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Why case studies?
Whether you are aware of it or not, as people, we tend to follow patterns in the decision making process. It doesn’t matter all that much if we are making a large purchase or a small one, we want to work with and buy from those people and companies that we trust.
Think about some of your own experiences. When looking for a new restaurant or a good movie, do you ask friends and family for recommendations? When buying a book, do you read the reviews before you make the purchase?
This is the basis for case study marketing, sometimes called success story marketing. It’s all about trust. Case study marketing uses customer, recipient, or client stories to cater to the fundamentals of human behavior which is:
We tend to trust what a stranger says about a business rather than what the business itself says.
Let me ask you a question. Would you believe what Geico says about their services or what a Geico customer says about their services?
When a customer tells a story about how your product or service helped them to solve a problem, people remember it.
Do you remember Jared Fogle who lost over 200 pounds by eating Subway sandwiches? Through his story, he has not only become the poster child for Subway, but is one of the most memorable examples of case study marketing.
What is a case study?
A case study tells a success story about:
· A problem.
· The implementation of a product or service.
· The results of how that product or service solved the problem.
A case study is simply a success story outlining the benefits of how a product or service solved a problem. Case studies are simple yet so powerful.
Why are case studies so valuable for your business?
We all know the value of a recommendation. A happy customer will tell two other people how good you are at what you do.
So, what if you could leverage that experience and have that happy customer tell hundreds or thousands of other people needing your product or service how effective it is in helping to solve the issues they face, while highlighting the benefits of working with you?
That is the power that a case study will offer to your business.
How case studies work
You want to use case studies for a variety of reasons that include:
· Building trust through your clients and customers experiences.
· Providing buyers with a real-world perspective by telling them a story they can relate to.
· They enjoy a high readership. People want to know what others are doing to solve similar problems.
· They are unique. We are all bombarded with sales pitches day in and day out but case studies are a soft sell which empowers the reader by showing them that your product or service worked for someone else.
· People remember stories. They may not know the details of what your brochure said, but a story that relates to their situation they will remember.
A well-written case study invokes visual images of a product or service in action. It is told by a happy customer and that is the kind of story that is refreshing and very hard to resist.
How case studies are used
The great thing about case studies is that they are very versatile. They are a natural fit for just about any sales, marketing or public relations campaign. There are so many uses for them that they will provide value that goes much further than the cost to produce one.
You can use case studies:
· On your website.
· In a press release.
· In direct mail.
· Leverage them through your sales team.
· In your newsletter.
· In a speech.
· In lead generation activities.
· At trade shows.
· As your email signature.
· In your brochure.
· In sales materials.
· In training materials.
· For flyers.
· In presentations.
As you can see, case studies are a great way for you to show how well your product or service worked for someone else, and if it worked for them, it will work for you too!
So let me ask again, Could your company benefit from the services of a case study copywriter?
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