Case studies are invaluable when it comes to establishing proof that what you’re offering is valuable and of good quality. Here are 13 tips from our friends at LogicMelon.
When you’re thinking about investing in a product or service, what’s the first thing you do? Research!
Today most consumers use the Internet to find a business supplier, and a large proportion of consumers will read online reviews. Most people are looking to peers to make a purchasing decision. Most customers know that online research could spare them from a bad experience and poor budget investment.
What’s a marketing case study?
A marketing case study aims to persuade that a process, product, or service can solve a problem. Why? Because it has done so in the past. By including the quantitative and qualitative outcomes of the study, it appeals to logic while painting a picture of what success looks like for the buyer. Both of which can be powerful motivators and objection removers.
Why use case studies?
Case studies are invaluable when it comes to establishing proof that what you’re offering is valuable and of good quality.
Many marketers name case studies as one of the primary forms of media used within their content strategy. This makes them the fifth most popular type of content, outshined only by visual content, blogs, and ebooks.
Below are 13 tips to help you market your case studies to get the most out of them:
1. Create PDF case study templates for email or downloads as a marketing or sales asset
Do not underestimate the value of providing social proof at just the right time in order to add value and earn their business. Case studies are extremely effective in the consideration stage of the buyer’s journey when they are actively comparing solutions and providers to solve a problem they’re experiencing.
Create PDF case studies by using a case study master template. Doing so can decrease the amount of time you spend creating and designing your case study without sacrificing aesthetics. In addition, you can ensure that all your case studies follow a similar branded format.
2. On your website have a dedicated case studies page
You should have a webpage exclusively for housing your case studies. Whether you call this page “Case Studies, “Success Studies,” or “Examples of Our Work.”
The structure on that page is key: Initial challenges are clear for each case, as well as the goals, process, and results.
3. Put case studies on your web home page
Give website visitors every chance you can to stumble upon evidence of happy customers. Your home page is the perfect place to do this.
There are several ways you can include case studies on your homepage. Here are a few examples:
- Customer quotes/testimonials
- A call-to-action (CTA) to view specific case studies
- A CTA leading to your case studies page
- Direct and match your key website visitors to appropriate case studies
4. Implement CTAs
CTAs don’t have to be huge, glaring pop-up banners – instead, relevant but discreet slide-in CTAs can work much better. Test out a slide-in CTA on one of your product pages, with a link to a case study that profiles that customer.
5. Write blog posts about your case studies
Once you publish a case study, the next logical step would be to write a blog post about it to expose your audience to it. Remember to write about the case study in a way that identifies with your audience’s needs. Write about a specific hurdle, issue, or challenge the company overcame, and then use that company’s case study to demonstrate how the issues were addressed.
6. Create videos from case studies
Prospects could be more likely to watch a video than they are to read a lengthy case study. If you have the budget, creating videos of your case studies is a really powerful way to communicate your value proposition.
7. Post about case studies on social media.
Case studies make for perfect social sharing material. Here are a few examples of how you can leverage them on social:
- Share a link to a case study and tag the customer in the post. The trick here is to post your case studies in a way that attracts the right people to click through, rather than just a generic message.
- Share your case studies in relevant LinkedIn pages
- Target your new case studies to relevant people across all your social media platforms
8. Use case studies in your email marketing
Case studies are particularly suited to email marketing when you have an industry-segmented list of contacts to help drive a lead nurturing campaign.
Case studies can also be highly effective when used in product-specific lead nurture workflows in reactivating opportunities that have gone cold.
9. Incorporate case studies into your newsletters
This idea is as good for your client relations as it is for gaining the attention of your prospects. Customers and clients love feeling as though they’re part of a community. Prospects warm to companies that look after their customers; companies whose customers are happy and proud to be part of something.
10. Drop a case study into your email signature
Include a link to a recent case study in your email signature. This is particularly useful for salespeople.
11. Use case studies in training
Having customer case studies is an invaluable asset to have when onboarding new employees. It aids developing their buy-in, belief in, and understanding of your offering.
12. Include case studies in your lead generation efforts
There are several offers you can create based on your case studies, in the form of ebooks, templates, and more. You could create a more in-depth version of the case study with access to detailed statistics as an offer, which adds credibility and could increase your conversion rates. Or, you could create a template based on your customer’s approach to success.
You can also use case studies to frame webinars, using case studies in webinars is a great way to move your leads further down the funnel towards becoming sales qualified leads.
13. Create a library of presentations
It’s important to build up a library of content that staff across your organisation can use during presentations or demos. Case studies are ideal for this.
Pull together a few slides on the highlights of the case study to stir people’s interest, and then make them available to your sales and customer-facing teams. Ensure marketers can explain the presentation clearly and answer any questions that might arise.
Going forward
Now that you’ve read about the value of a marketing case study and the different ways that they can be used in your content marketing and sales strategy, your next step is to think about what would convince your target audience to do business with you!
Contact
At LogicMelon, we have experienced software recruitment marketing specialists to help you build effective recruitment solutions. Award-winning recruitment software that will find, attract, hire and analyse the way you want to work. LogicMelon (UK) +44 (0) 203 553 3667 (USA) +1 860 269 3089
