StoryBrand Principle 2: Solve Internal Problems - Deepstash
Lessons From Self Made Billionaires

Learn more about marketingandsales with this collection

The value of hard work and persistence

How to stay focused on long-term goals

How to learn from failures and setbacks

Lessons From Self Made Billionaires

Discover 81 similar ideas in

It takes just

10 mins to read

StoryBrand Principle 2: Solve Internal Problems

The problem is the “hook” of a story, and if we don’t identify our customers’ problems, the story we are telling will fall flat. As soon as the conflict in a story is resolved, audiences stop paying attention.

The villain is the number one device storytellers use to give conflict a clear point of focus.

The villain doesn’t have to be a person, but without question, it should have personified characteristics. 

380

667 reads

MORE IDEAS ON THIS

External Problems

Most of us are in the business of solving external problems. We provide insurance or clothes or soccer balls. If we own a restaurant, the external problem we solve is hunger. The external problem a plumber fixes might be a leaky pipe, just like a pest-control guy might solve the external problem ...

371

535 reads

StoryBrand Principle 7: Articulate Your Benefits

Successful brands, like successful leaders, make it clear what life will look like if somebody engages in their products or services.

  • Nike promised to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete.
  • Starbucks offered to inspire and nurture their customers, one cup at a time...

373

413 reads

Storybrand Principle 1: The customer is the hero, not your brand

  • Financial Advisor: “A Plan for Your Retirement”         
  • College Alumni Association: “Leave a Meaningful Legacy”         
  • Fine-Dining Restaurant: “A Meal Everybody Will Remember”         
  • Real Estate Agent: “The Home You’ve Dreamed About”         
  • Bookstore: “...

394

863 reads

Being Seen, Heard and Understood

Being Seen, Heard and Understood

The more simple and predictable the communication, the easier it is for the brain to digest. A story helps because it is a sense-making mechanism.

Essentially, story formulas put everything in order so the brain doesn’t have to work to understand what’s going on.

  • The first mis...

424

3.12K reads

Too Many Cooks

A large problem most of our clients face is they want to include three villains and seven external problems and four internal problems, and so on.

  • Stories are best when they are simple and clear.
  • We are going to have to make choices.

372

523 reads

Your Brand Story

Customers should be able to answer these questions within five seconds of looking at our website or marketing material:

  • What do you offer?        
  • How will it make my life better?        
  • What do I need to do to buy it?

436

1.46K reads

The Starbucks Story

Starbucks was delivering more value than just coffee; they were delivering a sense of sophistication and enthusiasm about life. They were also offering a place for people to meet in which they could experience affiliation and belonging. Starbucks changed American culture from hanging out in diner...

373

541 reads

SB7 Framework: The Plan

Making a purchase is a huge step, especially if our products or services are expensive. 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. The StoryBrand tool we will use to create this path is calle...

375

872 reads

Identifying The Problems

If we really want our business to grow, we should position our products as the resolution to an external, internal, and philosophical problem and frame the “Buy Now” button as the action a customer must take to create closure in their story.

How Tesla Does ...

389

533 reads

Brand Authority

There are four easy ways to add just the right amount of authority to our marketing:

  • Testimonials
  • Statistics
  • Awards
  • Logos.

381

644 reads

The Villain In The Customer Story

What is the chief source of conflict that your products and services defeat? Talk about this villain. The more you talk about the villain, the more people will want a tool to help them defeat the villain.

The three levels of problems heroes (and customers) face are: 

  • External Pro...

376

555 reads

The Need to Reach Our Potential

  • Inspiration: If an aspect of your brand can offer or be associated with an inspirational feat, open the floodgates. Brands like Red Bull, Harvard Business Review, Under Armour,
  • Acceptance: Helping people accept themselves as they are isn’t just a tho...

373

391 reads

Four Characteristics of a Good Villain

  • 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.        
  • The villain should be relatable. When people hear us talk about...

385

592 reads

The Market Is In Internal Problems

By limiting our marketing messages to only external problems, we neglect a principle that is costing us thousands and potentially millions of dollars. That principle is this: Companies tend to sell solutions to external problems, but people buy solutions to internal problems.

...

384

537 reads

Direct And Transactional Calls To Action

Direct Calls to Action

  • Order now        
  • Call today        
  • Schedule an appointment        
  • Register today        
  • Buy now

Transitional Calls to Action

  • Free information
  • Create a white paper...

377

445 reads

SB7 Framework: The Guide

Brands that position themselves as heroes unknowingly compete with their potential customers.

Their subconscious thought pattern goes like this: Oh, this is another hero, like me. I wish I had more time to hear their story, but right now I’m busy looking for a guide.

380

992 reads

The One Liner For Your Brand

A one-liner is a new and improved way to answer the question “What do you do?” It’s more than a slogan or tagline; it’s a single statement that helps people realize why they need your products or services.

If you use the following four components, you’ll craft a powerful one-liner:        

380

453 reads

The Brand Is A Catalyst

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’ transformati...

374

378 reads

The Need for Something External to Create Completeness

  • 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.
  • Reduced workload: Customers who don’t have the right tools must work harder bec...

373

395 reads

StoryBrand Principle 4: The Brand With The Plan

The whole point of creating a plan is to alleviate customers’ confusion. Having more than four steps may actually add to, rather than reduce, confusion. The key is to simplify their journey so they are more likely to do business with you.

An agreement plan is best understood as a list of ag...

372

425 reads

StoryBrand Principle 5: Making Customers Take Action

Your customers are bombarded with more than three thousand commercial messages per day, and unless we are bold in our calls to action, we will be ignored. If our calls to action are soft, they will not be noticed.

