Inside the Brand Clarity Framework™
Brand Curiosity
Theory
People have questions. Our job is to answer them.
Brand Curiosity Theory is the third step in my Brand Clarity Framework. Once you've identified your echoes and developed your stories, the question becomes, how do we share them? Start with the questions your audience is asking, then find the right time and place for the stories that answer them.
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The questions change as people get to know you.
When people first meet you, they often ask relatively simple questions. Who are you? What do you do? What is this product? As you answer those questions, you'll find that over time, the questions become more complex, because the understanding they have of you also rises.
It goes from who are you and what do you do to, hey, last time we spoke, you were going to launch a new campaign for your business. How is that going? They're bringing something from your story back into the conversation. That's one of the things I look for when I'm trying to understand someone's interest.
Answer the question and set the stage for the next one.
Someone asks, who are you? I could simply say, I'm Chirag. I've answered the question, but now I've put the responsibility back onto you to come up with the next one. I could also go on for twenty minutes about everything I do. Neither gives you an easy way into the conversation.
Instead, I might say, I'm Chirag, I'm the speaker here. Or, I'm Chirag, I work in tech. I've answered the question while setting the stage for a more complex one. What topic are you speaking about? Where in tech do you work? I've made the next step easy.
The same thing happens on your website. Someone should be able to get the answer they came for and see a natural place to go next. Your job is to respect their time and cognitive effort by making it simple to move to the next phase.
At every stage, ask what they need to know.
I use attention, interest, desire, action and loyalty as a starting point for organizing the journey. At each stage, the question is, what does this person need to know? Include what they've already learned before they got here.
What are the questions they have at this stage?
When I first come across your video, my questions might be, who are you? What do you do? Do you create more content like this? Before I hit follow, I'm asking whether I want more of this in my feed.
On a product page, I may want to know how the product works, what the reviews say, what it's made from and how much it costs. At checkout, the questions may be about shipping costs and when it will arrive. After purchase, they may be, how do I track my package? How do I leave a review? At every stage, the questions are different.
If I'm sitting on a product page, and half the page is telling me who the company is instead of answering my questions about the product, I can feel disconnected. You're adding work for someone who's already stressed out and overwhelmed. Meet them where they are.
The homepage was answering questions they'd already answered.
An example I share in my talks comes from helping a brand with a large social following that wasn't translating into sales. We mapped the journey, from the content to the profile, the link in bio, the homepage, the product page and checkout. We kept trying to improve the homepage.
Eventually, we tried sending a portion of the social traffic directly to the product page. The content had already talked about the founders, their backgrounds and the problem they wanted to solve. By the time those people clicked, their questions were, how much will it cost me? How fast can I get it?
For that audience, we could take them directly to what they wanted to see. The lesson I took from the work is to map the questions across the whole journey, including the content someone saw before they reached your website.
Follow the customer before they reach your website.
In the interview where I tell this case, I explain that the social videos were showing the product in action. People clicking through wanted to know the price and how long shipping would take. Showing them other items and another email signup was adding more things to think about.
Map what someone has already learned, then ask what question they need answered next. That's how you decide which page belongs in that route.
Read the fuller homepage caseHow could this work on this website?
Take someone who finds one of my brand stories on social media and wants to use the idea in their own business. Here's one route they could take. At each point, ask what they came to find and what would help them move forward.
| Where they are | Their question | A useful answer and next step |
|---|---|---|
| A brand story on social media | Do you create more content like this? | Show what kind of stories I share and give you a place to keep learning. Keep learning through the newsletter |
| The framework overview | How do the ideas fit together? | Walk through the three moves, using one example from my own work. See the whole framework in one example |
| The Confidence Document | How do I start writing my stories? | Give you the questions, a recording exercise and an answer to work from. Start with the guiding questions |
| After trying the exercise | How would I apply this to my business? | Explain the paid private session and let you check the price and availability. Explore a private session |
Your audience may need a different route.
An event organizer will have different questions. Who is this for? Can the talk fit our industry? What will the audience leave with? They may want the speaking information and an inquiry form much earlier. Meet them where their questions are.
Explore a talk or workshopBuild the journey around the questions.
Map one route through your business.
Write down the places someone moves through, from the first piece of content they see to a purchase and what happens afterward. At each step, ask what they need to know, what they've already learned and which of your stories can help them move forward. Start with one route you can actually review.
You have the echoes. You have the stories. Now you're choosing where they belong. That's how the three steps of the Brand Clarity Framework work together.
Put the three moves to work
Try the story exercise Back to The Confidence DocumentPut it to work with me
What would help you take the next step?
Wondering how to apply this to your business?
Bring a question about your brand, your message or the stories you're telling. In a private session, we'll work through your challenge and identify practical next steps.
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About this teaching
Adapted from my recorded teaching on curiosity, questions and the customer journey, with supporting teaching in my Good Brands Don't Whisper keynote. The website example is my account of past work, not an independently audited case study or a promise of results. The fuller product-demonstration account is adapted from an earlier Fraternity Foodie Podcast interview.
These concepts form part of the Brand Clarity Framework I teach through Good Brands Don’t Whisper.
