General Description
A 240-page book. It has an audio version. Originally published in English, but has many translations into other languages. It reads quite easily and quickly.
The book is based on the StoryBrand concept — a marketing positioning system built according to the laws of classic storytelling. Miller shows that any successful story has a hero, a goal, an obstacle, a guide, and a plan of action. In business, the customer should be the hero, and the brand — should act as the guide that helps them solve a problem and achieve the desired result.
The author offers a practical SB7 framework consisting of seven elements:
- hero;
- problem;
- guide;
- plan;
- call to action;
- failure prevention;
- achieving success.
Special attention is paid to how the human brain perceives information. Miller shows that people quickly lose interest in complex and overloaded messages, so marketing must be as clear, specific, and understandable as possible. In his opinion, the brand's task — is not to impress the customer with complexity, but to help them instantly understand what exactly the company does and what problem it solves.
My Opinion
This book can safely be considered one of the best books I have ever read. It’s the case when they sold me «a shovel», and I am ready to go looking for gold with its help. I can hardly name any downsides of this book. Yes, perhaps if someone wanted to learn about advertising, targeting, SEO, or funnels, they will be disappointed, because this book is not about that. This is a book about the psychology of human behavior and about how companies universally position and present themselves incorrectly. «We are market leaders», «We have an innovative team», «We’ve been around since 1998», «Our mission…» — these are the top worst and most failing focuses of companies that the author examines.
The author developed the StoryBrand system, with which anyone can analyze their business and adjust its communication with customers.
One of the most underrated ideas in the book, which I would highlight, — is that people buy a solution to an internal problem, not an external one.
If we condense the book down to its key points:
- the customer — is the hero, not the company;
- marketing must be extremely clear;
- people buy solutions to internal problems;
- the brand must be a guide;
- the customer must have a clear plan of action;
- it is necessary to show the cost of inaction;
- it is necessary to show the transformation after purchase;
- a story — is the best way to organize information;
- noise kills sales.
