Most businesses make the same mistake and it’s costing them…
Any of these sound familiar?
- I invested time and budget into a website that doesn’t get the traffic I hoped for
- Our emails are going unopened and my unengaged list is growing
- We have a great sales team and we do regular trainings but get lackluster results
- Our social media account isn’t getting engagement and I’ve tried everything
If you’ve tried different tools and even strategies, only to get the same disappointing results, you’re not alone. I can almost guarantee the mistake lies in the messaging. Over and over we see businesses make their messaging about them when it should be about the customer.
Fix this common mistake with a simple mindset shift:
The customer is the hero of the story, not you
This is the first principle of Donald Miller’s Building a StoryBrand and as a StoryBrand Guide, it’s something I share with every single client right out of the gate. When your marketing efforts are filled with words about YOU, your audience tunes out. They have problems that need solving and goals they’re trying to reach, and when the story is about you, they stop paying attention.
You’re probably thinking, but how do I sell my product or service if I don’t talk about my business?
Great question. While you should never make yourself the hero of the story, you have an important part to play. Position yourself as a trusted guide - someone who comes along to help your customer win the day.
The Silver Bullet of Marketing
A client recently asked us for the silver bullet of email marketing, and the simple answer is that for any type of marketing, the most effective strategy is personalization. Make your customer the hero and step into their story as a trusted guide.
You’ll stand out from the competition when you talk about your customer’s problems and THEN talk about how you can solve their problems. When you tell a story that invites your audience in, making them the hero while positioning yourself as the guide, they see you as the solution they need to solve their problems and experience success.
Let’s Fix This Common Marketing Mistake
2 simple steps you can take today:
- Assess One Sales and Marketing Tool. It could be your website, instagram account, sales or nurture emails, sales script, or even your elevator pitch. Take a closer look and ask yourself these questions:
- Who is the hero?
- Are most of the words about our business?
- Are we leveraging that space to talk about our ideal customer - their problems, what they need or want, who they are and want to become?
2. Get In the Right Seat. If you’ve made the common mistake of positioning yourself as the hero, give yourself a break - you’re in good company. Most businesses are doing the same, and taking an action step to correct the mistake by putting your customer in the hero seat and yourself in the guide seat will immediately help you stand out from the competition. Ask: what’s one small step I can implement today to course-correct and position my customer as the hero?
A couple of practical ideas to get you started…
- Learn more about your ideal customer. Who are they? What do they want as it relates to the services or products you offer? What is the key problem that’s standing in the way of their success and how can you solve it?
- Start fresh with your next marketing effort. Grab your audience’s attention with a subject line, caption, or even conversation by naming their problem. Then talk about the solution you offer.
If you nailed the narrative and your customer is already positioned as the hero, pat yourself on the back. A great next step is to review your marketing collateral and identify strengths and weaknesses. We recommend this free marketing assessment. It’s a helpful tool that will show you where your marketing plan is lacking and give you actionable steps to boost your results.
Want a streamlined process for crafting a message that resonates so you can grow your business? I’m here to help! Request an appointment so we can solve your marketing problems together.