By Maggie David Holley
MarketingProfs and the Content Marketing Institute recently released reports stating that live events and case studies are the two most effective content marketing tools for B2B companies.
Case studies are stories of how businesses overcome obstacles, so no wonder they’re so effective. Even though we now receive enough information to make a typical laptop crash in a week, our brain still responds to data like it always did—by looking for stories to make sense of the experience.
Unfortunately, it can be challenging to convince customers to say yes to case studies. Some customers see your solution as a competitive advantage that they’d rather not share with others. Those with hundreds of vendors avoid the hassle of saying yes to many by saying no to all (common among Fortune 500 companies). Some are simply busy.
It could also be that from your customers’ point of view, they already did you a favor by giving you their business. They’re not especially inclined to do another one.
That’s why you should not ask your customers for a case study, but rather sell them the idea of one. And just like in any sales pitch, you need a strong value proposition to make their participation worthwhile. To increase the chances that they’ll say “yes,” consider adding these 7 benefit statements to your proposal:
- It’s positive publicity. Remind your customers that by making their best practices public, they’re building or solidifying their reputation as a thought leader in their industry. Offer to allot a significant part of the case study to discussing the benefits of their products (although make sure to prioritize those that can be attributed, at least partly, to your own).
- It attracts media coverage. Check out any business, industry, or trade publication, and you’re going to see article after article about a company facing a challenge and coming out victorious. Editors are keenly aware that if they are to grow and maintain their readership, they need to provide a constant supply of stories with characters and situations their readers can relate to. Have a media distribution plan that includes publications that target your customer’s customers, and let them know about it.
- It can impress their boss. Case studies portray your customers as smart decision makers, which can lead to promotions and lucrative job offers. Encourage your customers to share the document with their bosses and peers to showcase how their actions helped their companies achieve important goals. If your solution resulted in cost savings and/or increased sales, your customers can also use the document to help justify their investment.
- It can win them awards. Your customers may not realize that they can submit case studies to industry award programs. Many trade groups that offer awards solicit customer stories as entries. Criteria include things like cost savings, increased productivity, or successful implementation of technology. Include in your case study proposal several examples of awards that are relevant to your customer.
- It can win them more awards. If your company has the means and the customer base, you can even establish a customer awards program yourself. Use it to recognize customers who have achieved unprecedented value and success with your solutions. Position a case study as one of the benefits of winning an award, along with things like plaques and special recognition sessions at your annual conference.
- It can save them money. Consider offering financial incentives. However, make sure they’re not the personal kind, but ones that benefit your customer’s company. That way, it doesn’t come across as if you’re “buying” your customer’s testimonial. A few large companies actually give discounts, special training, and other value-added services in exchange for customer stories and other types of reference activities.
- It gives them more access to your company. Give your best customers opportunities to interact with your executives at meetings and events, or to participate in advisory boards and technical councils. Offer to let them beta test a product in development and/or suggest improvements to future versions. Not only will increased access and involvement warm them up to your case study proposal, it will also strengthen your relationship with them.
If all else fails, see if your customers will at least agree to a case study that omits their company’s name. This piece is obviously not as powerful, but it’s still worth developing. You never know—under the cover of anonymity, your customers might be willing to divulge more metrics and details regarding their experience.
If they won’t agree even to an unnamed case study, pitch, as a last resort, the idea of an internal story. This means the case study will only be used to train your sales representatives on how your company’s products and services have helped the customer overcome challenges. It will not be distributed outside the company.
Be persistent. Some of the world’s largest companies spend years cultivating relationships with customers before selling them the idea of a case study. It’s worth the effort. Once it’s complete and approved, there are multiple places where you can use a good customer story: in your press releases, white papers, webinars, live events, media articles, website, sales collateral, and more.
The post 7 Strategies You Can Use to Convince Customers to Say Yes to Case Studies appeared first on Maggie Holley │ Healthcare Marketing Writer.