So much of today’s marketing is unoriginal and gray. Lots of websites look alike, many folks are blogging about the same topics (except me), and each day it becomes harder and harder to showcase your business creatively. Today, I want to suggest beefing up your use of case studies in your marketing. Here’s why:
A case study offers a glimpse into how your company operates and shows a prospective customer what you do, what the results can be and how you treat your clients. A good case study gives a prospect a chance to imagine what working with your company might be like in addition to weighing your offers or pricing.
Case studies offer an opportunity to showcase a company’s culture and what makes it different. You get the chance to be authentic, unique, transparent (or whatever the current buzzword is). Let your clients do the talking and offer a real review of your company with less marketing spin.
Here are a few key things to think about when creating case studies:
Find a hook. As a reader, you are always attracted to a hook in a case study. Does the client sell an interesting product? Does a top executive have a non-traditional background? Do they have a long history in business? Every business has something in its story that’s interesting. It’s the job of the writer of the case study to uncover it.
Don’t worry about the numbers. Some clients might be hesitant to participate in a case study because they don’t want to reveal financial information or disclose specific results. If you have found a good hook and can tell a good story, the financial results are less necessary. Besides, you want to focus on customer experience or some other factor in a case study, not just the numbers. Remove the financials (or at least downplay them). and you will get a much better case study.Read More