It happens to every marketer. You want to reach a particular sector of prospective customers, but no matter what you do, your prospects don’t convert as much as you’d like. That’s what happened to me with an industry that was especially challenging to sell to.

I got through from the back door, writing for companies that serve multiple industries, including this one, but I wanted more.

I’ve been using case studies for years – from the time I collected thank you notes from customers at my first job, where no one believed we had any satisfied customers – but I’ve never used them to introduce myself to companies I want to work with.

It was time to step up my game – and it worked.

As a result of incorporating case studies in introductory emails, I doubled my response rate, closed the deal with a higher-than-usual percentage of the companies I pitched – and it was one of my shortest sales cycles ever.

And still, there’s a problem with case studies that too many companies face.

 

 

The Problem with Case Studies, and How this Expert Roundup Will Help You Solve it

Case studies convince prospects because they feature interviews with your customers, who describe how your solution helped them. Case studies allow you to tell stories in a non-salesy way, with your customers as heroes and your product as their magic wand.

New to case studies? Here’s what they’re all about (watch until the end to see what happens with the baby bears):

But here’s the problem:

Case studies aren’t easy to create. You need to decide on goals, find customers who’ll participate, then do your research, come up with interview questions, conduct interviews, write the case study, edit the case study, and get customer consent for publication.

And that’s before you even start marketing the case study.

Therefore, many marketers fear the ROI won’t be enough to justify their efforts, and they resolve to do nothing at all.

That’s why I decided to do a mini research of best practices.

For 3 months, I emailed, Skyped and talked on the phone with amazing marketing experts from 5 countries (OK, most are from the US, but we also have people here from Canada, Israel, Australia and Uganda).

In this post, they share their success stories of case study marketing, so you can follow in their footsteps and make a bigger impact.

 

 

Who are the Marketers in this Expert Roundup?

The marketers featured here hold different positions in a multitude of company sizes and company types around the world.

You’ll recognize some company names, like….

  • Rainmaker Digital (formerly Copyblogger Media)
  • Constant Contact
  • GoAnimate
  • Mirasee (formerly Firepole Marketing)
  • There’s even a former Facebook and White House executive here

…. and you’ll probably learn a few new ones, like….

  • G(irls)20 Summit, which was founded by one of BBC’s Top 100 Women at the Clinton Global Initiative
  • Set Her Free, a nonprofit that saves girls from the sex industry

But regardless of their differences, they all share one important strategy in common:

They all use case studies to increase the return on their marketing investment… and to make this world a better place.

 

 

2 Ways to Make $3,000 By Reading this Expert Roundup

IMG_5683

 

This is the inaugural post of my new monthly blog, which I’m starting to make sure you take action that leads to better results with content. Welcome aboard!

Therefore, I’ve come up with two ways you can make actual money by reading this inaugural post:

 

Way #1: Win $3,000 Worth of Copywriting Services from an Experienced Copywriter (Time Sensitive)

To celebrate the launch of my monthly blog and the 4th biziversary (biz anniversary) of my freelance writing business, I’m giving away $3,000 worth in copywriting services… to help you launch anything you want.

Click here today for your chance to win (time sensitive!).

 

 

Way #2: Don’t Just Read this Roundup – Take Notes and Take Action.

There’s no easy way to way to say it. Simply reading a post, even one with massive value, doesn’t really make you money or brings in any type of results.

There’s a ton of valuable information and strategies in this roundup, that you can take to your company and team. Take notes while reading, then leave a comment at the end of this post, and tell our experts what 1 action you’ll take this week to increase your own bottom line and make a difference in the world. There’s nothing like public accountability, and we’ll all be cheering for you!

 

 

 

How 21 Experts from 5 Countries Increase Case Study ROI and Make a Difference

How to Increase Case Study ROI - Expert Roundup

Got your pen or smartphone ready? Here are the top ways marketers around the world get meaningful results with case studies.

 

Case Studies Help You Increase Sales and Customer Lifetime Value

IMG_5688
Let’s start from the top. Every company needs to generate income, and industry studies constantly rank case studies as the most effective way to do just that for a reason.

 

We More than Doubled Our Annual Revenue in the Past Year. One of the Biggest Things We Did was Put an Emphasis on Case Studies.
Mirasee - Danny Iny

Danny Iny (Canada), founder and CEO of Mirasee (previously Firepole Marketing) and the Business Reimagined podcast. Best selling author of multiple books for visionary entrepreneurs.

“A big challenge was that the work  we do is quite unique – the support we offer, the value we offer, and the results our students experience. It’s beyond the norm.

“If you’ve bought competing products, you assume that represents what’s possible, and it doesn’t. Instead of telling our audience that we’re different, we use case studies to show them.

“Historically, we didn’t document case studies, because we were focused on delivering value. Now, when someone shares a success story with us, we ask if we can send a videographer to document it. We usually find a videographer online and spend $75 on it. They interview the customers at their home or office. We’ve been building this bank, and now we have many dozens, or hundreds, of case studies that show the results our students experience.
“Seeing and hearing  from people the results they got is a world of difference from saying it ourselves. Case studies are believable, they’re credible, they’re something people can legitimately believe.
“The more you want to rise above the norm, and want to give more and do better, the less likely people are to believe you. Don’t make crazy promises, just deliver, and then collect and share the proof.

“I can’t remember who said it – ‘When you talk about yourself, it’s bragging. When others talk about you, it’s proof’. But results don’t speak for themselves unless you capture them.

