The best case studies are truly the gifts that keep on giving -- but only when you know when to give them to your customers.
Beyond the fact that every case study reflects a successful sale, it also provides a detailed look into the kind of customer experience you offer. This includes some background on the customer you’re profiling and their pain point, why they chose your firm and, most importantly, the benefits they’ve seen since putting their purchase into action.
Whereas eBooks, blog posts and infographics are often great at helping spell out the business case for certain kinds of products and services, case studies offer anecdotal but tangible proof that backs up your value proposition. As companies grow, then, one of the biggest items on their to-do lists should be creating as robust a case study library as possible.
Ideally your sales team should be able to point to case studies that focus not only on your best-known or top-selling product, but newer ones or combinations of several products and services. You’ll also want to produce case studies that can speak to the way your products and services in different kinds of vertical markets, or by organizations of various sizes.
Case studies can vary in terms of their length, format or presentation — you can create video-based case studies that complement written ones, for instance — but the end result should be the same. You want a content marketing asset that assists reps in closing more deals.
Assuming you're already at this stage, it’s time to think about the tipping points where introducing case studies can make a real difference in the buying decision. Here are the most common ones:
Scenario one: the lead that refuses to be led
It happens all the time: someone downloads a white paper or registers for a webinar, suggesting they have some kind of interest in your firm’s offerings or even more obvious purchase intent. The contact details for this person are passed onto the sales rep, who duly reaches out. . . and hears nothing back after multiple attempts.
This can happen for all kinds of reasons (including the fact your lead is genuinely super busy), but there is one explanation in particular that requires action. It could be that by looking at your white paper or listening to your webinar, your lead assumes they’ve learned all they need to know about your products and services.
Going beyond the typical lead gen program follow-up here with a case study can help in several ways. It can show your lead that your products are already in active use by firms like theirs. It shows you have a demonstrated track record, not just a compelling marketing message. Finally, it shows your rep is doing their homework by selecting a case study they think is relevant, rather than just treating every lead the same.
Scenario two: the ‘seen one, you’ve seen them all’ assumption
Your product might not be a commodity, but potential customers can still treat companies that way. If they don’t really see how your organization stands out from the rest of the competition, your sales team is put in the worst possible position. It means they’re forced to compete on things like price, which is usually a race to the bottom.
Case studies help here because they tell a story about the relationship you build with your customers and the work you put in to ensure they’re able to achieve their goals. If you have quotes in your case study that speak to the depth of your team’s knowledge and their responsiveness to answering questions, you’ll be competing on experience instead.
This is why case studies can be a great “bottom of the funnel” tactic when prospects are down to only a few vendors in their selection process.
Scenario three: the anxious boss
Sales reps often know they’re pitching to a group of decision makers within the same organization. The trouble is that they don’t always get to meet all of them.
Their key contact, for example, may have to pass big purchases by their boss before any deal can be closed. And the time available for that contact person to talk to their boss might be really limited.
Case studies aren’t just something to empower sales reps. They can also be used to empower your customers when they need to provide reassurance or build greater confidence in the decision being proposed. The boss might never call up the person featured in the case study, but seeing the evidence of a successful project lets them see what’s possible.
Final thoughts
Sometimes you’ll see TV commercials where, after talking up their product, someone from the company will say, “But don’t take our word for it,” and the camera will jump to an everyday customer offering a testimonial.
Case studies work in much the same way. You can have a pitch deck that includes a slide full of customer logos, but a case study provides the depth that prospects often need in order to get over their skepticism and build trust, especially with a new vendor.
That said, don’t just hand the case study over and do nothing. Make it part of a discussion. Offer additional details or “behind the scenes” anecdotes that weren’t mentioned in the case study but that helped get those customers off the fence.
Your case studies should be a place where future customers can see themselves — and if all goes well, they might eventually become the heroes of the next one.
