Most B2B product stories lack a good plot. This may sound obvious, but it’s not. If you browse product company websites, you’ll see it for yourself. They talk about who they are and what they offer. They may even claim that they’re the best in the world. But sticking to problem-story plots does. not. arrest. attention.

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Why do we fail at telling better product stories? I can think of a few reasons.

1. We paint by numbers. You know the spiel. We design a website from a template and merely fill in the blanks. There’s a title block, subtitle block, a features block, a customer logo block, call to action buttons, and an “about us” section. We fill it out and call it a slam dunk.
2. We live in our own echo chambers. Non-profits think everyone feels as passionately about their cause, environmentalists assume everyone should be on their page, or the challenger tech-offering believes many companies would switch away from their sticky platforms urgently because they saw your improved features. 
3. We don’t recognise that a fundamental change of belief is required to consider a new product. 
4. We fail to connect at the identity level of the person we’re trying to reach. It’s like we are forgetting that companies are made up of persons with mortgages and a desire to be promotable, esteemed, and safe in their own role.
5. We shy away from expressing the pain, the loss, the lack of safety, or the missed opportunities that are guaranteed by sticking to the status quo. 
6. In B2B specifically, we lack authenticity because we are portraying an impersonal “big-company” vibe, while the rise of smaller players are bringing their  AI-empowered, hyper focused solutions, built with newly commoditised tools and integrations, and bringing it with a greater speed to market at a much lower cost. Precisely because these challengers are smaller, they have to bank on personal, authentic backstories, showing real faces, real photos, and obsessive passion. 

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So, how do we move from problem-solution messaging to attention-arresting product plots?

Let’s learn from authors and storytellers.

Here are 7 basic plot types.

Consider weaving them into your website, case studies, white papers, “about us” sections, and marketing campaigns. These timeless story plots can vivify your own product story.

1. Overcoming the monster. 
   1. Describe the monsters, gatekeepers, and hindrances to success. Show the simplicity of defeating these monsters by using your tool/s. Most importantly, list out the benefits as a result. Time saved. Money saved. Processes automated. Capacity increased. Less headcount required. Increased profits. More security. Improved employment conditions. Brand prominence. 
2. Rags to riches, or common struggles to surprising ease.
   1. Explain the status quo of business as usual. Highlight the typical struggles. Show how it is embedded in a cultural belief. Define the change in belief. Show the improved results and describe them. 
3. The quest.
   1. Describe an important mission that can’t afford failure. A “big, hairy, audacious goal”, from the book “Built to last”. Show some wins, but also show how much bigger the task is that lies ahead. This story plot requires a sense of mission, serious thought leadership, and works best when the problem being solved is important for all the humans living on this biological spaceship called earth, hurtling through space.
4. Voyage and return.
   1. Maybe your product story is more Zen. You’ve climbed a mountain and made it back, ready to help those who want to make the same climb. You know how to prepare, how to train, how to think, what to plan out, and how to approach it all.
5. Comedy.
   1. Some brands use comedy plots well. They pose a way to laugh at overpriced shaving products, like dollarshaveclub, or they reinvent an insurance product that becomes cheaper every month as the value of your car depreciates. This plot works in very specific cases, but the sense of fun and lightening the customer's load helps them to tell persuasive stories.
6. Tragedy.
   1. Opposite to comedy, tragedy plots can work for serious products that offer help after devastation or irreparable damage. It requires acknowledgment and a deep understanding of the potential client’s situation, while offering hope and support. Not for the fainthearted.  
7. Rebirth.
   1. The rebirth plot is equally tough, but it’s been done successfully by companies like Adobe and most SaaS platforms that helped companies to move from owned hardware to cloud solutions. This plot type needs to challenge an old belief system, allay the fears of the new belief system, and show the benefits of the benefit of switching to the users.

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