“I can’t point to a specific result and say this is because of case studies. You can’t split test everything. But in 2014, we had 1.25 million dollars in revenue. We closed 2015 with close to 3 million dollars in revenue, and one of the biggest things we did in 2015 was put an emphasis on case studies.”

 

About Danny Iny: Danny Iny is the CEO and founder of Mirasee (previously Firepole Marketing), a company that offers training and support to visionary entrepreneurs looking to create income through impact. Danny is the host of the Business Reimagined podcast, and the best-selling author of multiple books, including Engagement from Scratch!, The Audience Revolution and Teach and Grow Rich.

 

 

We Won a Dream Client After Sharing Case Studies throughout the Buying Cycle
SmartFocus - Tina-Marie Gulley

Tina-Marie Gulley (USA), Director of Marketing at SmartFocus and an expert global marketing strategist.

 

“I’ve used case studies in every role I’ve held. I tell our sales people how many case studies I need every quarter. Whoever gives them to me gets an award – like an iPad or Apple TV.

“The great thing about case studies is that you can involve them in any area of the buying cycle. You can share these stories in different ways throughout the lead nurturing and sales process. Some people like to read, some people want stories as examples in broader article. Depending on who your target audience is, you might have more color to share.
“We had a prospect we were trying to reach for years and years, and were never able to engage with this person, until one event… We started a conversation using the color and background info in the case study to engage with him – and he’s now a customer.
“It worked. He remembered us.”

 

 About Tina-Marie Gulley: Tina-Marie Gulley is the director of marketing, North America, at SmartFocus, where she drives one of the company’s largest growth areas. SmartFocus, which redefines context-driven marketing, helps over 2,500 customers – including Macy’s, Mercedes-Benz and HP – deliver 60 billion personalized interactions and 7 million email campaigns annually. An expert global marketing strategist, Tina-Marie previously led marketing strategies at Accelerite and White Pages PRO.
Case Studies Shorten Our Sales Cycle
6sense - Alison Murdock

Alison Mudock (USA), growth-focused SVP of Marketing at Verto Analytics, and the former VP of Marketing at 6sense.

“As a company that gives companies the power and the technology to predict sales and the buying stage of every prospect – known and unknown – it was extremely important to have our customers verify concretely how 6sense’s predictive intelligence platform had an impact on their business.

“Case studies, from companies like Cisco or Xactly, told stories which were helpful in explaining how companies would use data to drive revenues and create efficiency. Because the technology was so new, and the 6sense approach was fundamentally different than what came before, the case studies showed not only what was possible, but also what was actual, verifiable.
“Showing results shows that there were outcomes that were significantly higher than what customers experienced before using competitors’ solutions. Most marketers are familiar with their own rates or even industry benchmarks. So these case study results get prospects excited about what’s possible. Second, in case studies, where customers explain how they got to this point – from rolling out the solution to testify to results – that also helps move along the conversation with prospects.
“Short answer: case studies shorten our sales cycle!”

 

About Alison Murdock: Alison Murdock is a growth-focused professional with a great network, entrepreneurial spirit, creativity and a sense of humor. Alison recently wrapped her role as VP of marketing at 6sense, a B2B predictive intelligence engine for sales and marketing. She is now the senior vice president of marketing at Verto Analytics, a pioneer in digital, multi-screen media measurement.
 
I Use Case Studies to Sell Without Selling
Osnat Broshi-Chen

Osnat Broshi-Chen (Israel), MA. CEO of Concept, a branding and business strategist, and a tourism crisis management expert.

“I often use case studies to sell without selling. Whether I stand in front of an audience or work with a client, I talk about clients I’ve worked with, dilemmas we’ve dealt with, and the transformation these clients have gone through. Prospects can identify with these stories, which markets me as the best option.

“Sharing customer success stories builds my authority and establishes me as an expert. It answers the question ‘why choose me’. I regularly include case studies in my marketing because they make the most difference.
“Sometimes I speak in front of an audience, and selling is forbidden. You can only come and share content. Sharing customer success stories is a straightforward, non-aggressive way to sell without selling.
“I’m an adviser for Maof, the Ministry of Economy’s organization for small and medium-sized business. Recently, the Ministry of Economy invited me to speak about branding during the international entrepreneurship week. One of the branding stories I shared was about a client whose business was called Eucalyptus Scent 3 years ago. He does all kinds of massages, but his clinic wasn’t a busy clinic.
“When we worked on customer-centric branding, we came up with the name Therapy Clinic – Treating Pain, Rehabilitating Posture. My client was able to get more work even though he raised his prices. The client suddenly felt more comfortable and proud to talk about his business, because he realized the value of branding.
“Here I am, talking about the importance of branding to adding value to customers. I say that your business name can’t be random, but rather, it’s a promise – and I share an example of a challenging business in a competitive market. I shared other customer case studies too.
“As a result, I landed two subsidized clients through Maof, plus had another one on the waiting list. Someone else who heard me talk that day shared it with another woman, who become a private client – at a higher rate.
“Sharing case studies generates income for me.”

 

About Osnat Broshi-Chen: Osnat Broshi-Chen, MA, is a branding and business strategist, and a tourism crisis management expert. A PhD student at the University of Haifa, she combines academic knowledge of creativity and innovation and years-long practical experience in the business world. As the founder and CEO of Concept, she helps business owners market with their hearts without selling their souls. If you can read Hebrew, get branding tips from Osnat on Concept’s Facebook page.
Hesitant Prospect Was Convinced My Service Works – and Became a Client
Jessie Kwak

Jessie Kwak (USA), experienced freelance B2B copywriter by day, novelist by night.

