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MEASURABLE Results
They’re the Holy Grail of any case study or success story project.
Prospects want to know specifically how your product or service made an impact at another organization. Show that you can deliver a better return on investment than the competition and you’ve made a strong case to a potential customer.
Yet, measurable results do not mean the same thing to all prospects. A writer and case study manager I know recently made this very valid point. At his organization, a global technology company, they use percentages to represent return on investment information.
Here’s why: Dollar figures do not hold the same meaning for all prospects. An annual savings of $30,000 is very significant for a small business, but may be peanuts for a mid-size or larger company.
If your audience is uniformly one type or size of organization, maybe specific cost savings will resonate with all equally. But most companies target multiple types of prospects.
Always present measurable results in the way that will make the biggest impression on the reader – whether that’s an amount of money, amount of time, percentage increase/decrease, or factor of (“4 times, 1/2 as…”).
Just another reminder about writing and presenting information relevant to your audience.
Share your own tips on presenting measurable results in meaningful ways.
Casey, great point. Which numbers are relevant, if any?
For example, if someone is considering me to write a business proposal, she might just want to know if I’ve helped win business in the past. Also, sometimes mentioning an existing client’s name can answer several questions at once — what type of industry experience do I have, how big was the account, et al.
Best regards,
Chris
Chris Benevich
President
Panache Writing, Inc.
chris@panachewriting.com
(312) 420-9049
Casey,
You make a very important point. Along that vein, companies producing case studies shouldn’t get stuck on the measurements they associate with their solution. Instead, they should ask the customer what key performance indicators their company measures and how the solution helped them in those areas.
Best,
Stephanie
Chris and Stephanie,
All good input. Right, it’s about always remembering what is relevant to the potential customer, and ensuring that your case study or success story speaks in the language they understand – not what the vendor THINKS is the most important info.
Thanks!
Casey