Podcast: Case Studies to Build Trust and Sales
How do you make the most of a customer’s success story? What if you can’t name a customer? How do new FTC rules affect case studies?
Get answers to these questions and others on a 25-minute podcast where RainToday.com interviewed Casey Hibbard, "Using Case Studies to Build Trust and Facilitate Sales."
- Ways to use your customer case studies
- How many and how often to create case studies
- What makes a successful case study
- What if you can’t name customers?
- Examples of professional services firms using case studies successfully
- Why you shouldn’t make people register to access cases
- How to ease customer permissions and approvals
- What the new FTC rules mean for endorsements
Listen here. It’s only available to non-members of RainToday.com until Feb. 24.
The “Stories That Sell” B-Day Give-Away
Today’s a big day! It’s the first anniversary of the release of the book, Stories That Sell.
It’s been a great year, and in honor of the occasion, I’m giving away a 43-page PDF excerpt of Stories That Sell, which covers the whys and hows of creating, managing and using customer stories.
This meaty chunk of the book comes straight from the chapter on ways to use customer success stories and case studies in sales, marketing and PR.
Tons of real examples will inspire you to use your stories more extensively and creatively to grow your business or cause in 2010.
Wishing you all you hope for in 2010!
Coming later this week: The top 5 ways to use your customer stories in ‘10
Awards Get Customers to Tell Their Stories – Fast
It can be really tough to get customers to go public with their stories.
But the prospect of winning an award gets customers on board – fast!
Your products and services are helping customers do innovative, progressive things. Why not submit those examples for industry awards where you both get some of the glory?
Just last week, I helped a client capture two of its best customer success stories to submit for two different awards programs in my client’s industry.
And get this…Both featured customers are major, nationally known companies.
My client’s customers were all over the idea, even mentioning how excited they were in the interviews. Plus, the prospect of an award deadline got the customers to MOVE quickly.
Somehow, submitting for awards doesn’t require (in most companies) the usual PR/legal approval that customer case studies do, but you still get a positive story out publicly- if you win.
If the entry wins, everyone benefits:
- The individuals at your customer companies receive praise internally for their efforts.
- The customer company receives positive press.
- You, as the vendor, receive attention for being part of award-winning efforts. You can then turn around and publicize that every chance you get.
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Moreover, once your customer has won an award, they’re often more likely to allow you to publish that tale as a case study or success story.
2010 Action Steps:
- Search online for awards relevant to your industry and mark them on your calendar.
- Select some customers that you’d like to submit.
- Capture their stories well in advance.
- Fill out the award application for the customer.
- Get the customer’s approval of the award submission.
- Go back later and ask if you can simply put that information into a public case study.
If you win, tell everyone!
Any great success stories to share about submitting customers’ stories for awards?
Give Your Success Stories Their Own Website?
On most business websites, you have to dig to find a single story.
If you do find any, it’s usually after you’ve waded through levels of capabilities copy and promises.
So separate company sites that are dedicated solely to stories are refreshing. They get it.
Stories That Sell, the book, highlights companies like Toyota and Sage Software for their separate story websites. (The latter, created for a specific campaign, is no longer live.)
The latest to come to my attention is The Ford Story.
American car makers have had one of the roughest years ever. But Ford has been surprisingly successful ($997 million profit in JUST this past quarter) and is making sure it tells its best stories.
The online Ford Story website tells internal Ford stories, such as what’s going on in R&D. But it mostly showcases customer success stories.
- 15-second commercial spots featuring real drivers talking about what they like most about their cars
- A video story about how Ford Focus owners soup up their cars
- Articles on Ford’s current initiatives in areas such as energy efficiency
- A feature on how firefighters drive Ford trucks
- Interesting, self-submitted customer success stories with photos
- The latest posts in the company’s Twitter stream
A large "Submit Your Stories" box encourages customers to share written versions of their stories in under 500 words, and add photos and videos.
Ford also enables comments on all its content, encouraging interaction.
Why a unique niche site? Almost like an online magazine, it allows a company to separate the story from the product/service facts and promises. In doing so, that story stands out more.
That’s not to say that your main site shouldn’t include success stories. But niche sites help give extra attention to specific messages you want to reinforce.
Check it out. It’s an engaging site, even if you’re not in the market for a car.
What do you think about this separate site approach?
Easy Peasy – PR with Customer Case Studies
Think getting great PR takes diligent relationship-building with editors? Not always.
With most publications running in print AND online today, editors are constantly looking for fresh, interesting content. And as we’ve said before, customer success stories and case studies are in high demand.
When a client landed one of its case studies on the online version of a major industry publication recently, I wanted the details on how they got the story picked up.
Here’s my client’s answer:
"A summer marketing assistant basically just reached out to this publishing group and was told they could use a story to spotlight. Nothing super difficult!"
Impressive. It’s not always this easy, but I’ve heard enough similar stories to know it’s worth a try.
The story
The engineering software company’s case study featured how one of its customers used the product on a major Canadian highway project.
The original case study
The software company initially created a two-page case study with a software screen shot and photo.
How it was submitted to the publication
The marketing assistant turned the story into a by-lined article, in this case by me (the writer).
What ran
The publication ran the story nearly as-is, shortening it just a bit. Here’s the final story.
How to increase your chances
What really contributed to success here? My guesses:
- The article aligned with the publication’s audience – their needs and concerns
- It was submitted in a way that matched the editorial guidelines
- It tells an interesting story
What are your success stories in getting PR placed using customer case studies?
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.
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