Creating Case Studies? The Math You Have to Master
I have a confession. I’m bad at math.
Writers and marketers out there, I know some of you are with me. We were the spelling bee champions, the honors English students and the school newspaper editors.
But algebra was not our thing. Sure, there were some kids talented at both, at which I’m always amazed.
After elementary school, my attitude become one of, "I’ll never use this stuff. I’m going to be a writer!"
Well, here I am in a career mostly about writing and I’m Googling my math questions, or instant messaging a quick story problem to my computer science/math husband.
If you are a mathlete, then stop reading here, or forward this to your "word" friends.
Persnickety Percentages
Customer case studies are about documenting results, showing that actual customers experienced the benefits that marketing and sales promised.
Whether you’re a marketer, business owner or writer producing case studies, there are likely times when you have to do the math on your own. It’s fairly rare that featured customers come ready with all their numbers worked out about how your solution made a difference.
So what do you need to know? Percentages!
In case studies, it’s all about the before and after. How much did the customer reduce costs? How much time are they saving? By what percent did their sales grow?
Percents are sometimes the fallback approach when you can’t name actual dollar figures. Customers will let you mention percentages instead, so you have to know how to calculate them.
Percentages can be easy if you’re going one direction with them, but not other directions.
Fortunately, I found a handy guide for the math-challenged among us. This page gives you a simple formula no matter which number you’re missing and how to do your calculations. There are even problems to test yourself.
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Love it. It’s easier than Mrs. Swafford’s approach in 6th grade. (They probably learn this in 3rd grade now.)
Bookmark the page. I know I have. You simply have to do the math in this job sometimes.
Just today, I needed to determine what percent 1752 is of 1,807,125. Can you?
Where the Pros Reveal Their White Paper Marketing Secrets
Today’s corporate executives don’t want a sales pitch. They want valuable content that helps them solve their business problems.
White papers – a sibling to the customer case study – do just that.
A September 2009 survey by Eccolo Media backs that up. In the study, which polled 501 executives involved in B2B technology purchases, 84% rated white papers as moderately to extremely influential in purchasing decisions.
If you’re a marketer who is under the gun to produce quality leads in 2010, you’ll want to check out the upcoming White Paper Success Summit 2010, put on by my friend Michael Stelzner, author of Writing White Papers.
The completely virtual 2010 Summit starts Tuesday, February 2 and runs through Wednesday, February 24.
Tomorrow, Jan. 21, is actually the last day to get the summit at the early-bird rate.
In addition to himself, Mike has brought together an all-star team of white paper experts, including Bob Bly (The White Paper Marketing Handbook), Brian Carroll (Lead Generation for the Complex Sale), Jonathan Kantor (Crafting White Paper 2.0), Roger C. Parker (White Paper Design That Sells), Joe Pulizzi (Get Content, Get Customers), John Jantsch (Duct Tape Marketing: The World’s Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide), Jill Konrath (Selling to Big Companies), Ardath Albee (eMarketing Strategies for the Complex Sale) and Gordon Graham, to mention just a few.
"Without costly ads or fancy designs, white papers are saving businesses by establishing thought leadership, attracting steady streams of quality leads and helping businesses close deals," says Stelzner. "Once a white paper is done, it can continue to reliably deliver leads for months or years to come."
No need to book pricey hotel reservations, pack a bag and trudge off to the airport to attend this conference. You can relax and enjoy the online Summit from a comfortable chair in your home or office. The sessions are spread over an entire month so you can fit them into your schedule.
Learn how to generate a steady stream of leads with white papers.
Get more information or register for the Summit.
(Disclaimer: I am an affiliate for this event, but I only promote events that I truly believe are valuable to my audience – and this is one of the best.)
My Success Story: Small Biz Owner Takes Control of Website
When I hear a good success story, I want to share it. And this time, it’s about my website.
I’m a small business.
As other small biz owners out there can likely attest, often the key to sanity (and profitability) is knowing what to do in house and what to hire out.
Minor updates or changes to my website definitely fall into the in-house category. I want the flexibility to make changes fast and without fees here and there.
Now I can. The "how" is what’s interesting.
I moved my entire Stories That Sell website onto a WordPress blog platform on the urging of my longtime web guy, Ray Gulick of Evolution Web Development (Evo).
Evo created the award-winning Evo4 CMS WordPress theme platform.
The move immediately gave me two huge benefits:
- Allows me to change content dynamically
- Boosts my site traffic
I should have done this sooner! Here’s why:
Search engines love change
If you blog, then you know how easy it is to publish content up on the web immediately.
Now, the same goes for my website. It’s about the easiest and cheapest content management system I could have.
Not only is my blog integrated right into my site (so blog readers see site navigation), but I can change ALL the other content on there easily - add new articles, update event dates, put up a press release.
As Ray says, "blogs are search engine magnets," with frequently updated, relevant content, so a blog platform naturally gives the site a traffic edge.
200+ percent more traffic
With the move, my blog now lives on my main book website, so anyone visiting the blog may browse the rest of the site.
