A 5 Step Framework for Writing A Strategic Narrative That Helps to Attract More of Your Ideal Customers
One of my favourite things to do when launching a new digital product is to create a strategic narrative story.
A strategic narrative is a visual deck that helps you — and everyone on your team if you have one — align on the ‘why’ behind what you have to offer. And once you have this story nailed, you can use it to power your customer marketing through sales decks, launch videos, emails and so much more.
And if you tell the right story, your target audience will immediately buy into your offer and be excited to buy from you.
Here are my 5 steps to help you create your own powerful strategic narrative story:
#1 — Name the undeniable shift that’s taking place in your world
You need to start your narrative by grabbing your audience’s attention. And you do this by naming the huge shift that’s happened in your world which can’t be reversed. By doing so, you’re immediately raising the stakes for your audience…they should be thinking “Holy sh*t”…I need to know more about this”. You also create urgency at the same time.
Example: “We now live in the Subscription Economy”. (Taken from Zuora’s strategic narrative deck where they name the new world their audience is living in.)
#2 — Show there will be winners and losers
Now that you’ve raised the stakes and created urgency, you’re now going to show there will be winners and losers from this undeniable shift. In other words, if you come with me you will survive — and if you don’t, well you die!
You want to highlight real-life examples of companies that have failed as they didn’t adapt to the shift, along with others that are thriving because they embraced the shift.
Example: Today’s successful {audience} are doing {insert a new way of doing things}
#3 — Tease the promised land
It’s now time to show your audience what life is like when they reach the promised land. What does their transformation look like after they buy your product or service?
What I’ve found very powerful in this section is creating a visual graphic that represents the Old Way vs. New Way. Some people are very visual so showing this shift in a graphic works well.
#4 — Introduce your plan for overcoming obstacles to reaching the promised land
Now it’s time to introduce the features and benefits of what you have to offer as part of your digital product or service. You want to remove any doubts they have about reaching the promised land. You’re not giving them war and peace, just a high-level snapshot of your plan or framework that will take them to the promised land.
#5 — Present evidence that makes your story true
They now believe in the new promised land. But they still don’t believe they can do it. It’s now time to back it up with evidence and proof you are the person to take them there. If you have customers just like them who have gone through this transformation with you before, showcase a few testimonials to help build your credibility and trust.
If you want to learn more about Strategic Narratives shoot me a message, or read more from Andy Raskin, who is the legend behind the strategic narrative framework.
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