The reality is when we try to sell passively, we communicate a lack of belief...

374

406 reads

The Story Gap

Place a gap between a character and what they want. Moviegoers pay attention when there’s a story gap because they wonder if and how that gap is going to be closed.

When we fail to define something our customer wants, we fail to open a story gap. When we don’t open a story ...

386

699 reads

SB7 Framework: The Character

Once we identify who our customer is, we have to ask ourselves what they want as it relates to our brand. The catalyst for any story is that the hero wants something. The rest of the story is a journey about discovering whether the hero will get what they want.

378

1.32K reads

SB7 Framework: From Failure To Success

Brands that help customers avoid some kind of negativity in life (and let their customers know what that negativity is) engage customers for the same reason good stories captivate an audience: they define what’s at stake.

Everybody wants to be taken somewhere. If we don’t tell people where ...

376

800 reads

SB7 Framework: The Problem

If we sell lawn-care products, they’re coming to us because they’re embarrassed about their lawn or they simply don’t have time to do the work. If we sell financial advice, they’re coming to us because they’re worried about their retirement plan. It may not be dramatic like in the movies, but the...

391

1.02K reads

Winning Power and Position (The Need for Status)

  • Offer access: My wife loves using her Starbucks membership card because it gains her points, which gains her status and the occasional free latte.
  • Create scarcity: Offering a limited number of a specific item creates scarcity, and owning something th...

380

405 reads

StoryBrand Principle 6: Avoiding Failure

Brands that don’t warn their customers about what could happen if they don’t buy their products fail to answer the “so what” question every customer is secretly asking.

What will the customer lose if they don’t buy our products?

What negative consequences are you helping ...

379

414 reads

The Blockbuster Movie

Remember, the greatest enemy our business faces is the same enemy that good stories face: noise. At no point should we be able to pause a movie and be unable to answer three questions:        

  • What does the hero want?        
  • Who or what is opposing the...

413

1.47K reads

Clutter And Confusion Vs Clarity

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.

What we often call marketing is really just clutter and confusion sprayed all over our websites, e-mails, and c...

397

2.18K reads

The Secret Weapon: The Hero's Story

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 SUCCE...

415

1.87K reads

Making Customers Listen

  • Either alone or with a team, brainstorm all of the literal and metaphorical villains your brand takes a stand against.        
  • Brainstorm the external problems your brand resolves. Is there one that seems to represent the widest swath of products?        
  • Brainstorm the inter...

378

463 reads

StoryBrand Principle 3: The Guide

The fatal mistake some brands make, especially young brands who believe they need to prove themselves, is they position themselves as the hero in the story instead of the guide. A brand that positions itself as the hero is destined to lose.

Once we’ve identified our customers’ internal prob...

376

446 reads

SB7 Framework: The Call To Action

A call to action involves communicating a clear and direct step our customer can take to overcome their challenge and return to a peaceful life. Without clear calls to action, people will not engage our brand.

375

814 reads

CURATED FROM

CURATED BY

amanbrad

Dance movement psychotherapist

Your customer should be the hero of the story, not your brand. This is the secret every phenomenally successful business understands.

stash-superman-illustration

Explore the World’s

Best Ideas

200,000+ ideas on pretty much any topic. Created by the smartest people around & well-organized so you can explore at will.

An Idea for Everything

Explore the biggest library of insights. And we've infused it with powerful filtering tools so you can easily find what you need.

Knowledge Library

Powerful Saving & Organizational Tools

Save ideas for later reading, for personalized stashes, or for remembering it later.

# Personal Growth

Take Your Ideas

Anywhere

Organize your ideas & listen on the go. And with Pro, there are no limits.

Listen on the go

Just press play and we take care of the words.

Never worry about spotty connections

No Internet access? No problem. Within the mobile app, all your ideas are available, even when offline.

Get Organized with Stashes

Ideas for your next work project? Quotes that inspire you? Put them in the right place so you never lose them.

Join

2 Million Stashers

4.8

5,740 Reviews

App Store

4.7

72,690 Reviews

Google Play

Shankul Varada

Best app ever! You heard it right. This app has helped me get back on my quest to get things done while equipping myself with knowledge everyday.

Ashley Anthony

This app is LOADED with RELEVANT, HELPFUL, AND EDUCATIONAL material. It is creatively intellectual, yet minimal enough to not overstimulate and create a learning block. I am exceptionally impressed with this app!

samz905

Don’t look further if you love learning new things. A refreshing concept that provides quick ideas for busy thought leaders.

Sean Green

Great interesting short snippets of informative articles. Highly recommended to anyone who loves information and lacks patience.

Jamyson Haug

Great for quick bits of information and interesting ideas around whatever topics you are interested in. Visually, it looks great as well.

Ghazala Begum

Even five minutes a day will improve your thinking. I've come across new ideas and learnt to improve existing ways to become more motivated, confident and happier.

Giovanna Scalzone

Brilliant. It feels fresh and encouraging. So many interesting pieces of information that are just enough to absorb and apply. So happy I found this.

Laetitia Berton

I have only been using it for a few days now, but I have found answers to questions I had never consciously formulated, or to problems I face everyday at work or at home. I wish I had found this earlier, highly recommended!

Read & Learn

20x Faster

without
deepstash

with
deepstash

with

deepstash

Access to 200,000+ ideas

Access to the mobile app

Unlimited idea saving & library

Unlimited history

Unlimited listening to ideas

Downloading & offline access

Personalized recommendations

Supercharge your mind with one idea per day

Enter your email and spend 1 minute every day to learn something new.

Email

I agree to receive email updates