«Return to Blog List Too Much Information – in Exchange for Customer Stories
Many companies leverage their written customer stories as lead generators. Sign up for a webinar and get a case study, or give us your contact information in exchange for downloading a case study or success story.
The problem is, those that ask for your information, ask for a LOT of information!
I understand the reasons for this, but personally, I have limited patience for long input forms to access a customer story. With most companies, there’s no middle ground. They either don’t ask at all or ask you to fill out 8-10 fields. How many of you are willing to input annual revenue or when you expect to make a purchase decision just to be able to read a case study?
I say, there is a middle ground. How about requesting just a name, company name and email? You may not get all the data you want, but then you probably capture names that you would not otherwise. More people are willing to give a little bit of data, increasing the number of overall leads you get.
What’s your take on requesting info in exchange for customer stories?
Hi Casey,
There is a case to be made for asking for contact info before allowing visitors to download your white paper. But I don’t think the same is true for case studies.
A case study, in my mind, is meant to be a way to persuade companies that your products or services are the best by giving proof through customer stories. The only way this will work is to *get them to read it.* Anything that can slow or stop that process — like asking for personal information — is counter-productive.
Imagine walking into a jean store, and the clerks stop you at the front door. “Glad you’re here, but can I get your name, phone number, and email address before you look at our jeans?” they ask.
Would you stick around?
~Graham
Graham,
I love your example! I would certainly not stick around. Only online do you have to provide all your info just to browse. The closest parallel might be when you’re in a real store and the sales clerk is following you around asking about what you’re interested in and you just have to keep saying, “I’m just looking, thank you!”
I agree, more people would read customer stories if they did not have to submit their info at all. And more people reading a document that highlights other customers’ successes benefits the company in the end – even if every name isn’t caught along the way.
Thanks for your insightful example!