Building a StoryBrand

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.”

Your customer should be the hero of the story, not your brand.

If doing business with you requires more than six steps, break down those steps into phases and describe the phases. In reality, you might guide your customer through twenty or thirty steps, but studies show when you bombard customers with information, buying decreases.

For instance, if you’re selling an expensive product, you might break down the steps like this:
1. Schedule an appointment.
2. Allow us to create a customized plan.
3. Let’s execute the plan together.

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.”

It’s true: if you confuse, you’ll lose. But if you clarify your message, customers will listen. Here’s to helping the good guys win.

Here are five questions most likely to generate the best response for a customer testimonial:
1. What was the problem you were having before you discovered our product?
2. What did the frustration feel like as you tried to solve that problem?
3. What was different about our product?
4. Take us to the mo

If you want to create the system yourself, MailChimp is a fantastic service, especially for automated e-mail campaigns that are simple and reliable.

You don’t want the pop-up to appear immediately. That would be like being tackled by a salesman as soon as you walk through the door of a retail store.

If you’re going to create a downloadable PDF, keep it to about three pages of content.