There is no better weapon in your marketing arsenal than a convincing case study. Here’s an example. Earlier this year, I helped a publishing client revive consumer interest in a 23-year-old backlist book. Our efforts were so successful that the book made the New York Times bestseller list for the first time in the book’s history. This success was major news, because it’s rare for an old book to make the bestseller lists after being years in publication.
Afterwards, I gave a presentation on this success story to a roomful of executives at a publishing conference. Within two weeks afterwards, three companies approached me for high-profile consulting projects. Their mindset was, “If you can do that for your client, maybe you can do it for us, too.”
My success led to more success. But, here’s the kicker. My success led to more success only because I told people about the success. If I had kept the story to myself, nothing would have happened. Instead, I created a case study, placed it on my website, sent it to prospects, and presented it in public. How does this apply to your situation?
1. Harvest new case studies on a regular basis:
- If you’re a company, ask happy customers, “What is your favorite thing about doing business with us?”
- If you’re a non-profit, ask happy donors, “What is your favorite thing about supporting us?”
- If you’re an author, ask happy readers, “What is your favorite thing about reading my books?”
2. Create individual case studies for each of your success stories. If you’re unfamiliar with how to correctly format them, next week I’ll explain how to layout a case study from beginning to end.
3. Use your case studies everywhere. Post them on your website. Bring them up in conversation with prospects. Use them in speeches. Mention them during media interviews. Share them in your newsletters and social media pages. In essence, use them or lose them.
No one can say anything more convincing about you or your company than happy customers. Skeptical people aren’t going to listen to your sales pitch. But, they will listen to stories of their peers experiencing success with you. Stop trying so hard to persuade people to buy your stuff. Instead, create case studies and let other people do the marketing for you.
Case study image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
