The Storybuilding method

Theory

What happens in a person’s mind when they encounter a brand?

There are three steps.

The three steps a customer takes before evaluating an offer

01Recognition(me)

When you discover a website, see a billboard, walk into a store, or get a sales call, you wonder…

  • Do I feel welcome?
  • Do they work with people like me?
  • Do they understand my situation, my goals and my problem?

A small thing could make you answer “no”, and it’s over.

A customer asking whether a brand is meant for someone like them

02Perception(them)

OK, it could be for you. But who are they and what do they propose?

  • Do I understand their solution?
  • What do I compare them to?
  • Do I trust them, respect them?
  • Can I work with them?
  • Which option is best for me?
  • What does it cost?

The most common red flag is that you don’t understand fast enough. Lack of trust is second.

A customer weighing up who a company is and what it offers

03Projection(future)

They seem to know what they’re doing, and you understand their offer. You imagine the future…

  • What will it be like?
  • How complicated will it be?
  • How will I feel?
  • What will I avoid?
  • What will I gain?
  • Is it worth it?
  • Will I be happy?

Sometimes it just seems too complicated. Resistance to change can make you underestimate your problem or the potential benefits.

A customer picturing life after choosing a solution

Engagement(action)

Only now, after those three steps, does anyone actually do anything.

  • Start the trial.
  • Schedule the demo.
  • Make a reservation.
  • Ask for a quote.
  • Purchase.

Get the three steps right and this is where the conversation starts. Get them wrong and it never gets this far.

A customer comparing the value of the options in front of them

Next

Wow. That was eye opening!

How do we build a story that brings our ideal customer through these steps?

Let’s dive into the Storybuilding method.

What happens in Practice

Working together

How should we work together?

  1. 01

    The Current Standpoint Scan

    Free. A reading of your story as it stands, taken from what is already public.

  2. 02

    The Second Audience

    What do the machines tell your customers about you? We check.

  3. 03

    The Storybuilding Narrative Audit

    Your whole public presence read as one story: site, social, blog, video, and what AI says. And the verdict: is it the right story?

  4. 04

    The Narrative Charter

    Workshops where your client-facing people build the story themselves — so they actually use it.

  5. 05

    Narrative Governance

    Keep it true: on your site, in your team's words, in the machines. Quarterly.

Run the free Scan

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People building their story together