That alone raised my site traffic more than 200 percent in the weeks following the change.
Moving forward, my site’s traffic should continue increasing because of the search engine effects of regularly changing content.
I didn’t realize the power of dynamic content until now.
Want to know more?
Blog Action Day: EDF’s Storytelling Strategy
Note: Today is Blog Action Day. More than 9,000 blogs around the world have committed to blogging today about one topic: climate change.
While doing research for my book, I came across Environmental Defense Fund. EDF partners with businesses, governments and communities to find practical environmental solutions.
I originally featured EDF in Stories That Sell because the company weaves storytelling into nearly all of its communications (newsletters, website, grant proposals, annual reports, etc.) in order to put a face on environmental issues.
Today, this blog spotlights exactly how EDF uses story to educate about the impact of climate change on our health:
Hotter Days Mean Unhealthier Air
Until developing asthma at age 12, Los Angeles resident Elizabeth Martin seemed born to be an athlete. She excelled in every sport she tried. "I loved soccer most of all," says Martin. "I was always the fastest person on my team, and I was the top female runner in my school, most of the time beating the boys as well."
Her dreams of a soccer career ended with the diagnosis of asthma, brought on by exercise. Martin took medication, but since most sports are played outside in the warm months, when smog shrouds the city, she soon found herself unable to participate. By age 13, her lung capacity was half what it should have been.
Martin’s story is likely to be shared by increasing numbers of active children–everywhere. Global warming is expected to increase the number of very hot days around the U.S., elevating smog levels to unsafe levels.
According to Dr. John Balmes of the American Lung Association of California, higher smog levels "may cause or exacerbate serious health problems, including damage to lung tissue, reduced lung function, asthma, emphysema, bronchitis and increased hospitalizations for people with cardiac and respiratory illnesses."
Smog forms when sunlight, heat and relatively stagnant air meet up with nitrogen oxides and various volatile organic compounds. Exposure to smog can do serious damage to our lungs and respiratory systems. Inflammation and irritation can cause shortness of breath, throat irritation, chest pains and coughing and lead to asthma attacks, hospital admissions and emergency room visits. These consequences are more severe if people are exposed while being active.
More hot days mean better conditions for creating smog that can trigger asthma and other breathing problems.
"The number of people with asthma in this country has more than doubled over the past 25 years, led by soaring rates in children" says Dr. John Balbus, head of Environmental Defense’s health program. "With climate change worsening smog in some areas and altering pollen levels, future air quality may pose a greater threat to our health, especially those of us with asthma and other lung diseases."
"To this day, I am bound to the indoor gym for any heavy-duty exercise," says Martin, now a college graduate. "I know for a fact these illnesses are related to the horrendous air quality in Los Angeles," Martin says. "I want to raise my children in Los Angeles. I love this city. But I fear that what has happened to me will happen to them."
Learn what you can do to make a difference»
SocialMediaExaminer.com Launches – New Free Social Media Magazine for Businesses
A couple of years ago, I started feeling some serious "peer" pressure.
"You have to start a blog," they said. So I reluctantly did.
Next, "You need to be on Twitter!" they continued to pester. So, I did that, without even knowing what Twitter was at the time.
And then, "You should start a LinkedIn group." Again, done.
And what now? I’m one of "them" – a social media convert telling all my colleagues and friends that they NEED to be using these tools.
I’m not the only one. 75% of marketers plan to increase social media use in 2010 (eMarketer)
The world’s leading social media experts – on one site
Honestly, it pays off. Probably two-thirds of my website and blog traffic comes directly from social media. I also learn a ton from those I’m connected to on sites like Twitter and LinkedIn.
So when Michael Stelzner asked if I would contribute to a brand-new, free online magazine about social media, I didn’t hesitate for a second.
Launching TODAY, Social Media Examiner is designed to help businesses discover how to best use social media tools like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to find leads, increase sales and generate more brand awareness.
Some of the biggest names in social media will weigh in, such as Mari Smith, Denise Wakeman, blogging expert and co-author of ProBlogger Chris Garrett, and Jason Falls, who has crafted social media campaigns for top corporations.
My part? In-depth case studies about how businesses use social media.
Live video Q&A – today
Today, the site kicks off with live Q&A sessions:
- 7 am Pacific: Chris Garrett
- 9 am Pacific: Denise Wakeman
- 11 am Pacific: Mari Smith
- 1 pm Pacific: Jason Falls
Fresh content this week
Here’s a sampling of the content launching just today, with more coming later this week.
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Video: Mike Stelzner interviews Coach Deb at SocialMediaExaminer studios
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Top 10 Easy Steps to Starting a Business Blog – Denise Wakeman
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Social Media Marketing Lowers Acquisition Costs 39 Percent for TakeLessons.com – Casey Hibbard
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How to Create Headlines That Go Viral With Social Media – Chris Garrett
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The Power of the Retweet: An Interview With Dan Zarrella – Mike Stelzner
Check it out. Personally, I’m excited to learn more about social media.
Order from this site and get TWO bonuses!
Companion ebooks to Stories that Sell!
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