The happy ending
Your customers, the real heroes, already faced defeat and were about to give up until you, the guide, swooped to the rescue. With your product, the hero has defeated evil.
But something is missing…
Ah, that’s right. Now the hero goes back to the happy life he led before embarking on a long journey and faced his nemesis.
We need to put closure to our story by bringing a happy ending.
Life before your product
In your typical story, the hero doesn’t just get back to regular life as it was before his adventure.
The hero must go through a clear change, whether physical, mental, or spiritual after returning from his journey.
You should already know the pains your customers faced before using your product. Now all you have to do is paint a picture of their lives after buying it.
Through words, pictures, testimonials (etc.), show happy customers happily engaging with your product — and the impact your product has on their lives.
Speaking of change…
As I said, stories feel pointless if the hero doesn’t benefit from them somehow. Here are the three different changes a customer goes through after their adventure:
- Win some sort of power (physical/mental),
- Be unified with something that makes them feel whole (mental) and,
- Experience some self-realization which ultimately causes them to see life through a different lens and act differently (spiritual).
If your story can paint a picture of how your customers will reach one of those end goals after using it, you’ve got a happy ending.
Winning a power
In the movie “The Pursuit of Happyness,” Chris Gardner goes through a series of trials to land a job that would allow him to raise his son. When things look bleak and they get evicted out of their apartment to become homeless, Chris lands his job as a stockbroker and leads a successful life. He's granted the power of status, with loads of money to raise his child.
Ever wondered why LinkedIn offers a badge to those who pay for the premium version? Not only does this show status, (I take my professional life seriously; look at my badge!) but also enables them to more features that make their lives much better.
Unified with something to feel whole
Think of literally any love story. Where two lovers make each other whole.
But this kind of happy ending isn’t limited to only love. So long as the hero is unified with something that spiritually makes him feel complete.
If your product can give your customers more time, less stress, better health etc., then talk about it in your happy ending!
Experience self-realization
I’ve been saving one of my all-time favourite movies for this example: The Green Book. The story takes place in the 1960s, where a racist Italian called Tony Lip (hero) has to work for an African-American scholar. By the end of the story, Tony Lip realizes that he’s not so racist after all…
If your product can lead to self-inspiration, acceptance, or transcendence, use that in your happy ending.
TL;DR
Your customer’s journey shouldn’t be in vain. Give your customers something they can look forward to – a happy ending. This normally comes in three different forms:
- Winning a power (mental/physical),
- To be unified with something (mental), and
- To come to self-realization that helps them improve their lives (Spiritual).
The answer to this is not so hard to find. How does your customer benefit from your product? Once you know, show them how with words, pictures, videos, etc.