Getting a customer to agree to and approve a case study is often a long and arduous process. In some cases, I’ve literally worked behind the scenes for a year or more before a customer would agree to an interview for a case study.
Technology companies go through this effort because case studies are incredibly valuable parts of the sales process, providing much needed proof points to potential customers about the value of their products.
What if you could squeeze even more ROI from each case study a customer agrees to pursue?
I’ve lined up and written hundreds of case studies for dozens of technology companies for over a decade. The case studies I’ve worked on are typically used early in the sales cycle as vendors attempt to create awareness for their products. They’re used for the following purposes:
· For “new deal” press releases that demonstrate that customers are buying the company’s product. This is helpful for companies with new products on the market where customers haven’t completed full implementations. These press releases also demonstrate momentum—that customers are adopting the product.
· As an offer for a lead-generation or lead-cultivation campaigns
· For placement on the company’s corporate Web site
· Or they’re used by the sales force to get in the door or as leave-behinds after the rep has visited a customer for the first time
Most case studies used in the awareness phase of the IT buying cycle tend to be one to two pagers used to show what product can do and that customers just like the prospect are actually using the product. At this point, potential customers are in the process of creating a list of options they need to explore further and use the case study to determine whether the product should be on that list.
This type of case study will typically discuss:
· The customer’s challenge that caused them to consider a new IT solution
· Why they chose the vendor
· A brief description the solution
· The benefits the customer has achieved from using the solution.
But software vendors who only create these early stage case studies are missing an opportunity to take advantage of the same customer story to create content that can also be used later in the sales cycle.
Once IT buyers have created their list of viable options, they next want to look at each option in more depth. As technology products increasingly become seen as commodities, potential customers want to see which vendors distinguish themselves as a trusted partner who can properly implement their solution and ensure that it solves the customers’ actual problems.
To address customers’ concerns at this stage of the buying process, why not create a more in-depth case study from the same customer interview where you can go into more detail about the implementation and adoption processes. Such a case study could talk about any unique:
· Requirements that needed to be addressed to solve the customer’s particular business problem and how you met those requirements
· Challenges you faced in implementing the solution and how you applied your expertise to overcoming them.
· Training needs and how you dealt with them
One vendor I’ve worked with that does produce this type of case study specializes in electronic medical records software. Customers in this market tend to be highly skeptical at all stages in the buying process so this vendor creates very detailed case studies that address these later stage buying issues by including detailed information about how its services organization helps customers:
· Customize the solution for the needs of their specialty and their practice
· Convert their paper medical records to an electronic format
· Trains technical users at the practice
· Train physicians and help practice managers encourage physicians to actually use the product on a daily basis.
By producing several case studies from a single interview, you dramatically increase your ROI from customer success stories by addressing different sets of customer concerns that come up in different stages of the buying cycle. Such stories can see you through the lead-generation process. They can be used as content in lead-nurturing campaigns, where you wish to reinforce the same message in different ways through different touches. And the sales force can use them when they engage with the customer.
How have you used case studies at different stages in the IT buying process?
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