Not too long ago, I watched the video embedded below. In it, Glenn Gers explains how answering six questions can give you a blueprint for compelling storytelling. As I was listening, I immediately intuited that there was something more universal in what he was saying. Below, I apply those same questions to creating a compelling product.
Who is the story about?
(Who are your users?)
Whether you’re writing a story or building a product, everything you do should revolve around the answer to this question. Maybe you started with, “I’d like to write about a dystopian empire in a galaxy far, far away.” Cool. But who is it about? Your story needs focus.
Or maybe you thought, “I want to build a dating app.” Cool. But what kind of people, exactly, would be using that product?
What do they want?
(What are their pain points?)
A story about someone who doesn’t want anything isn’t very interesting. Likewise, if you can’t think of anything your users would want… why are you building a product, again?
Why can’t they get it?
(What is the problem that needs solving?)
What gets in the way of the protagonist? If there’s nothing in their way, then the story is just, “Luke wanted some milk. He went to the fridge and got some.” Friction is necessary in storytelling—characters need something to overcome.
What is stopping your (prospective) users from getting what they need or want? If there’s nothing stopping them currently… why would they need your help?
What do they do about that?
(What are their workarounds?)
You’ve already established the problem and the impetus behind that problem (user pain points). Maybe that’s enough. Maybe you are truly creating a new category of product that is uniquely unique. But I doubt that.
Workarounds can unlock the next level. Once you discover the existence of consistent workarounds, you’ve proven something BIG: Existing solutions are not good enough!1
But wait, there’s more!!!
Why doesn’t that work?
(Why are workarounds not good enough?)
Almost by definition, workarounds are rarely as efficient or effective as people would like. Or perhaps they are okay, but there is an inconvenience factor. In my experience, when I hear about a workaround, there’s always a sentence that sounds like, “It works fine, I guess, but…”
What comes after that “but…” is another opportunity, especially if the workaround is widespread. If you could give them a product that provides the benefits of the workaround yet eliminates that “but…” then not only do you have an offering with an edge, you also have promotional language and SEO handed to you on a platter.
How does it end?
(How can you be their happy ending?)
In fiction, not all stories have happy endings. But when you are building a product, your goal is the be the one responsible for your customers’ happy endings to their stories. If you have true and thorough answers to all of the previous questions, and you execute well in creating solutions at each level, then your product can be the happy ending.
It’s important to mention that sometimes it’s not a product per se that isn’t good enough. Sometimes people just don’t know about the product, or maybe it’s too expensive. Nevertheless, the existence of workarounds means that, one way or another, existing solutions aren’t cutting it.