Post by Phil on Nov 15, 2015 10:02:05 GMT
Your customers no longer want just your product or service. They want to know who’s doing what, and why. In other words, they want your story – and you need a hero to tell it. Create your hero with these 5 easy steps.
It’s tempting to make your business – or an individual from your business – the hero of your story. After all, you know all about you. Many businesses promote their founder or CEO.
But what if your customer was the hero of your story? What if the benefits you provide took centre stage instead of the boss’s personal success tale?
Here are 5 questions and some Spider-Man examples to get your story started.
1. What is your hero’s power?
Something sets your hero apart from the supporting cast. They can do something unique that the others can’t. What do you help your customers do? What powers do you give that lifts them above their competition?
Spider-Man: The speed, agility, ‘Spidey-sense’ and proportionate strength of an arachnid.
VideoScribe user: Fun, memorable content to truly inspire and engage their audience.
2. How did your hero become ‘super’?
Some superheroes are born, others get their powers from an extraordinary experience. In the story of your customer, there is a moment when they realised you were the answer they were looking for. Can you describe those moments?
Spider-Man: Bitten by a radioactive spider on a high-school field trip.
VideoScribe user: A colleague fell asleep during their presentation… Their students stared blankly out of the window during class… Their talking-head marketing video was ignored on social media…
“How can I make this more engaging?”
3. What threatens your hero?
All heroes have a weakness. A flaw creates drama and anticipation: will it be our hero’s undoing? Your customers have weaknesses too, they’re only human. What’s stopping them reaching their full potential and how will you get them there?
Spider-Man: Uh, his love for family and friends?
VideoScribe user: An estimated 30 million monotonous presentations are presented every day, but billions of people haven’t seen a whiteboard video… yet.
4. What drives your hero to do good?
Superheroes gain their powers for a reason: to perform a greater good. They have an inner bell that chimes with your product or service. What is their driving force?
Spider-Man: Fighting bad guys. The robbery and murder of Ben, Peter Parker’s beloved uncle, transformed a shy science student into a crime-fighting force to be reckoned with.
VideoScribe user: They’ve got a story to tell and they’re committed to doing it in a fun, meaningful and engaging way.
5. Who’s the bad guy?
A hero is only a hero if they have a villain to battle with. They stand for everything your hero fights against. So – what great wrong do you help people put right?
Spider-Man: The Green Goblin. Doctor Octopus. The Sandman. Venom. The list is long. Summary: they all like doing really bad criminal stuff.
VideoScribe user: They’re locked in a struggle with uninspiring communications, stories that don’t engage – and they’re determined to prevail.
There you have it. A hero in 5 simple steps.
I hope the examples help you create your business’s hero.
By Daniel Mehmet