Did you know that 90% of the success of your marketing strategy hinges on the right voices in the room? If you have ever tried to forge a cohesive brand message without the key stakeholders involved (OR with too many opinions in the room), you know how challenging it can be.

In your upcoming StoryBrand Workshop, it’s crucial to assemble a group of individuals who hold the power to shape and drive your vision forward. By ensuring those who can “touch it” and those who can “kill it” are present during this strategic session, you lay the groundwork for transforming your brand messaging and strategy.

In this Insights article, we’ll explore the essential roles and perspectives that should be included in your workshop, plus how these contributions can make a meaningful impact on your digital strategy. Get ready to
uncover the names of those individuals you should invite to galvanize your mission and amplify your marketing effectiveness.

Who Should Attend Your StoryBrand Workshop?

When planning a StoryBrand Workshop, it’s essential to identify the individuals who will make the most significant contributions. Here are the key roles:

1. The Visionary:  The visionary is the one with the grand ideas, the dreams, and the overarching goals of the brand or organization. This person sets the direction and provides the necessary fuel to ignite the creative process. Make sure that your CEO or founding member is present to share their insights and aspirations. This individual’s perspective is crucial for ensuring the workshop aligns with the primary objectives of the business.
2. The Decision Maker:  In every company, there exists that one person with the power to make the final call — the decision maker. This might be the CMO, the head of marketing, or any executive
   with veto power. Their presence is crucial, as they can either endorse or refute the proposed strategies based on their vision for the company. By having decision-makers involved in your StoryBrand Workshop, you gain valuable feedback that can directly steer your brand messaging in the right direction.
3. The Subject Matter Expert:  Subject matter experts (SMEs) have vital technical knowledge and insights into specific areas of the business. Whether it’s someone from the IT department, finance, customer service, or a relevant industry specialist, these individuals provide an essential perspective that helps keep your strategy grounded in reality. Their insights can challenge assumptions or clarify misunderstandings, ensuring your marketing messaging is accurate and relevant.
4. The Marketing Team Members:  Your marketing team is the backbone of your sales and promotion efforts. Including team members from various marketing functions — digital, content, creative, and social media — ensures all angles are represented. Allowing them to participate in discussions about branding helps foster a strong sense of ownership, aligning everyone towards a unified goal. This collaboration can breed innovative thinking as they bring diverse viewpoints on current strategies.
5. Customer Advocates:  It’s important not to forget the voice of the customer. Customer advocates, who can be anyone from a client services representative to an active customer, provide firsthand insights into customer pain points and preferences. Engaging these individuals helps you to instill a customer-centric approach to your strategy. Bringing their input into the workshop setting will ensure that compelling and resonant messaging is created, aligning your brand with the needs of your target audience.
6. The Data Analyst:  Data is the backbone of effective marketing strategies. Involving a data analyst or someone proficient with analytics in your StoryBrand Workshop will help ground your strategy in actual performance metrics, consumer behavior, and trends. Their insights can help you identify what parts of your messaging are hitting the right notes and where you have missed the mark. Silicon Valley has popularized the saying, “In God we trust, all others bring data.” For your brand’s success, this couldn’t be more true.
7. The Creative Mind:  Creations come to life through innovative ideas and inspired thinking. Including someone from your creative department — whether it’s a graphic designer, a copywriter, or a brand strategist — ensures that the messaging aligns visually and contextually with your audience. These creative minds can help translate marketing strategies into visual storytelling and ensure your brand message
   resonates.
8. The Stakeholders:  Stakeholders can also include investors, board members, or other parties who have a vested interest in the brand’s success. Including their perspectives can offer a broader context for strategic decisions and foster alignment with external interests. This stakeholder involvement also ensures that the workshop reflects business reality while striving for innovation.
9. The Buyer Persona:  Incorporating diverse buyer personas into your planning and discussions enablesdeeper audience insights into your decision-making process. Consider inviting a representative who embodies the traits and behaviors of your ideal customer. Engaging with them can help you hone in on their pain points, purchasing motivations, and recent trends. This person should feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and providing raw, real-time feedback.

How I’ll Structure Your Workshop for Maximum Impact:

Once you have assembled your ideal group for the StoryBrand Workshop, the next step is to structure the workshop to encourage productive dialogue and brainstorming. Here are some helpful tips:

1. Outline Your Objectives:  We’ll begin your workshop by clearly outlining what you hope to accomplish. Ensuring that everyone understands the goals and objectives, I’ll provide a clear structure for
   discussions.
2. Encourage Open Dialogue:  I’ll foster an atmosphere of collaboration where all your participants feel comfortable speaking up, sharing ideas, and asking questions. Valuing everyone’s contributions
   will enhance creative solutions.
3. Use Visuals:  Utilizing a white board, I’ll incorporating visual aids — such as diagrams or mood boards — which can help convey my points more effectively. Visuals can simplify complex ideas and
   keep engagement high.
4. Breakout Sessions:  If we have more than 15 participants at your company, I’ll consider using smaller breakout sessions to facilitate more in-depth conversation and brainstorming. This encourages diverse discussions and gives individuals a platform to voice their thoughts in a more intimate setting.
5. Record Insights:  Across the day, I’ll be capturing all the notes, ideas, and suggestions throughout the workshop. All important take-aways will be included in the final deliverable document within a week of your Workshop.

Conclusion: Unlock the Power of Collaboration to Clarify

To maximize the benefit of your StoryBrand Workshop, it’s essential to involve key stakeholders who can significantly influence your marketing strategy. By ensuring that you include those who can “touch it” and those who can “kill it” — be they decision makers, subject matter experts, or customer advocates — together we’ll strengthen your brand’s message and strategy as a whole.

With effective communication, collaboration, and my structured approach, your workshop will ignite a powerful transformation for your brand strategy.  Remember: By surrounding yourself with the right voices, you can open up doors to incredible possibilities to make a moat around your marketing message by using “Words That Work” to drive top-line revenue and bottom-line results.

Schedule a complimentary consultation today and let’s take your brand to the next level!