693](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=693)) - Tags: [[pink]] - As a brand it’s important to define something your customer wants, because as soon as we define something our customer wants, we posit a story question in the mind of the customer: Can this brand really help me get what I want? ([Location 761](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=761)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Once a brand defines what their customer wants, they are often guilty of making the second mistake—what they’ve defined isn’t related to the customer’s sense of survival. In their desire to cast a wide net, they define a blob of a desire that is so vague, potential customers can’t figure out why they need it in the first place. ([Location 822](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=822)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Here are four characteristics that make for a good villain on your StoryBrand BrandScript:        1.  The villain should be a root source. Frustration, for example, is not a villain; frustration is what a villain makes us feel. High taxes, rather, are a good example of a villain.        2.  The villain should be relatable. When people hear us talk about the villain, they should immediately recognize it as something they disdain.        3.  The villain should be singular. One villain is enough. A story with too many villains falls apart for lack of clarity.        4.  The villain should be real. Never go down the path of being a fearmonger. There are plenty of actual villains out there to fight. Let’s go after them on behalf of our customers. ([Location 944](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=944)) - Tags: [[pink]] - What stories teach us is that people’s internal desire to resolve a frustration is a greater motivator than their desire to solve an external problem. ([Location 993](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=993)) - Tags: [[pink]] - The larger point here is simple: the day we stop losing sleep over the success of our business and start losing sleep over the success of our customers is the day our business will start growing again. ([Location 1177](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=1177)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Those who realize the epic story of life is not about them but actually about the people around them somehow win in the end. It’s counterintuitive, but it’s true. In fact, leaders who think the story of life is all about them may achieve temporary successes but are usually remembered in history’s narrative as a villain. ([Location 1186](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=1186)) - Tags: [[pink]] - The two things a brand must communicate to position themselves as the guide are Empathy Authority ([Location 1195](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=1195)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Empathetic statements start with words like, “We understand how it feels to . . .” or “Nobody should have to experience . . .” or “Like you, we are frustrated by . . .” or, in the case of one Toyota commercial inviting Toyota owners to engage their local Toyota service center, simply, “We care about your Toyota.” ([Location 1212](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=1212)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Remember, the human brain likes to conserve calories, and so when a customer realizes they have a lot in common with a brand, they fill in all the unknown nuances with trust. Essentially, the customer batches their thinking, meaning they’re thinking in “chunks” rather than details. Commonality, whether taste in music or shared values, is a powerful marketing tool. ([Location 1220](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=1220)) - Tags: [[pink]] - When we express empathy, we help our customers answer Cuddy’s first question, “Can I trust this person?” Demonstrating competence helps our customers answer the second question, “Can I respect this person?” ([Location 1266](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=1266)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Plans can take many shapes and forms, but all effective plans do one of two things: they either clarify how somebody can do business with us, or they remove the sense of risk somebody might have if they’re considering investing in our products or services. ([Location 1315](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=1315)) - Tags: [[pink]] - A process plan can describe the steps a customer needs to take to buy our product, or the steps the customer needs to take to use our product after they buy it, or a mixture of both. For instance, if you’re selling ([Location 1334](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=1334)) - Tags: [[pink]] - A post-purchase process plan is best used when our customers might have problems imagining how they would use our product after they buy ([Location 1343](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=1343)) - Tags: [[pink]] - But when they read your plan, they think to themselves, Oh, I can do that. That’s not hard, and they click “Buy Now.” ([Location 1351](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=1351)) - Tags: [[pink]] - the key to the success of any plan is to alleviate confusion for our customers. ([Location 1356](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=1356)) - Tags: [[pink]] - If process plans are about alleviating confusion, agreement plans are about alleviating fears. ([Location 1365](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=1365)) - Tags: [[pink]] - An agreement plan is best understood as a list of agreements you make with your customers to help them overcome their fear of doing business with you. ([Location 1366](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=1366)) - Tags: [[pink]] - The best way to arrive at an agreement plan is to list all the things your customer might be concerned about as it relates to your product or service and then counter that list with agreements that will alleviate their fears. If it’s short enough (we’re fans of brevity, obviously), you can feature your agreement plan on the wall of your business or even on your packaging or shopping bags. ([Location 1386](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=1386)) - Tags: [[pink]] - The only two motivations a hero has in a story are to escape something bad or experience something good. Such is life. Our desire to avoid pain motivates us to seek a resolution to our problems. ([Location 1586](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=1586)) - Tags: [[pink]] - In Dominic Infante, Andrew Rancer, and Deanna Womack’s book Building Communication Theory, they propose a four-step process called a “fear appeal.”         First, we must make a reader (or listener) know they are vulnerable to a threat. For example:         “Nearly 30 percent of all homes have evidence of termite infestation.”         Second, we should let the reader know that since they’re vulnerable, they should take action to reduce their vulnerability.         “Since nobody wants termites, you should do something about it to protect your home.”         Third, we should let them know about a specific call to action that protects them from the risk.         “We offer a complete home treatment that will insure your house is free of termites.”         Fourth, we should challenge people to take this specific action.         “Call us today and schedule your home treatment.”3 ([Location 1643](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=1643)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Years ago, a friend gave me the best leadership advice I’ve ever received. He said, “Don, always remember, people want to be taken somewhere.” ([Location 1708](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=1708)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Ultimately, the success module of your StoryBrand BrandScript should simply be a list of resolutions to your customers’ problems. Brainstorm what your customer’s life will look like externally if their problem is resolved, then think about how that resolution will make them feel, then consider why the resolution to their problem has made the world a more just place to live in. ([Location 1745](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=1745)) - Tags: [[pink]] - The three dominant ways storytellers end a story is by allowing the hero to        1.  