«Return to Blog List Googling Your Way to Better Customer Stories
I recently realized that I use Google on just about every case study or success story I write. The search engine becomes my “man behind the curtain,” providing an answer to whatever my question may be.
No matter what you’re writing, details make it stronger. Vague generalities are simply less credible or memorable.
Sure, I have a LOT of other information for the story: from my client and its web site, from the interviewed customer and its web site, industry white papers or analyst reports, etc. But sometimes I don’t have the little details that make my angle more interesting.
Here’s an example. I just wrote a case study featuring a ski resort’s use of RFID technology. The angle was that this is one of the top resorts in the world, and they continue to invest in making the guest experience better.
The resort’s web site had some stats of its own, but not exactly what I was looking for to support the story.
I Googled my question and found the stats I needed from third-party publications.
For another case on how an engineering firm uses modeling software, I wanted info such as elevation, river locations, and the flood risks and volumes for South Carolina. Enter some keywords, and Google gave me exactly the right information.
On other case studies, I needed…the recent growth rate of a Phoenix suburb…who was president in 1795…and a better description of a manufacturing process.
I’ve come to rely on search engines so much that, I believe, my customer stories would simply not be as strong without them.
How about you? Any tools or sites your writing can’t live without?
