Customers don’t want to be the first. They want other people to provide the proof that your product or service is effective. As a result, customer case studies become an effective marketing tool for small businesses.
Customer Case Studies Marketing
On the Small Business Radio Show this week we speak with Brian McCarthy. Brian works as a direct-response copywriter and author of “Case Studies that Close Sales”. He discusses how to use case studies to build your sales pipeline. His past clients include industry leaders like T. Harv Eker and Ramit Sethi.
Business owners know that online reviews and testimonials are essential for providing social proof that whatever your sell has value. But Brian believes that case studies are the best marketing tool to actually close sales. He defines the case study as the customer journey from what problem they were having to the results they received from your product or service. This is not just a before and after testimonial, but the entire journey of how it felt during the process. Brian says that it answers the question for the prospect: Can it work for someone just like me?
Essentials of a Great Case Study
Brian discusses the essential elements of an effective customer great case study:
- Describe the company’s pain in detail before they used your solution.
- The other products or services they tried that did not work for them.
- What was it like to use the product or service and the lessons that were learned.
- The end results and how this has changed their business.
According to Brian, the common mistakes most people make with case studies are:
- Just short quotes from the customer.
- It is more of a sales pitch than insightful lessons.
- There are not enough details of the pain or the experience.
- It is not fun or conversational. Case studies need to include videos and pictures.
Remember, the case study can be repurposed to build leads for your pipeline. For example, Brian has successfully used them for Facebook retargeting ads, content pages on your website, and parts of books.
Listen to the entire interview on the Small Business Radio Show.
Image: marketingwithbrian.com