“Most of the clients who come my way have a pretty solid idea of what content they want me to write. But on occasion, I get a client who’s looking to change their strategy, or is just starting out. Often, those are the clients who need advice on what types of content will work best for their business, and how to market those pieces.

“For that reason, it’s nice to have a wide range of client case studies tucked into my back pocket when discussing a project with a new client. When I was speaking to a potential client about B2B blogging packages, he shied away from buying because he wasn’t sure it would actually bring customers to his site. I was able to point to a different client of mine, who had trouble gaining traction on their B2B blog until they started posting the content I wrote for them on LinkedIn. After the shares and likes started rolling in from LinkedIn, this other company saw a return on investment for their blog.

“After hearing that, my potential client was willing to take the plunge and buy a blogging package from me.”

 

About Jessie Kwak: Jessie Kwak is a freelance B2B copywriter and novelist. By day, she helps her clients rock their content marketing initiatives (with articles published on sites like Forbes and LearnVest); by night, she creates adventurous worlds that entertain. You can find her copywriting portfolio at jlkwak.com, and her fiction (including her brand new novel, Shifting Borders) at jessiekwak.com.

 

 

A Client that was About to Leave Decided to Stay
RedBrick Health - Diane Autey

Diane Autey (USA), marketing expert and sales support content manager at RedBrick Health.

“We have a large client that was up for renewal. The client issued an RFP (request for proposal) we were in the process of responding to, and the account team feared we were going to lose the business due to service issues and our delay in rolling out a new platform.

“A presentation for the client’s key decision-makers was held at RedBrick Health. We printed and displayed on easels throughout the board room summaries of consumer success stories. These were all employees of the client and we included the client’s logo.

“The account team told me the meeting participants took time to walk around the perimeter of the room and read every one. It set a positive tone for the meeting and we believe contributed to the emotional appeal and helped us drive home the fact that our services are making a difference in the lives of their employees.
“The client renewed with RedBrick.”

 

About Diane Autey: With over two decades in marketing communications and public relations, Diane Autey is in charge of sales-supporting content at RedBrick Health. RedBrick works with large companies to help their employees lead healthier lives – with cutting edge behavioral science, technology and data analytics. Read Diane’s Life Lessons series on LinkedIn. 
We Finally Managed to Sell Out a Startup Accelerator Program in a Peripheral Location
Gvahim - Tamar Sasson

Tamar Sasson (Israel), experienced director of special projects, marketing and communications at Gvahim.

“We’re a nonprofit, so we measure things a little differently than businesses, but marketing is marketing. We noticed that when we share success stories on social media, people are more interested in what we do, so we decided to share success stories for our startup accelerator program, The Hive, and the course was filled up.

“We have two startup accelerators – in Tel-Aviv (Israel’s second largest city and a central hub for startups) and Ashdod.  Ashdod isn’t Tel-Aviv and it’s less comfortable for people to get there, so we needed to work harder to get people to sign up.
“We shared the stories of two successful entrepreneurs from our Ashdod accelerator on People & Computers (Israel’s largest tech media brand) and in a Facebook campaign. We didn’t want to simply say, ‘Come to the course because it’s amazing’. We wanted the now-successful entrepreneurs to share their success, like how they got funding, and tell potential participants how they can make the program work for them too.
“There’s no doubt we saw very good results: we sold out the accelerator.”

 

About Tamar Sasson: Tamar Sasson is the director of special projects, marketing and communications at Gvahim, a nonprofit that successfully incorporates international talents into the Israeli economy and top Israeli companies. Prior to Gvahim, Tamar was the audience development strategist and consultant at The Economist, and a communications and press professional at the Clinton Foundation.
 
Case Studies Helped Us Reach Over 100K Customers, Plus Land Speaking and Consulting Gigs Around the World
Kidpreneurs - Adam Toren

Adam Toren (USA), award winning co-founder of Kidpreneurs, Young Enterpreneur and Small Business, Big Vision.

“My brother’s daughter was 8 years old at the time when she asked him, “Daddy, what do you and Uncle do as your job (Entrepreneurs)?” The fact that she knew what a doctor, dentist, lawyer and nurse were, but had no clue what a small business owner or entrepreneur did really bothered us. This great country we live in was founded on entrepreneurship, and we felt it was important for her to at least understand the basics, whether she was going to go down the entrepreneurial path or not.

“So we went on a hunt to find a book or program that spoke to this age group in bite size nuggets that can easily be absorbed. We couldn’t find anything that we were happy with, so we wrote the book that we wished we had as kids, called Kidpreneurs.
“After my brother’s daughter had the opportunity to read the book and take action on some of her ideas, she has gone on to explore many of her ideas, and become quite successful at several of her endeavors. She now speaks to other kids and inspires them with her entrepreneurial experiences and shares her stories.
“Fast-forward to today. We have been able to share this story within our marketing efforts, which quickly and organically enabled us to hit the milestone of getting the Kidpreneurs book into the hands of 100,000+ kids. This has led to a tribe of followers and believers in the impact that Entrepreneurship can have on our community, society, city, country and world. We now have hundreds of thousands of people that believe in this message that help spread the word, which has allowed us to now be giving the book away for free.
“Once we started getting emails from kids sharing their stories of success, we were truly humbled and quickly realized that we are making a difference in so many kids’ lives, and look forward to continuing this amazing journey.
“The success and story of Kidpreneurs has led to us speaking on the topic, and also sharing our findings through articles and consulting around the world.”

