by Karen Newcombe
What's the first thing you do when you need a service or a product for your business?
You go online, you read the reviews, and you ask your colleagues for their opinions: Who did you work with? Did you like working with them? Did they do a good job solving your challenges? What is their service/product really like? Would you hire them again?
Whatever business you're in, your customers are talking about you and your prospects are talking to them. You need to put these powerful conversations to work for you.
Client success stories, traditionally called case studies, can help prospects understand your business offerings more clearly – they learn how you solved a client's problems, and helped that client be more successful.
When a client explains how your firm solved their issues, it helps differentiate your firm from everyone else in your industry. This is powerful stuff!
How can you best use client success stories and case studies? In many ways:
- Present them on your website
- Offer a PDF of a printable document
- Make a slide presentation from the key points
- Videotape a scripted interview with the client
- Offer short summaries from several cases on an information sheet
- Use them to create compelling press releases
- Use the data in articles for trade magazines
- Feature quotes in all your communciations
- Use the case studies in your industry conference or trade show presentations
What goes into a client success story? A great client success story follows a story arc that explains who the customers are, what challenges they faced, how your services or products helped them overcome those challenges, and what the outcome has been. Some firms use a formal approach for case studies that uses a rigorous, academic style. Many firms today prefer a more journalistic writing approach, similar to a newspaper or magazine article, to establish a more conversational and inviting tone: you're trying to help prospects understand how you can improve their lives.
How do you create client success stories? The process starts with identifying clients who are willing to cooperate with your goals and have the time to fully particiate in the interview and review process. If you are using an outside case study writer they will spend some time familiarizing themselves with your firm, your products, your services, your overall marketing messages, and your particular marketing goals for this client story. Your writer, whether an internal staffer or an outside consultant, will talk to the person who worked most closely with the client to gain useful background.
The writer then outlines a set of focused interview questions, talks to the customer, drafts a preliminary document and usually has the marketing team review it first to ensure the message is on target. Many writers will help you manage the review and editing process, taking that burden off your marketing team. The final document is turned in after editing and approval. Your writer may supply you with several versions such as a full write-up, an executive summary, or a bulleted list of main points appropriate for a PowerPoint presentation.
What if the client says something completely unexpected? Most customers know what you're after when you work with them on a case study and are happy to cooperate. Occasionally someone tells an unexpected story, but these are sometimes more interesting and useful than the original marketing agenda. Your writer should notify you before proceeding further if something unusual or especially interesting came up in the interview – it may offer you a great new angle you hadn't considered.
What does it cost to write client success stories and case studies? For a one page write-up you can expect to pay in the range of $500 - 1000. For a two-page study, a $1500 fee is appropriate. Larger corporations or technology firms who need to convey highly technical information can expect to pay an appropriately higher cost. The fee typically does not include the writer's time for collecting background information and strategizing with your marketing staff, which could be a few hundred dollars.
What kind of firm can benefit from using client success stories? Any firm in any business - whether you maintain swimming pools or provide veterinary services or design billion dollar airports, your clients are watching you online. Make sure what they read is the most positive and useful information they can find.
If you want help creating your client success stories, call me.
Image: Karen Newcombe using OmniGraffle