April Teleclass: Writing a Compelling Customer Story
Companies are increasingly adding case studies and success stories to their marketing mix. I’ve seen huge growth in awareness and use of them over the past decade.
This form of marketing is becoming a major opportunity for writers. But stories have to be written in a way that compels and sells the reader.
Join us for a 2-part teleclass, Writing a Compelling Customer Story – Start to Finish:
Tuesday, April 7 & Thursday, April 9
We take a hands-on approach to creating an actual customer success story that engages readers.
Whether you’re an experienced customer story writer or new to the craft, gain insight from case study veteran Casey Hibbard that will immediately improve the quality and impact of your stories.
You’ll also benefit from a LinkedIn group for all attendees.
Learn more or register.
What Works in Customer Stories: About Face on the “About Section”
How often do you read the "About" section of a marketing piece – a brochure, press release or case study?
Probably not very often.
There are times when an "About" paragraph makes sense in a case study or success story, but often it just takes up prime real estate.
When do you include one and when should you leave it out?
"About" the vendor
In a customer story, there are two potential "About" sections: one for the vendor and another for the featured customer. Many vendor companies – especially those that are publicly traded – feel the need to include this boilerplate copy on nearly everything.
If the case study or success story is only going on the web, or will be emailed to prospects, then a hyperlinked URL and contact information is sufficient. Any reader is just a click away from complete information on the company.
However, if you’re printing and handing out customer stories at trade shows or meetings with prospects, include a company description. If prospects are looking at a stack of materials from various vendors, you probably want the basics about the company on there.
"About" the customer
If written well, a customer case study or success story weaves interesting information about the featured customer throughout the story. The story can easily integrate what the company does, where it operates and stats about employees or annual revenues – everything that usually goes into an "About" paragraph.
A stand-alone descriptive section on the featured customer will likely be repetitive information, and the reader is likely to skip it anyway.
If you can use a few inches of a case study for reinforcing measurable results or a powerful customer quote, instead of a staid boilerplate section, then do so. Your story will be much more powerful.
However, if the featured company is publicly traded, or extra protective of its brand and messaging, the organization may request such an addition (occasionally they do). In those cases, you have to determine whether it’s worth it to push back or just include it.
There’s something to be said for consistency across all your stories, but you want to keep the customer happy.
Don’t forget. It’s easy to include URLs for the vendor and customer on every story, giving readers the option to get more information.
Sage Software’s Clever Success-Story Marketing Campaign
Sage Software’s "Sage 360" campaign is one of the most clever, comprehensive approaches to Success-Story MarketingTM I’ve ever seen.
I devote several pages to the Sage 360 campaign in my book, but you have to visit their 360 site to see how it’s executed.
The entire site is focused on customer stories, organized by business need and industry. Tying in with the software’s 360-degree CRM capabilities, you see 360-degree photos of customers’ environments.
Photos are accompanied by compelling, feature-style customer stories – not following the cookie-cutter format you see so often. They’re interesting and credible.
Most importantly, this kind of exposure (which included print ads) had customers lining up to be featured.
You may not have the budget to showcase your customers in glossy publications, but the campaign is worth perusing for inspiration.
How can you showcase customer stories creatively and in a way that tells your story and the customer’s story at once?
SoftwareCEO.com Runs Excerpt – Getting Customers to Be Featured
SoftwareCEO.com is the richest source I know of for advice for growing software companies. This week, Gordon Graham’s Tips and Tactics feature includes an excerpt from my book, "Stories That Sell."
Even if you don’t work in or write for software companies, you’ll likely find value in "Seven ways to get customers to agree to a story."
You’ll pick up tips on how to improve the chances that customers will say yes, and even alternatives if your customer just won’t agree.
But check it out quickly. The article goes into the site’s Members Only area after 2 weeks (March 17).
A CEO’s Storytelling Manifesto
Storytelling has always been important to human society. From our earliest days, it’s how we learned and understood the world.
Now, a CEO of a successful software company suggests that storytelling is critical to companies during this economic downturn.
Tom Nies, founder and CEO of 40-year-old software company Cincom Systems, says:
"Companies must be willing to play a larger part in the success stories of their customers, not only in the singular success of selling a product or service to a customer. We all must work together to create new stories out of the current downturn."
Read Nies’ 12-slide manifesto, "Stories, Storytelling, Story-Selling in Business."
Order from this site and get TWO bonuses!
Companion ebooks to Stories that Sell!
Get the most out of Stories that Sell with The Marketer's Toolkit AND The Writer's Toolkit. These additional resources provide proven tips to help you succeed with success stories.
Recent Comments