Win some sort of power or position.        2.  Be unified with somebody or something that makes them whole.        3.  Experience some kind of self-realization that also makes them whole. ([Location 1751](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=1751)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Offer access: My wife loves using her Starbucks membership card because it gains her points, which gains her status and the occasional free latte. We’ve had many conversations about the intangibility of said status, but I’ve learned not to argue. She’s excited to be on her way to some kind of double-pump jazzy diamond level, which I’m pretty sure means she can cut in front of people at the drive-through.         Create scarcity: Offering a limited number of a specific item creates scarcity, and owning something that is scarce is often seen as a status symbol. When Jeep puts a badge that reads “limited” on the back of their Grand Cherokee, they’re promoting the scarcity of the luxury SUV.         Offer a premium: Most companies earn 70 percent or more of their revenue from a small percentage of their clients. Few, though, identify those clients and offer them a title such as “Preferred” or “Diamond Member.” I love being an “Emerald Club” member with National Car Rental because it means I get to bypass the counter, jump in a car, and drive off. We even recommend a status-associated title for the nonprofit brands we work with. People will be much more likely to donate if they know they are an “Anchor Donor” and even more likely if they get special privileges like updates from the founder or access to other anchor donors at fund-raisers.         Offer identity association: Premium brands like Mercedes and Rolex sell status as much as they do luxury. Is it worth it? Depends on who you ask. Status really does open doors, and by associating their brand, and thus their customers, with success and refinement, they offer them status. ([Location 1771](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=1771)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Note: How brands can offer status - Reduced anxiety: For years, brands that sell basic items like dish detergent and glass cleaner have almost comically positioned their products as anti-anxiety medication. As the hero in the commercial uses the product, his or her sense of frustration subsides until, at last, they’re able to see their bright shining face glowing back at them in the polished platter, and then off they go into the sunset. What is the brand really offering? Satisfaction for a job well done. A feeling of closure about a clean house. A better, more peaceful life. Will the use of your product lead to the relief of stress and a feeling of completeness? If so, talk about it and show it in your marketing material.         Reduced workload: Customers who don’t have the right tools must work harder because they are, well, incomplete. But what if a tool you offer could give them what they’re missing? Whether they’re selling wheelbarrows, software, jackhammers, or a fishing apparatus, manufacturers have been positioning tools as “the thing that will make you superhuman” for decades.         More time: For many customers, time is the enemy, and if our product can expand time, we’re offering to solve an external problem that is causing an internal frustration. Not being able to “fit it all in” is often perceived by our customers as a personal deficiency. Any tool, system, philosophy, or even person who can expand time may offer a sense of completeness. ([Location 1797](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=1797)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Human beings are looking for resolutions to their external, internal, and philosophical problems, and they can achieve this through, among other things, status, self-realization, self-acceptance, and transcendence. If our products can help people achieve these things, we should make this a core aspect of our brand promise. ([Location 1841](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=1841)) - Tags: [[pink]] - I’m talking about the human desire to transform. Everybody wants to change. Everybody wants to be somebody different, somebody better, or, perhaps, somebody who simply becomes more self-accepting. When you look closely at your BrandScript, you’ll see it. Your brand is helping people become better versions of themselves, which is a beautiful thing. You are helping them become wiser, more equipped, more physically fit, more accepted, and more at peace. Like it or not (and we hope you like it), we are all participating in our customers’ transformation, which is exactly what they want us to do. Brands that participate in the identity transformation of their customers create passionate brand evangelists. ([Location 1870](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=1870)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Feelings of self-doubt are universal, as is the desire to become somebody competent and courageous. ([Location 1884](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=1884)) - Tags: [[pink]] - A few important questions we have to ask ourselves when we’re representing our brand are: Who does our customer want to become? What kind of person do they want to be? What is their aspirational identity? ([Location 1886](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=1886)) - Tags: [[pink]] - The best way to identify an aspirational identity that our customers may be attracted to is to consider how they want their friends to talk about them. Think about it. When others talk about you, what do you want them to say? How we answer that question reveals who it is we’d like to be. ([Location 1924](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=1924)) - Tags: [[pink]] - A true mission isn’t a statement; it’s a way of living and being. A mission is more than token rituals that make momentary reference to the things your employees should care about. A mission is a story you reinforce through every department strategy, every operational detail, and every customer experience. That’s what it means to be a company on mission. ([Location 2286](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=2286)) - Tags: [[pink]] - When you leverage the StoryBrand Framework externally, for marketing, it transforms the customer value proposition. When you leverage it internally, for engagement, it transforms the employee value proposition. ([Location 2311](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=2311)) - Tags: [[pink]] - The one-liner you will create for your company will work like a logline in a movie; it will intrigue qualified buyers and invite them to do business with you. ([Location 2403](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=2403)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Amateurs ramble on, playing and saying whatever they want, but professionals serve their audience. ([Location 2500](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=2500)) - Tags: [[pink]] - It’s more important to have a list of qualified, interested subscribers than a large number of people who never intend to buy. ([Location 2626](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=2626)) - Tags: [[pink]] - 1.  Talk about a problem.        2.  Explain a plan to solve the problem.        3.  Describe how life can look for the reader once the problem is solved. ([Location 2646](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=2646)) - Tags: [[pink]] - The point is that people are drawn to transformation. ([Location 2759](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06XFJ2JGR&location=2759)) - Tags: [[pink]]