 

About Adam Toren: Adam Toren is an award winning author, entrepreneur, adviser and investor. He and his brother, Matthew, co-founded Kidpreneurs to provide kids with tools and strategies to start and grow successful business ventures. Among others, Adam also co-founded YoungEnterpreneur.com, a network that helped like-minded entrepreneurs start and grow business ventures, and Small Business, Big Vision, where he and his brother teach entrepreneurs how to dominate the market.
 
Case Studies Helped Us Increase Free Trial to Paid Sign Up Conversions from 25% to Over 45%
NinjaOutreach - Dave Schneider

Dave Schneider (USA), co-founder of NinjaOutreach and founder of SelfMadeBusinessman.
 
(UPDATE: Dave no longer runs these websites, but can be found at lesschurn.io and daveschneider.me)

“People who use a software want to see other people being successful with it. They need to not just be taught how to use the features but how to achieve a tangible result with it. This is most aptly shown through case studies, which puts the actual software in the context of a real campaign.

“When we are successful with our own outreach, we make case studies of these, and then we add them to the educational part of our onboarding email series, so that our sign ups can benefit from them, and frankly copy them and apply them to their own outreach campaigns.

“Using case studies was one of several things we did, but this has been important in increasing our trial to sign up paid conversions from 25% to over 45%.”

 

About Dave Schneider: Dave Schneider is the co-founder of NinjaOutreach, an innovative blogger outreach software for marketers. As someone who left a Fortune 500 corporate job behind to travel the world and successfully build his own online business, he writes about business and entrepreneurship at SelfMadeBusinessman, including quality case studies and comprehensive resources.
 
(UPDATE: Dave no longer runs these websites, but can be found at lesschurn.io and daveschneider.me)
 
Case Studies Help You Make this World a Better Place
IMG_5690 (1)

 

Case studies don’t just make you money. They help you create change that transforms real lives and societies for the better.
I Was Finally Able to Send Sex Trade Survivors to School and Pay for their Rent, so they Can Stay in School
Set Her Free - Robinah SarahII

Robinah Sarah (Uganda), founder and CEO of Set Her Free, saves girls from sexual slavery.

“This has happened so many times – our girls go back to school and we didn’t have school fees.

“We have overcome it by sharing the girls’ success stories on our Facebook page and website, and this has helped us get individual sponsors for our girls. We have been able to secure school fees for our beneficiaries, and it’s no longer a challenge for our organization.”

 

About Robinah Sarah: Robinah Sarah is the founder of Set Her Free, an Uganda-based nonprofit organization that saves girls from sexual slavery – the most vile form of child labor – and provides them with a home, food, medical care, counseling, formal education, technical training, mentoring and the love they’ve been denied. Click here to sponsor a girl or buy the girls’ handmade jewelry.
 
Case Studies Help Us Convince Brands (Like Google) to Support a Tough-to-Sell Cause in a Saturated Market
Girls20 Summit - Farah Mohamed

Farah Mohamed (Canada), founder and CEO of G(irls)20 Summit, and one of BBC’s Top 100 Women.

“Right now, there’s very big gap between girls’ skills and education, which leads to unemployment. We have said to men, women, government people, business people that girls need to be educated. And let’s make sure that the girl we send to school pursues opportunities – and that opportunities exist. We want tangible outcomes.

“In social profit, there’s competition for the funding dollars, and female participation in the economy is a sensitive issue. Some get how important it is, some don’t get it.
 
“In addition, we approach every single exchange of dollars and knowledge as partnership.  You have to understand who is your partner and how they will benefit, and how you will benefit, from the partnership. You have to be creative. You can’t just get money and list their names, because you want the outcome to be better than where you started.
“To get these types of partnerships, we share success stories. A person’s story is far more powerful than anything else you can offer, because you’re offering proof, insight, motivation, and showing impact.
“We tool up the girls, so when they come back, they do make a difference. We want to send her home armed with tools. And when you have a young girl who goes through all our program with our partners – Google, Norton Rose Fulbright, Clinton Global Initiative – and she goes and boosts her community – that’s how we show impact.

“The stories help us show the potential we can all reach when if we invest in girls. These stories are the lifeblood of every organization. Their words are much more powerful than mine will ever be – as it should be.”

 

About Farah Mohamed: Farah Mohamed is the founder and CEO of G(irls)20 Summit, which launched at the Clinton Global Initiative. G(irls)20 Summit galvanizes a new generation of female leaders while working with G20 leaders to keep their commitment to create 100 million new jobs for women by 2025. Among others, Farah was named one of BBC’s Top 100 Women, was awarded a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, and reached Mount Kilimanjaro’s summit.

 

 

I Used Case Studies to Convince a Large Food Corporation to Stop Using Sexist Advertising
Dorit Abramovich

Dorit Abramovich (Israel), speaker, activist, online marketing manager, and manager of nationwide campaigns for social transformation.

“I was invited to speak in front of the research department at Strauss Group (Israel’s largest food manufacturer, which operates in 22 countries). Every corporation has a department like this. Whether they want to develop a new product or improve a current one, they conduct quantitative research and interview focus groups to make it the most accurate product they can.

