Clarify your message with a unique opportunity to attend the StoryBrand Live Workshop in London on June 29th and 30th. This is first time that StoryBrand have held their 2-day live workshop outside of the USA. Space is very limited so book now to reserve your space.

Your registration includes:

• Live presentations from Donald Miller and Dr. J.J. Peterson, author of Marketing Made Simple
• Small group coaching sessions with StoryBrand Certified Marketing Experts
• Workbooks and tools to use including the BrandScript template
• Breakfast, lunch, and refreshments provided

As a StoryBrand Certified Marketing Guide since 2021 we highly recommend this workshop for any businesses who are serious about clarifying their message so that customers will listen.

Small business owners face intense competition in today's market, and standing out from the crowd can be a significant challenge. But, one tried and tested marketing strategy that can help businesses differentiate themselves is storytelling.

By creating a compelling narrative that resonates with your target audience, you can capture their attention and build a deeper connection with them. Moreover, storytelling creates a memorable experience for your customers. By telling a story that is both relatable and memorable, you can leave a lasting impression in the minds of your customers, leading to increased referrals and word-of-mouth marketing.

Storytelling is a great way to build trust and credibility with your customers. By sharing your brand's story and values, you can demonstrate authenticity and help your customers understand and connect with your business on a deeper level. It can have a direct impact on your business's bottom line. By engaging your customers emotionally and creating a memorable experience, you can build a loyal customer base that is more likely to purchase from your business, leading to increased sales and revenue.

Storytelling is a powerful marketing strategy that can help small businesses differentiate themselves, build brand loyalty, create a memorable experience, build trust and credibility, and ultimately increase sales and revenue. By telling a compelling story that connects with your target audience, small businesses can build a loyal following and set themselves apart from the competition.

Unless your customer is Bonnie Tyler, they are not looking for a hero.

At Press Creative, we believe that the most effective way to communicate with our customers is to make them the hero of the story. It's important to understand that customers are not looking for brands to be the hero in their lives, but rather they want brands to play the role of the guide. This means that the customer is at the centre of all marketing and brand messaging, and the brand acts as a supportive mentor who helps them achieve their goals.

It's easy to fall into the trap of making your brand the hero of your story, but this approach can be alienating to customers. They don't want to feel like they are being sold to or manipulated by a company that is only interested in making a profit. Instead, they want to feel like their needs and desires are being heard and understood.

To effectively play the role of the guide we need to understand our customer's pain points and aspirations. What are their goals? What are the obstacles they face in achieving those goals? By answering these questions, we can create messaging that speaks directly to our customer's needs and positions us as the solution to their problems.

Using clear and concise language makes for an easier customer journey and avoiding industry jargon or technical terms minimises confusion in a customer's mind. Instead, use simple and direct language that speaks to your customer's emotions and desires.

As a StoryBrand Certified Guide, we know the best way to connect with customers is to make them the hero of the story. Helping them achieve their goals can build strong and lasting relationships that lead to increased loyalty and customer satisfaction. So, if you want to attract more customers, remember the words of Tina Turner; we don't need another hero. Put your customers at the centre of your messaging and let them be the hero of your story.

Is it ok to smoke while praying? You would probably so 'no'. So is it ok to pray while smoking? Almost everyone would say it is ok to pray while enjoying a cigarette. Why do we see one as bad and one as ok when it's the same two simultaneous acts being performed? The two questions have been framed to affect your perception of what is happening.

How we frame a question, or even a request can dramatically affect the perception of an event, and therefore change the opinion of or recollection of it. Sometimes even a single word can alter the perception.

Politicians will frame their latest policy to sound like the perfect answer to everything, yet the opposition will frame it as a disaster that benefits no-one.

Marketers use framing to posit thoughts and feelings in the customer's mind and emotions. Using words like 'luxurious' instead of 'expensive' and 'economical' in place of 'cheap' reframes the product price tag as a benefit, not a burden. Diet products suggest a 'healthier, happier you', gyms will talk about 'the ultimate way to achieving your fitness goals', and insurance products will promise 'guaranteed peace of mind'.

The now infamous Brexit Bus slogan said that 'we send the EU £350 million a week - let's fund the NHS instead'. It never said that we would give that £350 million to the NHS it merely suggested it by how it was framed, and yet it was widely perceived that the NHS would be the recipient of a vast amount of money if we voted to leave.

Framing is a powerful technique that can be used to influence customer perception and behaviour. Words can create a positive association in the minds of customers and help them to decide whether to purchase or not.

Words matter. Use them wisely. Have you been framed?

Back in the 1970s my mum would send me down the road to the bakery after school to get the bread for tea.

The baker was very popular and had at one time been an expert on the Generation Game. Photos of Mr Baker with Brucie and Anthea were a permanent fixture behind the counter. 

I spent many an afternoon staring at these photos because being 8 years old in a busy bakery full of mums buying baked goods for tea meant that despite me being a regular customer, everyone thought I was just a kid there with my mum, and I could never get served.

I still remember the feeling of standing just below the height of the glass counter with a coin in my hand, hoping that I would get spotted by a shop assistant so I could buy our large twist and get home in time for Jackanory.

With so much competition, it’s easy for your business to go unseen. Clarifying your brand messaging can significantly increase your ability to stand out from the crowds.

Stop being ignored and start using words and images that engage your audience. Go home early with the bread!

We are sometimes asked what we mean by 'brand messaging'.

Brand messaging is the written, verbal, and visual communication that a company uses to attract its target audience. 

Effective brand messaging should create a consistent and memorable identity that connects with the ideal customer. It should be clear, concise, and relevant to the target audience.

