The StoryBrand team repeatedly reminds its business audience members, “You are the guide, and your prospects and customers are the heroes in their own stories.”
The subtext is, “Don’t make yourself the hero.”
As the guide, you should present a plan for your website visitors.
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In marketing, the guide is analogous to the classic Hero’s Journey mentor. The role of the mentor within the hero’s story is to provide “confidence, guidance, advice, wisdom, training, insight, and even tools, items, or magical gifts that the hero will use along the journey…”
Showing a plan to someone who has yet to connect with you can help to build trust with that visitor. For certain visitors, understanding the process and benefits of getting started with your product or service is the difference between them bouncing from your site and contacting you.
A business’s homepage should ideally state, in crystal clear terms, these four things to a visitor.
- What your company does
- How what you do will make your visitors’ lives or businesses better
- How the visitor can try or buy your product or service (a solid call to action)
- A plan
A plan can be presented in a “how it works” format or any other format that makes sense.
The plan should be simple, culminating in a positive result for the visitor. Examples include business growth, increased revenue, additional funding, and enhanced convenience.
Below are five examples of plans presented on websites.
The plan doesn’t have to be perfect, but it must be clear and straightforward. You can continually improve the sequence in future iterations.
For certain visitors, seeing and understanding a plan is the difference between them leaving your website and contacting you or signing up.
E-Mission Control
E-Mission Control gets money for businesses in Oregon and California that operate battery-powered material handling equipment. Companies in these two states can earn new revenue through their state’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard program.
GoldKey Marine
GoldKey offers indoor boat storage and services for boat owners in Northern California. Located in the Sierra Nevada foothills west of Lake Tahoe, GoldKey provides a more affordable storage alternative to facilities in the Tahoe basin.
But if someone owns a boat on Lake Tahoe and does not own a trailer, they may wonder how their craft will get from the Lake to a facility in the foothills, 80 miles away. The plan explains.
ClaimYourAid
Founded by serial entrepreneur Josh Yuster, ClaimYourAid locates and applies for free money on behalf of a dozen categories of businesses.
The company’s homepage plan culminates in “Claim Your Money!”
Dot Drives
Dot Drives offers a CRM system designed specifically for nonprofit organizations.
The company’s homepage has two plans — a simple plan near the top and a more detailed plan lower down the page.
Business Made Simple
Business Made Simple is a StoryBrand property. Naturally, the site adheres to StoryBrand’s recommendations.
Here are the three simple steps that culminate in growing your business.
What is your plan for your website visitors?
Coming up with three or four simple steps is not a straightforward process. A concise plan requires analyzing how your audience members will perceive the most significant value in your product or service.
You may need to distill a three-page document into three or four simple points.
Remember that your website can have multiple plans, depending on your business’s offerings.