“The research department used to create questionnaires without taking gender relevance into consideration. They thought, ‘let’s make the product as sexy as possible’ – and they paid a price, because the product became sexist and women weren’t buying.
“They realized that marketing to women is different than marketing to men, and not every product women will like, men will like as well. It’s been proven time and again that when women experience marketing messages that were created with women in mind, women buy more. Therefore, Strauss Group invited me to come and talk to them about the gender relevance of their product.
“The longest part of my talk was about the difference between sex and gender, and how we use our sex and gender to promote products in millions and billions of dollars. People need stories, so I showed them campaigns I led against violence toward women, and explained how not to create a violent, sexist product. I also shared pro-sexuality campaigns, because I’m fighting for the recognition and legitimization of women’s sexual desires.
“I shared a case study of one of my clients – a boutique African safari company that’s run by two women, one of them African. When marketing their company, I emphasized it’s a women-owned business and an African-owned business. Despite the stereotype, I turned these into key advantages – and made the business successful.
“Tourism is a very male industry, that’s also dominated by large companies. Here was a business that couldn’t afford expensive ads. I only used Facebook and LinkedIn to promote it, developed content that targeted both women and men, and really emphasized the fact that two women run this business – and it worked.
“As a result of my lecture, the research department at Strauss Group changed their questionnaires, adding gender aspects. The corporation understood it needed to approach women’s passions in a respectful manner.”

 

About Dorit Abramovich: Dorit Abramovich has been helping girls and women her whole life. As a child, she protected girls from getting beat up at school. As a woman, she promotes women’s businesses and teaches gender studies in Israel and around the world. Dorit, who got her master’s degree at the United Kingdom, created the non-trivial link between surviving incest and claiming her power to run nationwide campaigns that transform the social, business and political reality of women.
 
Case Studies Help You Compete with Industry Giants and Position Your Company as an Authority in its Field
IMG_5687 (1)

 

They say that competition is a surefire sign that there’s a market for what you’re selling. Case studies help your company stand out in that market as an authority in its field.
Case Studies Helped Us Win Paying Fortune 500 Clients… Despite Free-Service Competitors and No Venture Capital. We Were So Successful, that I Started My Own Company in the Field.
Michael Crosson

Michael Crosson (USA), award winning founder of Social Mediopolis and the largest social media marketing group on LinkedIn.

“One of my biggest challenges came from working at a social media sharing company called SocialTwist. Their platform allowed easy sharing of messages across all social media venues including email, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

“This was a very difficult sell because it involved selling Fortune 500 companies on using their paid platform when there were a number of free services readily available. The company was based in India, and very conservative financially, so while many others rounded up venture capital to market themselves aggressively, SocialTwist did not and consequently did not gain marketshare.
“The only sales weapon we had in our portfolio at that time were numerous case studies from major B2C companies, such as Sara Lee, that demonstrated a significant improvement in ROI.
“The ‘twist’ that came out of this, however, did lead to the creation of my current company, SocialMediopolis.com, as I saw that social media was becoming more important and being imbedded in almost every company’s marketing structure.”

 

About Michael Crosson: A winner of over 30 advertising and marketing awards, Michael Crosson is the founder of the largest Social Media Marketing Group on LinkedIn, which has over 1,400,000 members across 23 sub-groups, and Social Mediopolis, a resource for social media professionals. Michael was a key member of the executive team that took MapQuest.com public and sold it to AOL, the co-founder of the International Webcasting Association of Europe, and the founder of Crosson and Partners advertising agency.
 
We Beat Massive Competition by Proving We Drive Results in Specific Industries and Services
Morillas - Melissa BuchII

Melissa Buch (Israel), branding expert and Tel-Aviv Branch Director at Morillas.

“When I go to present Morillas to new potential clients, I usually have 15 to 20 minutes to convince the person we’re worth a try. These people – marketing managers, brand managers, CEOs – meet several companies a week… There is a challenge to impress and stand out.

“After some thinking, we decided to go from a presentation to a conversation with them. We decided to present the company with “interactive case studies”. What does that mean? We come to the client with an app that allows them to choose what project they want to open.
“The differences between the case studies in the app:
– Different industries
– Different clients
– Different expertise: pack, retail, corporate, website…
“Clients could even press themselves on the case study instead of me leading the presentation.
“The idea of making the client decide on which case studies he wants to focus on allowed us to make sure the time is optimized in something that he/she finds relevant.
“Moreover, the potential client was then involved in a conversation that allowed us to adapt and surf among case studies that are interesting and even passionate for them.
“The idea ended up helping us to close more deals, since the clients were able to see case studies that fit what they needed and wanted to do for themselves.”

 

About Melissa Buch: Melissa Buch is a branding expert and the Tel-Aviv branch director of Morillas, an international branding agency with over 50 years of leadership, serving brands like Nexus, Telefonica and Coca Cola. Born in France and raised in Spain, Melissa has a French brother, Moroccan mother and an Argentine father. This diversity is an asset and driving force for her. She currently lives in Israel, expanding the Israeli market for Morillas.
 
We Positioned Ourselves as a High-End Service in a Low Priced Market
Explainify - Eric Hinson

Eric Hinson (USA), founder and CEO of Explainify, and story marketing expert.

“Explainify is an animated video production company, and when we started out we were mostly working with small, early-stage, tech and software startups to create explainer videos for their websites.

“We love working with startups – their energy and passion is incredible – but we always felt it was important to balance our portfolio with some recognizable big brands that would add an element of prestige and recognizability to our work. When other companies (including startups) see that you’ve worked with top global brands, they’re more likely to trust your work immediately.

The challenge was signing on that first big-name client. Brands are used to working with marketing agencies that they’ve worked with time and again – and know they can trust. To work with a company, they need to know that you can match their brand, make a video that meets their standards of quality, and work with their (often tight) deadlines.

