4 Ways To Turn A Simple Design Into An Unforgettable Experience!
Ever wondered why some designs truly captivate and inspire your clients, while others seem to miss the mark? Hint: Storytelling
We've all been there, where we worked really hard to give clients the best experience possible. But sometimes, after putting in so much effort and creative energy, the client just stares at you, nonchalant, apathetic. They don’t seem to dislike it, but they don’t seem to love it either—they're just okay with it. You walk away, soul crushed, feeling discouraged because you didn’t receive the validation you desired, the type of validation you were seeking to invalidate the self-doubt you’ve been experiencing along the way.
If this scenario sounds familiar to you, rest assured, you are not alone. This is every business's experience. In this article, I am going to show you exactly how you can minimise this problem occurring by using a simple yet powerful method of storytelling. And as for self-doubt, don’t listen to it; it’s most likely irrational. Plus, your clients will tell you if you suck anyway, so listen to them instead.
If you don’t know who I am, my name is Dan De sousa, and I am the founder of Zali-Blk Media, a digital marketing agency specialised in lead generation strategies for building, interior and landscape design businesses. I want to assure you that this problem isn't just limited to designers—it effects businesses in any country, of all sizes and industries, because it is founded on the fundamental principles of human nature. Well, at least in objective reality as we know it, that is.
So, how can we increase the chances that clients will love your designs? First, you need to learn how to tell a compelling story. Second, you must understand your client well enough to know what story they want to be told. Sound vague? Don’t worry, we’re here to help!
Identify client pain points.
We all have reasons for solving our human survival needs, just like every customer has reasons for seeking attention, desiring comfort, pursuing status, or wanting to project a specific identity. To identify your clients' pain points, we first need to understand what they are and the effects they have on the human mind. In the business world, understanding these pain points is crucial for addressing customers' needs effectively.
A pain point is a specific problem experienced by a person (avatar). When reminded of this problem, it triggers a memory recall of this specific problem, which invokes negative emotions that can be felt and experienced in the body. This processing mostly occurs on a micro-emotional level, subconsciously, sometimes unconsciously. Often, humans are unaware that it even happens. This negative emotion becomes the driving force for prospects and clients to seek the solution to this specific problem to alleviate the experience of it as soon as possible. In marketing, these emotions are refer to as 'move away motivators'.
Example: Some pain points for landscape design clients:
Aesthetically Unpleasing Surroundings,
Privacy and Security Concerns,
Stress from High-Maintenance Gardens.
2. Identify Underlying Negative Emotions Linked To Pain Point
Now that we have identified some pain points of this particular avatar, we have to identify the underlying negative emotions that are attached to these paint points. These negative emotion are what we can use in our design story as ‘moving away motivators’, that is, we want them to be motivated to move away from the negative emotion, by taking action to seek the solution. It usually helps if the solution is something that your business is solving. We will use the 3 pain points we listed in step 1, to demonstrate how to find these negative emotions.
Aesthetically Unpleasing Surroundings: Your prospects can have a strong desire for their outdoor spaces to reflect their desired societal status. When experiencing loss of status, humans tend to feel insecure, embarrassed and self-conscious. Every time their aesthetically unpleasing surroundings come to mind, feelings of insecurity and embarrassment can arise. Our negative emotion for this pain point can be embarrassment.
Privacy and Security: Privacy and security can be significant concerns. An inadequately designed space might expose prospects to unwanted attention or intrusions, making them feel watched, uncertain, worried, and hyper-vigilan. Our negative emotion for this pain point can be worry.
High-Maintenance Gardens: High-maintenance homes can be very taxing, both financially and mentally. Parents, especially professionals, can experience feelings of frustration, agitation and increased levels of stress due to the maintainance demands on their homes. Our negative emotion for this pain point can be stress.
3. Invert Negative Emotion To Identify Equal-Opposing Positive Emotion.
We have established our negative emotions, or our 'moving away' motivators, we can now invert these negative emotions to find their equal and opposing positive emotional force. These positive emotions are what we use as 'moving toward motivators’ in marketing, sales, and storytelling.
Embarrassment to confidence, worry to calm or tranquil, stress to relaxed.
4. Integrate Emotions Into A Compelling Story Your Avatar Can Identify With.
Now, we're prepared to weave these emotions into a compelling design story tailored to your client. This will also give you a deeper understanding of where your clients are emotionally as they engage with your design explanation.
Repeat these steps to formulate a compelling sentence (story) for each main feature in your design:
Select a feature (e.g., Vertical Perimeter Garden).
Choose a pain point (e.g., Privacy and Security Concerns).
Identify the negative emotion (e.g., Worry - moving away motivator).
Select the positive emotion (e.g., Calm - moving toward motivator).
Formulate a compelling sentence.
Example:
Safety and Serenity: We've integrated a vertical garden along the perimeter of the southern fence line to provide peace of mind regarding any privacy and security concerns (move-away motivator), ensuring your family enjoys a calming (move-toward motivator) and tranquil outdoor experience all year-round.
Conclusion:
A story creates meaning; meaning invokes emotion; Emotion forms emotional attachments. Emotional attachment (positive) increases the perceived value of the service your business is offering. The higher the perceived value, the higher the price your clients are willing to pay.
