The old cliché that a picture is worth 1,000 words is disproved again and again, by all the pretty websites and dumb marketing collateral material out there, that is useless.
While pictures have a valuable role in grabbing attention, the real commercial value is delivered by the words that express the value proposition and call to action to the potential customers who turn up.
We are in a competition to gain and keep attention, then to move the reader to a decision. That decision may be that your product deserves a place on the ‘maybe’ list, or to the next point in the sales process. A successful sales process is always moving the potential customer towards the transaction.
Human beings scan their environment, instinctively leveraging their mental frameworks to filter out the stuff that does not matter. Our subconscious organises and filters information, leaving cognitive capacity to deal with the threats and opportunities that emerge. We do not see anything that does not have to do with survival, love, relationships, doing better, some sort of challenge, danger, unless for some reason, it is specifically relevant to us at that moment.
When someone sees our website or collateral material, their brain on autopilot filters out the stuff that is not directly relevant. Somehow, we need to cut through those automatic barriers that exist.
Story is the best way of doing so.
They are the evolved format that can deliver the information that reflects ambition, challenges, a plan to conquer the challenges, unexpected hurdles, and last-minute success. This is the standard format of every story, if you do not use it, or some derivation, the reader will skim over your site and not take in anything at all, effectively not ‘seeing’ it.
Formulas are the assembly of best practise; we use them because they work.
That is why stories work, it is the formula that feeds into the cognitive patterns used by our brains.
The key to a story is clarity. Who is the hero, what he/she must do to win, what happens if he/she does not win, what happens when they do?
What problem do they have, what does the outcome look like when the problem is solved?
Noise kills, the noise from inside and outside our business.
From inside, the clutter we spray around, the ambiguity of what we are saying confuses what others hear.
We need to clarify the message.
How many potential customers go elsewhere because they do not understand how you can help them?
When you need someone to help cut through your clutter, give me a call. It will be a worthwhile investment in clarity.
Excellent article! I am going to bookmark it and remind myself to read it again and again. I find myself always trying to take the complex to make it simple. Kill the noise. Clarity. Thanks for sharing and though I don’t comment often I enjoy getting and reading your articles. Thank you.
Thanks for the great feedback Jeff, I am very glad it was of value to you.