The real breakthrough came when General Electric approached us to make a video for a big PR push they were doing to highlight a $1.7 billion dollar deal with the country of Egypt – and they needed the video in three weeks. So, naturally, we did it in two. The video was a hit all over Egypt and the U.S., our client was delighted, and we had a beautiful new video for GE that we could share with the world.

That engagement completely re-defined what Explainify could be. By sharing the video, along with its case study, as a prospecting tool with potential new clients – we can show that we have what it takes to work with the big boys. The GE case study has been huge for us on two levels: First, potential clients can see what an incredible video we can produce for a global brand. Second, the story of how we made it happen on-budget and ahead of schedule with minimum (but critical!) input from the brand demonstrated that our process and our team could meet the needs of a multi-national corporation.

We’ve had the opportunity to move beyond the standard explainer video to produce high-end animated marketing pieces for huge brands the world over – from Johnson and Johnson, to Tyson Foods  – directly as a result of sharing this case study.

 

About Eric Hinson: Eric Hinson is the founder and CEO of Explainify, which specializes in short, engaging explainer videos that influence buying decisions. Among others, Explainify has served General Electric and Charity: Water. Click here to get a free copy of Eric’s eBook, Cut the Crap and Close More Deals.

 

 

We Raised Funding in a Competitive Market

Evan Baehr

Evan Baehr (USA), co-founder of Able, co-author of Get Backed, former Facebook and White House Office of Faith-Based Initiatives executive.

“We’ve worked with hundreds of companies, and what we argue in our new book, Get Backed,  is that story is critical for pitch decks and raising capital. Most people are very straight forward, but the ones that tell compelling stories are more likely to succeed.

“We’ve also seen it with users who raise funds on our website, Able. Josh Hare, award winner founder of Hops & Grains brewery, raised millions of dollars. Kirsten Dickerson, another Able user and founder of Raven + Lily, works with women in Rowanda to make scarves. She was able to get her products into Norsdrom next to Chanel scarves.
“Stories show you’re someone with conviction. They’re essential.”

 

About Evan Baehr: Evan Baehr is the co-founded Able, an online lender to small businesses. His previous startup was funded by PayPal’s co-founder, Peter Thiel. Before that, Evan worked at Facebook under Sheryl Sandberg, worked for the White House Office of Faith-Based Initiatives and co-founded Harvard Business School’s Ideas@Work, among others. His book, Get Backed, is an Amazon bestseller that shares pitch decks and tips from startups that raised over $150 million.
 
Case Studies Help You Build Trust
IMG_5698

 

Customers are constantly inundated with ads and marketing materials. It seems like there’s someone who wants to sell them something at every turn. For them to choose you above the rest, you need to earn their trust. No matter what you tell them, your words will never be as powerful as a fellow customer’s.

Case Studies Prove that “Our Product is Awesome” is True

Foundr - Nathan Chan

Nathan Chan (Australia), founder of the Foundr magazine and podcast, and Instagram expert.

“We were getting asked so frequently how we were using Instagram to rapidly grow Foundr to get more leads, sales and profit. So we created a step by step Instagram Marketing Course, and from here we have used the success of many of our students to further on sell it.

“Case studies are one of the best ways to sell your product / service, because it shows proof your service offering solves a serious problem. Our audience has reacted very well to us sharing case studies, as so often when you show someone a product or service, they ask the question ‘will it work for me?’. Case studies are an amazing way for our business to build trust for our products and services.
“Good marketing is essentially making a promise and keeping it. We’ve found case studies to be one of the best ways of making a promise “our product / service is awesome, and solves these problems” – then we insert many case studies to show this to be true!”

 

About Nathan Chan: Founder of the digital magazine Foundr, Nathan Chan shows aspiring entrepreneurs what it takes to become successful – with articles, videos, a podcast and exclusive interviews with leading entrepreneurs like Sir Richard Branson, Arianna Huffington, Seth Godin and Tim Ferriss. Find out how Nathan grew Foundr quickly by getting his free guide on how to get 10,000 Instagram Followers in 12 Weeks.
 

Case Studies Give My Team Credibility in Sales Calls

SmartFocus - Tina-Marie Gulley

Tina-Marie Gulley (USA), Director of Marketing at SmartFocus and an expert global marketing strategist.

“Our sales team is always looking for case studies. I can say how great my technology is, but I work in the company, so I have a vested interest. But if I have a customer who’s vouching that I’m right and shares the results, that’s going to help me seal so many deals.

“Similarly, if someone has already engaged with us, and we can’t get them to move to the next stage… lots of times we can use case studies to say we helped this company get here, and we’d like to help you achieve the same results or better.”

 

About Tina-Marie Gulley: Tina-Marie Gulley is the director of marketing, North America, at SmartFocus, where she drives one of the company’s largest growth areas. SmartFocus, which redefines context-driven marketing, helps over 2,500 customers – including Macy’s, Mercedes-Benz and HP – deliver 60 billion personalized interactions and 7 million email campaigns annually. An expert global marketing strategist, Tina-Marie previously led marketing strategies at Accelerite and White Pages PRO.

 

 

Case Studies Help Us Build Trust with Prospects

Teenage Entrepreneur - Michael Guberti

Michael Guberti (USA), co-founder of Teenager Entrepreneur and Smart Business People. 19 year old entrepreneur.

“As the founders of Smart Business People, a done-for-you social media and online marketing service, Marc and I have used our case studies of successful and satisfied clients to build rapport with new ones.

