The Brand Framework Series: StoryBrand Framework (SB7)

The StoryBrand Framework, or SB7, is Donald Miller's Framework that structures brand communication to match how the human brain processes through 7 elements of the story to make it easier for customers to understand what the brand is offering. It is suitable for businesses that communicate a lot of information, but customers still do not understand the core value of the product or service. The result is that it reduces confusion, increases clarity of offerings, and increases conversions without the need to increase advertising statements.

What is the StoryBrand Framework and where did it come from?

The StoryBrand Framework was proposed by Donald Miller in his book Building a StoryBrand published in 2017 and capped as the StoryBrand Certification Program that trains Marketer and consultants around the world. The core idea of the Framework is to apply the structure of storytelling that has been used by humans for thousands of years to brand communication in modern times.

Miller observed that the biggest problem with most brands is not finding people to listen to, but that people who come across the brand do not understand how the brand will come into their lives. Web pages talking about rewards, expertise, and corporate history seem to provide complete information, but do not make customers move their decisions. Because the brains of people who come in to read do not try to understand the business of the brand, their brains work on their own problems and try to find signs of who can help them.

The most important principle of SB7 is that the customer must be the hero of the story, not the brand. The brand that tells its own story will essentially lose to the brand that invites the customer to be the protagonist of its own story. This view changes the role of the brand from the actor to the guide. The customer does not find another hero to compete with him. He finds someone who has been through the same story and knows the solution.

Key principles and procedures

SB7 divides the brand's plot into seven elements that need to be present. A Character is a customer with obvious needs. Has a Problem is a problem that is divided into three levels. The external level is what customers encounter in the real world. The internal level is the feeling that external problems create. And the philosophical level is the feeling that it shouldn't be like this. Most customers buy to solve internal problems, not buy to solve external problems.

Meets a Guide is the role of a brand that needs to show both empathy and credibility. Who Gives Them a Plan is a clear plan that customers need to walk. There are often three steps. And Calls Them to Action is a direct stratified call for ready customers and a transitional layer for unready customers.

That Helps Them Avoid Failure is to show that if nothing is done, what is lost. And Ends in Success is to paint a tangible destination. Not a word like a better life, but a real sight.

The implementation process starts with an internal workshop. It takes about one to two days to get the first version of BrandScript, followed by a few weeks to apply to web pages, sales documents, and content in different channels. The required team is an executive who understands the real customer. Together with the author, Copy, and the marketing supervisor. For example, an insurance brand using SB7 will place the customer as a character who is concerned with future events. The internal problem is the feeling of uncopability. The philosophical problem is that people who live their lives carefully should not pay hard and then place the brand as a guide with a calm and reliable tone.

Common pitfalls

The first mistake is to place a brand as a hero instead of a customer, showing rewards and expertise at the point where customer issues should be discussed. As a result, the customer feels like they are being boasted, not being helped.

The second mistake is to talk only about external issues, without tapping into internal problems and philosophical problems, causing the substance to lack the depth that makes customers feel the brand understands their situation.

The third error is that there is only one layer of Call to Action. Customers who are not ready will disappear without leaving a trace. Having a transitional CTA, such as downloading a manual or subscribing, preserves this group.

The fourth error is to write BrandScript in a document without converting it into actual text on web pages, sales scripts, and content in different channels. This Framework provides value only when the text that goes out at all touch points is in the same structure.

The fifth error is to draw a Success picture that is so wide that the customer does not see it. The Framework reiterates that it must be a tangible image, such as how much more money per month in the account, not a better life.

Compare to another Brand Framework in the series.

SB7 provides a form of storytelling, while the Brand DNA Model provides an axis of identity to be told. Both work complementary. DNA determines the content of the Guide in SB7.

Compared to Simon Sinek's The Golden Circle, where the brand is placed as the centerpiece and communicates from Why SB7, placing customers as heroes and brands as guides that help customers. Both are shared. Why from Golden Circle can be the content that Guides in SB7 communicate away.

Compared to Kevin Lane Keller's Customer-Based Brand Equity (CBBE) that measures strength in the mind, SB7 customers provide the substance building tools that will go into creating Salience, Meaning and Response in CBBE.

Compared to Marty Neumeier's Radical Differentiation-focused The Brand Gap and ZAG, SB7 doesn't say how different it should be, but says how it should be told when it's different, and then Onliness from ZAG becomes the content the Guide communicates with.

Compared to Adam Morgan's Challenger Brand Archetypes that emphasize the challenger brand's posture, SB7 is applicable to both the leader and challenger brands. Because the customer-as-hero principle works in all contexts, Jennifer Aaker's Brand Personality Spectrum section penetrates the brand personalities to be used in storytelling, not overlapping SB7's structure.

When not to use the StoryBrand Framework (When not to use)

Businesses that do not yet have a clear Product-market Fit or test multiple offerings at the same time because the Framework works on assumptions that brands already know who their customers are and what they want. Using it when the underlying data is still still will get a beautiful story but does not match the truth of the market.

A business that sells Commodity goods that decides to buy primarily at a price, because customers in this group are not looking for stories, but looking for the best price.

B2B business where the purchase decision-making process is long and there are many decision makers, because SB7 is designed for decision-making communication at the individual level; deployment in B2B requires some modification.

A brand that wants to communicate like Luxury that emphasizes the mystery and little of the explanation, because SB7 forces it to clearly identify problems, plans and failures, which goes against the luxury brand's Tone.

Example of adoption to digital businesses

For digital businesses, SB7 is used to structure landing pages, e-mails, onboarding, and content in various channels. For example, SB7-based mental health apps are opened with customers who want calm in their daily lives. Identify external problems as job stress, internal problems as feelings of uncontrollability, and philosophical problems as everyone deserves to have a calm time. Then place the brand as a guide with both understanding and credibility from the experts who co-develop it.

The map to the customer will be three steps. Download the app, set a training time each day, and measure your results after a month. Call to Action. The straight layer is to start a free trial. The transition layer is to download the basic manual. The failure to avoid is to accumulate stress until it affects health. And the success picture is to wake up on a weekday that feels powerful.

When BrandScript is clear, the content team in the digital business will write consistent content even if the writer is a different person. The Performance Marketing team will design ads that take customers through the same plot at the mini level. The Customer Service team will answer customer questions using the same language as the web page. As a result, customers who enter one channel will feel familiar when they meet another channel and the result of compounded communication instead of distribution.

For digital businesses that do Marketing Automation, BrandScript acts as a framework of all Email Sequences. Each email in the suite leads the customer through one element of the story. From Problem to Guide to Plan and Finish at Action, the result is a higher conversion without increasing the volume of the submission.