Customer References Trim the Sales Cycle
Customer case studies pull major weight among your marketing and sales materials. But they are just one way that a customer can serve as a reference for a business.
Customer stories fall under the bigger umbrella of customer reference activities, which can involve anything from taking a phone call from a prospect, speaking to an analyst or agreeing to a press release.
Smart companies manage their customer references, and even smarter ones manage them well to ensure every reference is maximized – without overusing precious customer contacts.
But it’s a hard sell at most companies to add reference management.
What’s the payoff of a well-functioning reference program? Good metrics can be hard to come by.
A webinar put on by Gartner last week featured impressive stats:
Buyers trust references most
In Gartner surveys, the #1 thing that buyers said influence their preference to purchase is references from the IT provider. (The survey focused on technology purchases.)
Why? Because it reduces risk, according to those surveyed. If another company like them has done it, then they can reasonably expect to achieve similar results.
Moreoever, they are 2.5 times more likely to buy from a provider that can quantify the value proposition. That means creating materials – like case studies – that demonstrate the return on investment of a solution.
References get customers to buy sooner
Gartner referenced the CIO Insight survey results that indicated prospects buy 25% faster when a relevant reference is provided.
References are so valuable that a strong one can actually shorten the sales cycle.
What’s the monetary value?
Even more impressive is just how much references mean to buyers – so much that sales reps may be able to bypass other steps in the process.
Gartner told the story of an IT provider that offers pre-sales assessments, which can cost up to $30,000 each.
However, “skillful use of customer references actually reduced the need for these assessments by a third, saving the company almost 200,000 last year while accelerating the sales cycle.”
It’s not easy to make the case for true reference management, but these stats should go a long way.
Customer Presented on Your Behalf? Do More with a Live Case Study
This week, two PowerPoint presentations came my way.
My clients’ happy customers had actually presented these decks in live case studies (either in person or on a webinar). How fantastic is that – a customer willing to talk to an audience about success with your products and services?
That’s about as good as it gets.
Smart marketing teams know the next step: Turn that live presentation into something that you can re-use again and again.
Here are 4 tips for taking next steps with a customer’s live case study presentation.
1. Ask for permission upfront
You would think that standing on a podium and publicly discussing success with a specific solution makes a written story a shoe-in.
Not true. A written story, posted on the web, leaves a searchable and lasting trail of evidence about what your customer said. This scares some customers. They’re worried you’re the next Enron and they just don’t want to risk a public endorsement.
You need to ask for specific permission for a separate written story, and the customer will want to review it most likely.
While your contact may be fine with turning the presentation into written or video assets, the company may not agree. BEFORE you record that presentation or webinar, or write it, ask for official permission.
If you can record it, ask HOW you can use the recording. Some might just give you permission to share it internally among sales reps, while others will let you post it on your website, Facebook, YouTube, etc.
2. PowerPoint is not enough for written
Even if you don’t plan to use the recording with external audiences, or don’t have permission to do so, a recording is valuable.
A PowerPoint presentation provides the visuals and highlights but it’s never the full story. The presenter adds that.
What’s missing from PowerPoints? Detail, explanation, complete sentences for quotes, and most critically, emotion.
Customer case studies are stories. Without real customer comments and emotion, you lose much of its storytelling power.
Personally, I always have more questions, usually lots more, when I receive a PowerPoint.
So, get it recorded somehow. If you don’t want to release the video to a writer, then get a transcript.
3. Interview the customer
For a couple of reasons, you may need to interview the customer further:
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The customer’s presentation didn’t include some of the information that usually goes into a case study. Maybe the customer doesn’t go into why they chose your solution – a very insightful piece for prospective customers.
- Or, you did not get a recording.
Ask the customer if they are willing to fill in some of the gaps that the slide deck misses.
4. Got permission? Use it!
When you get specific permission to use these assets, make them work for you. Don’t shelf that rich information.
Post video, edited down perhaps, on demand on your website. Send the video link to prospects, Tweet about it, and distribute it on social media video sharing sites.
Write it up and post it online and among your sales assets.
Check out this list for 25 ways to use your customer stories.
What are your experiences getting more out of live presentations?
How to Repackage Precious Case Study Content
Picking up from my last post commenting on Hubspot’s "27 Marketing Lessons B2B Marketers Should Know," here’s another tip from Hubspot that ties directly with customer case studies:
"Content is precious. Repackage existing content into different formats, such as blog posts, podcasts and webinars to drive more leads."
You can easily repackage customer case studies and success stories into valuable, reusable content throughout your sales and marketing communications.
Here are just a few ways:
1. Blogs
An estimated 77% of active web users read blogs. They’ve proven to be powerful drivers of search engine traffic.
Even better, those following your blog are interested in your particular topic, giving you the perfect target audience.
Share your best customer stories on your blog – either in full or linked back to the full story on your website.
Focus on the customer’s experience and path to success, not just tooting your own horn.
And finally, be sure to get the customer’s permission before you publish anything with their name on it.
2. Contributed articles
For editors, it’s all about the compelling story. They’re constantly looking for ideas and contributed articles that tell stories their audiences want to hear.
Many websites and publications take contributed articles.
Try submitting a story about your new product and see how that goes. Then try submitting a story about how a specific customer has succeeded with your product, and it changes things.
With just a little editing, you can turn a customer case study into a contributed article, preferably by-lined by your customer.
Just make sure it focuses on best practices and approaches without heavily talking up your product or service.
3. Press releases
The same thing goes for press releases as above.
When you announce news, such as a new product offering, pull an anecdote into your press release that ties the news to a customer’s success.
Ideally, you have some beta customers with early experiences of your solution that you can share.
A customer example makes a dry release much more interesting.
4. Industry awards
I’m big on awards these days – after seeing some Fortune 500 companies jump at the chance to tell their stories for awards opportunities.
Why? We all like to be recognized for our efforts. Your customers are no different.
If they’re doing cool, best practices things, and your solution helps with that, find relevant awards programs and ask their permission to submit them.
You might be surprised how on board they get for an awards submission when they might not publish their story as a case study.
If your customer wins, their story gets natural publicity through the awards process.
Also, once you have all the juicy details, ask if you can make that public on your website.
5. Newsletters
Feature a different customer success in each newsletter or e-zine that goes to customers, prospects and even employees.
Show all your audiences how you help customers solve their problems.
It will likely be the most read part of your newsletter.
But that’s not all. Check out 25 Ways to Build Trust (and Sales!) with Customer Success Stories.
Radio Interview: The Why and How of Customer Success Stories
This week I was honored to be interviewed by Wayne Hurlbert on his Blog Business Success radio show.
Now on demand, the one-hour interview covers the role of customer success stories in building trust and sales. We also get into the steps to take in creating customer stories, interview tips, and ways to get customers to say yes to being featured.
Hurlbert also reviewed my book, Stories That Sell, on his Blog Business World blog. He says…
For me, the power of the book is how Casey Hibbard demonstrates the power and relative simplicity of customer story telling as an organizational credibility building technique. The author shows the reader step by step, how to utilize stories to transform everyday sales and marketing programs to great ones, that really connect with the customer on a personal level.
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.
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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