“In today’s world, with a multitude of online services that vary in quality, consumers have become more diligent about pre-purchase research. They want to be assured that the service they invest in will perform. The social proof and credibility that comes from client case studies breaks down that mental barrier of initial suspicion.”

 

About Michael Guberti: Michael Guberti is a 19 year old entrepreneur, who co-founded Teenager Entrepreneur with his younger brother, Marc, to help teenagers around the world convert their passions into products. The brothers also founded Smart Business People, a social media marketing agency. Michael is an author and speaker, who won the Best Small Business Marketing Campaign of the Year Award for selling his business workshops.

 

 

We Use Case Studies in Industry Reports to Establish Ourselves as Industry Leaders

Michael Crosson

Michael Crosson (USA), award winning founder of Social Mediopolis and the largest social media marketing group on LinkedIn.

“I started the Social Media Marketing group on LinkedIn.com in March of 2008 as a way of communicating with marketers. I was fortunate enough to be the first to do so, and our membership grew exponentially as a result. We now have a total of over 1,400,000 members across a total of 23 groups on LinkedIn, as well as our primary site, SocialMediopolis.com.

“We started selling sponsored emails to SocialMediopolis.com as a way of monetizing our audience, and every step of the way, we collected ROI data from our sponsors and used that to prospect other marketers. We publish our results annually, and use the survey and case studies to continue our new business development efforts.

“Nothing creates more credibility than providing proven results. Case studies are probably the most fundamental way of demonstrating that.”

 

About Michael Crosson: A winner of over 30 advertising and marketing awards, Michael Crosson is the founder of the largest Social Media Marketing Group on LinkedIn, which has over 1,400,000 members across 23 sub-groups, and Social Mediopolis, a resource for social media professionals. Michael was a key member of the executive team that took MapQuest.com public and sold it to AOL, the co-founder of the International Webcasting Association of Europe, and the founder of Crosson and Partners advertising agency.

 

Case Studies Help You Humanize Your Company
IMG_5693

 

Brain studies have shown repeatedly that purchase decisions are often driven by emotions, but companies often find it challenging to create emotional connections with customers. Case studies remove the obstacle – they’re all about creating emotional connections between prospects and satisfied customers, and vicariously, between prospects and your company.

 

We Have Over 50 Employees. Case Studies Put a Human Face on Our Business.

Copyblogger - Pamela Wilson

Pamela Wilson (USA), Executive Vice President of Content at Rainmaker Digital (formerly Copyblogger Media), and founder of Big Brand System.

“Last July, we began a new monthly series of case studies on Copyblogger called The Hero’s Journey.

“Each month, we highlight one customer’s professional story. These posts serve as inspiration for our audience because every person highlighted has had to overcome obstacles along the way.

“The ideas and businesses presented in the posts help our readers to see themselves in others’ journeys. They put a human face on our business.”

 

About Pamela Wilson: Pamela Wilson is the executive vice president of education content at Rainmaker Digital. As the woman in charge of Copyblogger, one of the industry’s most respected blogs, Pamela teaches people how to build their authority with powerfully effective content marketing. She’s also the owner of Big Brand System, which helps business owners boost their marketing skills.
 
Case Studies Help Your Customers Succeed
IMG_5685

 

Case studies share the story of customers who started right where your prospects are now. Then, the case studies show how these customers overcame the challenges, and got the results prospects are still dreaming of. They break down the stages and help prospects imagine what their path to success could look like.
But that’s not the only way case studies help your customers succeed.

Case Studies Teach Us How to Serve Our Customers Better

Constant Contact - Dave Charest

Dave Charest (USA), senior manager of content and social media marketing at Constant Contact, and host of the Small Biz Stories podcast.

“It’s always a challenge to create content that truly resonates with your audience(s).

“With so much content out there vying for their attention, you need something that’s going to stand out from the noise and make them take notice.

“Customer stories or case studies are a great way to bring your content to life.

“In my view, they help in the following ways:

  1. You get to know your audience like no one else
  2. You and those in your company can share these stories to attract more of the people you’re trying to reach to your business
  3. The stories allow you to create relatable, follow-on content framed with real-life challenges and examples

“As a result of focusing on customer stories, we’re able to create engaging content in many forms that is re-packaged and re-purposed for various business needs: sales, onboarding, field education, and prospect and customer content.

“As we continually try to make marketing simple for small business owners, their stories allow us to better understand their marketing challenges, what’s working for them, and identify areas where they can make adjustments to make their marketing better.

“Overall, customer stories allow us to make better decisions about the content we create and increase the value provided by the content.”

 

About Dave Charest: Dave Charest is the senior manager of content and social media marketing at Constant Contact. Dave and his team make stuff to help SMBs do better marketing. He’s also a producer and host of the Small Biz Stories podcast, and he writes about how to create great content on his website.

 

 

Case Studies Educate Our Prospects and Customers on How to Use Our Product

GoAnimate - Amanda Morgan

Amanda Morgan (USA), experienced content and event marketing associate at GoAnimate.

“A challenge for many SaaS companies is proving value. Why should a prospect subscribe to your product? How will it make their jobs easier or help them achieve their revenue goals?

“As a marketer, a personal challenge is cutting through the noise to make decisions about which products to use, and how to use them. Reading case studies helps me learn by example. We recently started using Unbounce for landing page creation. They have exceptional case study content that I read to understand more about landing page best practices and strategies to improve our page performance.
“Our company, GoAnimate, a DIY video creation platform, is a fun product. But beyond fun, we need to consistently prove the value and benefits of investing in a video strategy. Sharing a case study gives prospects and customers actionable strategies to deploy video in their own organizations.”

