If you’re in business for yourself you know that nothing is more powerful than a satisfied customer. Leveraging social proof (other people who love your brand) can be the most effective marketing tool in your arsenal.
However, in today’s digital marketplace things like testimonials and case studies are often overlooked. Business owners are quick to hire a high-profile influencer to do the Harlem Shake while talking about their product, but that can only take you so far.
The real “juice” for your product and your brand might be right under your nose: Case Studies. And the best part about them is that all they require is reaching out to a customer who has already happily done business with you.
In this article, we’re going to talk about the beauty of case studies and give you the 5 most crucial elements that’ll have your case studies converting more leads in no time. Stick around!
The Beauty of Case Studies
Although I love case studies as a marketing tool, I’ll admit there are more high-tech, sexier forms of marketing out there. But someone much smarter than me once said, “Success is in the unsexy”. I’m paraphrasing, but you get the idea. If no one else has said that it’s hereby copyrighted (ha ha)!
It’s the truth, though. Case studies, as unsexy as they are, have been around for so long because they are tried and true. Before the internet, case studies showed up as “word of mouth” advertising. If you’re in business, odds are you’ve heard that term before.
There are two reasons why case studies have withstood the test of time:
- Social Proof: I mentioned social proof earlier in this article. It’s not just some fancy marketing term. Social proof is a psychological principle, and it’s part of what makes case studies so effective. It’s the idea that the biggest influence on a person’s decision making is the opinions and input of those around them. You’ve seen this play out before in your own life. You go to a restaurant because a friend recommends it, or you buy a product for the same reason. No marketing tool is more powerful than a direct endorsement from someone who has done business with you already.
- Reciprocity: Again, another psychological principle. Reciprocity is the idea that it’s easiest to get someone to do something for you after you’ve done something wonderful for them. This is also what makes case studies such a potent marketing weapon. I sincerely hope that you have done something wonderful for your customer via the product or service you’ve provided them. Once you leave them on Cloud 9 after doing business with you, getting a case study (or testimonial) from them should be no problem at all, which makes case studies easier to get and they don’t cost you a dime in extra marketing money!
5 Critical Elements To A Killer Case Study
Now you understand a little bit of what makes case studies such a great marketing tool. But once we’ve asked for one, and our customer has said yes, how do we really squeeze all the juice from this lemon?
We do that by making our case study convert as effectively as possible, and today I’m going to give you 5 elements to help you do that.
- Make Your Case Study “One Size Fits All”. One of the most fundamental, but often most-overlooked, elements of a great case study is making it relatable to everyone. I’m sure by now you’ve narrowed down a customer avatar, a target demographic, customer profile, etc. That’s great. But you want your case study to apply to everyone within that target demographic. You don’t want to alienate any of your prospects by tailoring your case study to one specific type of customer.
- Tell A Great Story. Ever watch The Jersey Shore? If you did, chances are you loved it but couldn’t really figure out why. You loved it because we as humans love to learn about other people. We’re social by nature. Use your case study to appeal to that side of potential customers. Use your customer’s experience as the backbone for your story, but make sure it’s appealing to your prospects. You want their eyes glued to the page, you want them to read all the way to the end, and you ultimately want them clicking that “Buy” button!
- Ask The Right Questions. If you haven’t figured it out already, getting a case study for your business requires interacting with another person; your customer. Typically, case studies require an interview composed of several questions. Part of telling a great story is having the resources to do so. You get this information via the interview process. Interviews are great because they are an opportunity to deepen the relationship with your customers, and in today’s modern age they can be easily recorded and used in peripheral marketing content.
- Use Powerful Quotes. This ties into point #3. Asking the right questions will yield powerful, eye-catching quotes from your customer. These are the little snippets that you will want to highlight on your future marketing pieces or web copy. Having a “Here’s what others had to say…” section with glowing endorsements from past customers will shoot your conversion rates through the roof.
- Tie It Up In A Bow. Tie your case study up in a bow and some pretty paper. Make it look nice. Most case studies should be easy to read and stand out to your potential customers. If you’re writing the case study yourself, you may have to take on some design work. If you’re working with a freelance case study writer, they can handle this design for you. Case studies are typically handed over in MS Word format, so a writer may charge you a little more for this service. But it’s worth it to have this done by someone who is an expert at crafting effective case studies.
Case Studies Are Magic
Have I convinced you yet? By this point in the article you should be going through your email list of past customers and reaching out to everyone. There is gold in there, I promise. Take it from someone who not only knows how to write a case study, but uses them in his own business.
If you’re interested in having me help you with your first, or next, case study project I’d be happy to help! Contact me today to get started.