This could include (not exclusively):

1. Tagline or header: A short, memorable phrase that captures the imagination of the reader.

2. A one-liner or elevator pitch: A statement that defines the problem the target audience faces, the product or service that the brand offers to overcome this problem, and the successful outcome the customer experiences if they use the brand product or service.

3. Product or service descriptions: Clear and compelling descriptions of the problems solved by the brand's products or services.

4. Marketing copy and images: The customer focussed language and images used in advertising, promotional materials, and other marketing communication.

5. How to do business: A simple plan the customer can follow to do business with you.

Brand messaging should be consistent across all channels and touchpoints, including websites, social media, advertising, and customer service. 

Of course it can evolve over time to reflect changes in the brand's strategy and positioning, as well as changes in the market and customer needs.

About 20 years ago, my wife and I had a few days in New York City. A friend had been a few times before and told us about a little restaurant on 1st Avenue that did ‘the best pork chops’. Another friend recommended a particular pizza from a place above some shops in SoHo.

Although we were staying near Central Park, we made the journey twice to both eateries. That’s about 15 miles for some meat and a cheese sandwich. Why? Partly because we didn’t want to miss out on something but also because they were very specific recommendations. If my friends had said ‘go south, the culinary experience is amazing there’ we probably would have probably ignored the vague advice.

When we are specific with our product and service offerings, our potential customers have a better chance of understanding what they will get for their investments. Clarity beats confusion every time.

We help small businesses be seen, heard and understood with a clear marketing message for social media content, website copy and graphic design so they attract more clients.

As a StoryBrand Certified Marketing Guide we use a proven messaging framework that engages the customer. Get a free StoryBrand Marketing Report on our home page and find out how your marketing can be improved.

P.S. The pork chops and the pizza were worth the very long walks (it’s the best way to see a city) but please don’t ask me to remember the names of the restaurants after 20 years!

Last week a friend and I drove a ten-hour 540 miles round trip to Glasgow to hear an author promote his new book at our not-inconsiderable expense. Are we crazy?

U2 frontman Bono was reading extracts from his memoir intertwined with songs from the band’s back catalogue. It was his story mixed in with ours. In harmony with the melodies, the stories evoked memories and emotions that engaged the 2000+ audience so well that we did not miss our mobile phones secured in locked pouches for the entire evening. For nearly 2 hours he told a story of his desire to achieve a goal he could not do alone.

Bono’s story follows a familiar journey that our customers are also traveling:

• A need for something
• Barriers that must be overcome to get it
• Help from someone who knows the way through
• A pathway to follow
• Encouragement to follow that pathway
• Avoidance of failure
• Success in finding what they are looking for.

When we bring our potential customers into a story where they are the main character, everything we do becomes about their success.

If you need help clarifying the story you could be telling your customers go to presscreative.co.uk/contact and schedule a call because sometimes you can’t make it on your own.

P.S. Were we crazy? It was a beautiful day!

I was in the middle of an early morning run when I ran past a man mowing his front lawn. It was just about 7am in a very residential area. Is that even legal?

It got me thinking about the right time or wrong time to do something. It’s not great to go on a Cornish beach holiday in January, or visit a city museum at 2am because certain elements are out of our control. But what about when to post on Social Media? According to some experts, it’s 11am on a Wednesday. What would happen if everyone posted at 11am on Wednesday? Probably the same as what would happen if everyone used the same six lottery numbers. We either all win a little, or everybody loses.

Many different factors come into play when posting on the various available channels, but probably the place to start is by understanding your audience.

Who are you trying to reach?
What do you want to say to them?
What platform are they most likely to use?

Then you can think about when they will most likely listen to what you have to say.

A busy small business owner is unlikely to be TikToking at 10am, and a retired OAP will probably not be on LinkedIn at 11pm. Of course, they may both be doing both, but you get what I’m saying.

So, start with your audience and reverse engineer your plans. Then experiment, disrupt, mix it up, and see what works.

If you want help with your social media, visit our website and schedule a call. And if you want to cut your grass before sunrise, go outside and have a word with yourself.

When I was 16 I had the most amazing music teacher who seemed to have no limits on what he thought was possible. Somehow he managed to take a bunch of average school kids and turn them into a half-decent concert band.

As the only tenor saxophone player in the school, I got to play the lead lines in pieces like The Pink Panther theme tune, Glenn Miller’s In the Mood, and the enormous bass lines from The Crusaders' Street Life.

Incredibly, Mr Masters secured us a gig playing the national anthem at a Prince’s Trust concert at a big theatre in London for the then Prince, and his first wife, Diana. On top of that, 2 of us had our names picked out of a hat to go to the champagne reception in the presence of the royal couple.

My trumpet-playing friend Benjie and I were the randomly chosen two, and at some point during the evening, we found ourselves in a plush suite hob-nobbing with rock and roll royalty, radio stars and TV celebs, all waiting excitedly for the Prince and Princess of Wales.

Unfortunately, our band outfits were identical to the reception waiting and catering staff, so everyone thought we were there to collect their empty champagne flutes and discarded entrees. When the future King and Di did eventually appear to do their meet and greets, we could not get anywhere near the star-studded lineup and had to settle for leftover vol au vents and discarded caviar.

We were not seen, not heard, and completely misunderstood.

Four decades later, I now help small businesses be seen, heard, and understood by clarifying their message, so they connect with their customers.

At Press Creative we help businesses look good and sound great so that they can grow.

PS. It’s not the same as mingling with some of the most famous people on the planet, but the food is better, and there's much less clearing up to do.

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