 

About Amanda Morgan: Amanda Morgan is a content and event marketing associate at GoAnimate, a cloud software that helps anyone to easily create custom animated videos from scratch using drag and drop tools. She’s an experienced marketer, with previous positions in marketing, video production and HR agencies.
 

Fearful Client was Able to Take Steps Forward After Listening to Another Client’s Success Story

Osnat Broshi Chen

Osnat Broshi-Chen (Israel), MA. CEO of Concept, a branding and business strategist, and a tourism crisis management expert.

“I had a client who’s an architect. It was very hard for her to get the business going, with a husband and two young kids at home. She was very stuck on what she couldn’t do. I experience these difficulties myself – I’m getting my PhD, I run a business, I’m a mom, and I live in the geographic periphery. But I know that once you make up your mind and get professional help – it’s possible.

“So I shared a case study of another client with her – an ultra-orthodox woman with 5 kids, who wanted to open a business in the natural medicine industry. She has a full-time job, lives far into the Upper Galilee, in the periphery, and she’s the only one responsible for household choirs – very serious constraints.
“Yet in 10 hours of work, I managed to make her branding more accurate and give her plenty of self confidence to realize herself. As a result, she led a more successful fundraising campaign than she thought was possible. She now provides consultations, does catering, sells a book she wrote, and offers an expensive seminar. People who don’t have constraints like hers don’t succeed as well as she does.
“I share this story when business owners complain about hardships, and they suddenly realize they’re focused on staying stuck and keeping their difficulties alive.
“When my architect client heard this story, she stopped talking about her difficulties and started talking about what’s possible. She’s now working on two products for the international market. Thanks to our work together, she now offers architecture and design consultations for exhibitions around the world – plus, she helps businesses design small stores and conference stands.
“Thanks to the case study, a brand new business burst into life.”

 

About Osnat Broshi-Chen: Osnat Broshi-Chen, MA, is a branding and business strategist, and a tourism crisis management expert. A PhD student at the University of Haifa, she combines academic knowledge of creativity and innovation and years-long practical experience in the business world. As the founder and CEO of Concept, she helps business owners market with their hearts without selling their souls. If you can read Hebrew, get branding tips from Osnat on Concept’s Facebook page.
Case Studies Help You Prove the Value of Your Work In-House (and to Yourself)
IMG_5686 (1)

 

Unless you’re the CEO, chances are you need to prove your value to the company to stay on board. Or maybe you’re job hunting for a new marketing position, and want to stand out from other candidates. Case studies help you prove you come to work to drive real life results.
But sometimes, it’s not about the management. Sometimes – and this happens to most humans – you doubt yourself and the contribution you make. Documenting customer success stories helps you remember the truth, then go back to work, and make an even bigger impact than ever before.

We Proved the Value of Our Work to Shareholders

SmartFocus - Tina-Marie Gulley

Tina-Marie Gulley (USA), Director of Marketing at SmartFocus and an expert global marketing strategist.

“Case studies is something that the whole entire business can gain value from. As a technology company, you’re investing so much money into the solution, and you want your customers to see the value, and the case studies are your win – you show that you bring value.

“It helps you understand where your business is going. It helps you look at pipelines and and see trends, and share the direction with the executive team, so they can see the direction you’re going in the next year.
“It validates what you’re doing to the shareholders. You’re able to say, ‘We always thought that’s why people use us and it is. We were able to save them money, help them automate. These customers are happy.'”

 

About Tina-Marie Gulley: Tina-Marie Gulley is the director of marketing, North America, at SmartFocus, where she drives one of the company’s largest growth areas. SmartFocus, which redefines context-driven marketing, helps over 2,500 customers – including Macy’s, Mercedes-Benz and HP – deliver 60 billion personalized interactions and 7 million email campaigns annually. An expert global marketing strategist, Tina-Marie previously led marketing strategies at Accelerite and White Pages PRO.
 
Success Stories Help Me Keep Doing What I Do
Girls20 Summit - Farah Mohamed

Farah Mohamed (Canada), founder and CEO of G(irls)20 Summit, and one of BBC’s Top 100 Women.

“We are based in Canda, and we work globally. We’ve built a network of 140+ girls that are connected internationally, and they can see the impact on each other. We promote them, we highlight the work they do, we ask their advice before we go to the government.

“We work around the clock, very hard and, all of a sudden, find ourselves in another country.

“You see the delegates you met grow before your eyes, and it gives you that sense of validity.

“Even for me, if I wonder whether to keep going… success stories make you very proud of all the work you’ve done, and shows you that you make a difference. They help me keep doing what I do.”

 

About Farah Mohamed: Farah Mohamed is the founder and CEO of G(irls)20 Summit, which was launched at the Clinton Global Initiative. The organization galvanizes a new generation of female leaders while working with G20 leaders to keep their commitment to create 100 million new jobs for women by 2025. Among others, Farah was named one of BBC’s Top 100 Women, was awarded a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, and reached Mount Kilimanjaro’s summit.

 

What Could Case Studies Help YOU Accomplish?
Big thanks to all the wonderful experts who took the time to share their case study success stories! Be sure to visit their websites, to learn more about the incredible impact they’re making on the world.
Got a case study success story of your own? Share it with the experts in the comments.
Don’t have one yet? Tell us what’s stopping you, and what 1 action you’ll take this week to change that. We’re cheering for you!

 

Win $3000 Package from an Experienced Freelance Writer