Cambridge Business Association
Marketing Made Simple
Book

Marketing Made Simple

A Step-by-Step StoryBrand Guide for Any Business

Donald Miller and Dr. Peterson
HarperCollins Leadership, 2021
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7

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Recommendation

It doesn’t matter what you’re selling, marketing shouldn’t be expensive or difficult, say Donald Miller and Dr. J.J. Peterson. In five steps, you can create an effective sales funnel and cultivate relationships built on trust and reciprocity. Learn how the power of words can establish your brand as authoritative and empathetic, helping customers view you as a solution to their problems. Miller and Peterson tell you how to ask for money, show confidence in your product and skillfully execute a marketing campaign. 

Summary

Understand the three stages of relationship-building to create customer trust.

Don’t waste money on marketing; instead, follow this simple five-step plan: Clarify your message, or create a “BrandScript”; distill your message into one sentence; build on that message with a compelling website; create shareable content, or a “lead-generating PDF”; and launch an email campaign. This plan establishes your brand as worthy of trust and builds relationships.

As customers move through your sales funnel, relationships will follow three stages:

  1. Curiosity – In this initial stage, a customer encounters a product or brand and feels a desire to know more about it. There is not much thought behind the feeling. People form snap judgments about whether they want to explore the relationship further or reject the opportunity. Pique customer curiosity by making your product appear intrinsic to their survival. Customers don’t want to hear your story at this stage; they want someone to solve their problems. Brands can excite curiosity with their one-liners and websites.
  2. Enlightenment

About the Authors

Creator of the StoryBrand Marketing Framework Donald Miller is CEO of Business Made Simple. Dr. J.J. Peterson is StoryBrand’s chief of teaching and facilitation. They cohost the podcast Building a StoryBrand.

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