Eight Ways to Get More Mileage Out of Your Customer
Case Studies
The following article originally appeared in Softletter.
Case studies, or customer success stories, have become an integral part of most software companies' marketing and sales toolkits. In the competition for customers or investment capital, they are key to building brand credibility and demonstrating actual realized return on investment.
However, once companies invest the time and money to create case studies, most only use them in a couple of ways. Typically, they print them for the sales reps or imbed them on their Web sites. But a handful of companies out there are using case studies and case study content beyond the usual ways. Yet using them in multiple ways not only strengthens your marketing, sales and PR efforts, but it multiplies the value of your case studies at a time when software vendors must stretch their marketing budgets as far as possible.
Casey Hibbard, president of Compelling Cases, a case study development firm, works with software companies of all types and sizes. From this vantage point, she sees many unique ways that vendors extend the mileage of their success stories. She shared with us eight ways—some variations on standard uses and some innovative—that software makers can leverage their customer successes.
1. As a Powerful PR Tool
Hibbard has seen several companies use case studies first and foremost as a public relations tool. Before case studies are published on the Web site or distributed to sales reps, PR professionals actively pitch them to the trade press as fresh stories. "I regularly see one case study picked up by several niche publications, if it's an engaging, informative story," Hibbard said. "In fact, many publications now have sections called "Case Studies" or "Technology in Action" specifically for this purpose—and they're looking for great stories." Likewise, companies out there are trolling these publications for real-world solutions to their business and technology problems.
2. Wisely on Your Web site
Sure, your Web site is the most obvious place for publishing your case studies, but it pays to put some thought into where and how you present them. Many companies feature case studies in a section by themselves, which separates them from the rest of product materials and forces prospects to hunt for them, Hibbard notes. Instead of separating these stories, she recommends featuring product-specific cases among other product information on your site. When a prospect visits the page for one of your products, they should be able to choose from a range of materials to review, such as e-brochures, white papers and case studies that highlight that product specifically. You can even go a step further in catering to prospects' need for information by allowing them to search by industry to find one that best matches their situation.
3. As Brief Anecdotes in Your Customer Newsletter
Many companies regularly mail or e-mail newsletters to alert their client base about new versions, features or upgrades, as well as to educate them about functionality. To drive home the benefits of using certain features or the software as a whole, reprint abbreviated versions of your case studies in your newsletters to prospects and clients. Hibbard knows of one large software company, with more than 300 products, that publishes a newsletter solely with case study content. The company runs shortened versions of their existing case studies, making sure to highlight a mix of product lines.
More than marketing, these stories educate customers and prospects about ways that others are using the software. Again, Hibbard recommends highlighting a variety of your vertical markets so that most readers will find at least one story that applies to their industry.
4. To Punch Up Sales Presentations
Instead of using case studies as leave-behind materials in the sales process, integrate them into your sales presentations. Create several PowerPoint slides with highlights from successful client implementations and e-mail them to your sales team. In the process of preparing presentations, they can simply insert these brief customer anecdotes to back up their product information.
5. As Ammo for Implementation Awards
Winning implementation awards can generate an enormous amount of exposure for software company, Hibbard said. Customer success stories, whether in the form of case studies or retold to fit award criteria, are frequently used to land these awards. "One CRM software vendor submitted a particularly compelling case study for Aberdeen Group's annual 'Top Ten CRM Implementations' list," Hibbard recalled. "The company was honored as one of the top ten and was then mentioned in at least a dozen follow-up stories in the media. That was priceless exposure for the company."
6. To Give Your Reference Customers a Break
Chances are, you rely on a handful of your best customers as references for prospective customers. But if called enough by inquisitive prospects, even the most satisfied customers can sour on your company. While person-to-person product discussions are always valuable, you can give your reference customers a break with case studies. Instead of contacting a customer directly, prospects can learn the specifics of an implementation, preferably in a similar industry, through a detailed success story.
Hibbard notes that, if you plan to use case studies in this way, it's important to make sure that your case studies offer the right amount of detail and cover the questions that prospects typically ask your reference customers.
7. Feature Quotes and Content in Sales Materials
As you write case studies, make sure that quotes within the case study could stand-alone if you chose to pull them as testimonials for other areas of your Web site or for use in collateral materials. Make use of the powerful testimonials that come out in developing case studies. Hibbard has also seen some companies create supplemental marketing materials, such as sales collateral, that exclusively feature several "snapshots" of their success stories.
8. As a CD Leave-Behind for Prospects
Put your case studies on CD with the ability to search them by product or industry. In face-to-face sales meetings and presentations, or in response to inquiries, provide prospects with the easily searchable CD. This approach puts the case studies right in the hands of your prospects, instead of asking them to go online for them.
In sales, marketing and PR for technology products, especially those with a higher dollar value, few techniques are more effective than anecdotal customer detail, particularly stories that show your product in a customer's workflow or demonstrate ROI. And, as illustrated by the list above, powerful customer stories can carry a lot more mileage than many other marketing tactics. So, when you have devoted the time and resources to creating a case study and have engaged your customers' time as well, be sure you use them as widely and creatively as possible to support your marketing goals.