Every problem has 3 layers and a villain
Today, we're going through a quick exercise to help you get clear on the problem you are solving for your audience.
This is critical to developing a strong story for your brand.
🤔 Who is your villain?
First, every good brand story needs a villain.
Here are a few examples of villains:
Dorothy Gale ➡️ The Wicked Witch of the West (a personal favorite) 🧙🏽
A car buyer ➡️ car salesman
You may have many villains, and you can brainstorm them, but narrow it down to one.
It doesn't have to be a person; it can be an experience, such as an inferior cup of tea.
🤔 What is the problem?
Every story needs a problem to capture and keep attention; otherwise, there is no story.
A problem will always have three levels.
1) External
The external problem will be obvious.
Dorothy wants to go home to Kansas but can't get there.
A car buyer dreads the process of talking to a car salesman.
Most brands are in the business of solving these straightforward problems.
👉🏽 What is your customer or donor's problem?
2) Internal
The internal problem is usually associated with a feeling, like frustration or annoyance.
Dorothy is frustrated and homesick.
The car buyer feels apprehensive about being lied to, manipulated, or cheated.
People make buying decisions from an emotional place - they want to get rid of the bad feeling, which is the internal problem.
👉🏽 What is the internal problem (that ick feeling) that your customer has?
3) Philosophical
The philosophical problem is about deeper meaning, and answers a big why. It's best discussed with words like ought, shouldn't, and deserves.
Why is it important that Dorothy gets back to Kansas?
Because everyone ought to be able to go home to the family that loves them.
Why is it important for car buyers to have a positive experience when buying a car?
Because everyone deserves a fair price on a good car.
👉🏽 Why is it important to solve this problem for your customer?
When you identify one villain, one external problem, one internal problem, and the philosophical problem, it will be easier to create the story hook to immediately capture attention and show how you resolve the issue for your customer.
