Seven Ways to Squeeze More Value from Case Study Writing
It’s hard to overestimate the power of a good story. Most of us remember story time as a child, and much of what we learn about the world comes through stories. A good story sticks in our mind because it evokes emotions, paints pictures, and gives color to an otherwise dull canvas of facts and statistics.
So, it shouldn’t come as any surprise that storytelling is a powerful way to start sales conversations and market your products and services. One of the most effective ways to do that is with case studies.
Never used a case study and not sure what it is? Think Amazon review on steroids.
Simply put, a case study is a customer success story. Basically, it’s a story about one of your customers who had a problem, looked for a solution, found your product or service, achieved great results, and is now happy to share their success story. And they’re marketing gold. If you think positive Amazon customer reviews are credibility boosters, case studies are credibility boosters on steroids.
Case studies allow you to show, not just tell.
Simply telling your audience how great your products or services are doesn’t cut it. As consumers, we’re much more skeptical than that. We’re more likely to trust the words of a customer who’s already used your product or service and had positive results. A real-life story is always more believable than a sales pitch, and that’s why case studies are so powerful
One of the best things about case studies? You can squeeze a lot of mileage out of them.
In fact, case studies are a content recycler’s dream. Here are 7 ways to get more value out of your case studies:
- Put them on your web site. This is the perfect place to showcase your happy customers with a call to action (CTA) linking to a case study or a separate, dedicated case studies page. To make them even more effective, personalize your case studies to match the kind of website visitors you want to attract.
- Blog about them. You want your case studies to get read, and your blog is a great place to mention them. And don’t just call it your XYZ Company case study. Instead, mention a specific challenge the customer overcame, then use the case study to tell the story of how they did it.
- Convert them to videos. Video content is still a hot commodity on the Internet, and turning your case studies into video stories is a powerful way to illustrate your customer’s success with your product or service.
- Post them on social media. There are dozens of social media platforms these days, and your case studies are ideal for social sharing. For example, you can add your case studies to your list of publications on your LinkedIn profile and share them in relevant LinkedIn Groups.
- Use them in email marketing. Include a link to a relevant case study when sending out marketing emails. You can even sneak a link to a case study into your email signature.
- Give them to your sales team. Case studies help your sales team break down buyer resistance by showing prospects how others within a similar industry and with similar challenges have been successful with your product or service.
- Use them in training. Sharing customer case studies with new employees during onboarding can help them better understand and appreciate your products or services.
Ready to put the power of a good story to work for your business? Learn more about our case study writing services here.