“A character has a problem and meets a guide who gives them a plan and calls them to action that helps them avoid failure and ends in a success.”

Why it was said

Read in order, the titles of the seven chapters in which Miller sets out his SB7 framework form this one sentence: a character, has a problem, and meets a guide, who gives them a plan, and calls them to action, that helps them avoid failure, and ends in a success. Miller drew the pattern from the way films and novels hold an audience, and applies it to how a business should describe itself.

What it actually means

The sentence is a checklist disguised as a plot. The customer, not the company, is the character; the company earns attention only by playing the guide, who understands the problem and has a plan. Each clause names something most marketing leaves out: the specific problem, the simple plan, the direct call to action, what is at stake if nothing changes, and what success looks like. If a brand message cannot be mapped onto all seven parts, the gap is usually where customers lose the thread.

How to use it

1. 1Write one line for each of the seven parts for your main product, with the customer as the character, and see which line you struggle to fill.
2. 2Check your homepage for the two parts most often missing: what the customer risks by doing nothing, and a picture of success.
3. 3Turn your plan into three numbered steps a customer can follow.