Last week, Fire Enterprises(FEI) marketing maven Marka told savvy salesperson Zoot how including low-cost marketing pieces in invoices can lead to more business from existing customers. This week, Marka shows Zoot how to create client case studies and wield them as sales tools. Remember, fire = print.
Zoot bounded into Marka’s office one morning. “Boy, I just had a great chat with Dione from Dione’s Donuts!”
“Oh yeah?” Marka asked. “What did you guys talk about?”
“Apparently our FireExcel Kiln has helped his business reduce cooking costs by 20 percent since they installed it last year!”
“Fantastic!” Marka said, leaping up from her desk as she often did when excited. “Zoot, this is a golden opportunity for us. We talk all the time—on sales calls, in our marketing communications—about how FEI can save businesses money. But talk is cheap. People want to read about real-world results. They want to see what we’ve done and how we do it. Case studies are proof points that help us demonstrate how we’ve delivered on our marketplace promise. Let’s ask Dione if we can spotlight his business in a case study.”
“I’m sure he’ll agree to that,” Zoot said. “How do we get started?”
“It’s a snap,” Marka said, snapping her fingers for emphasis. “I’ll go down to Dione’s tomorrow and record Dione and me talking for a few minutes about exactly how FEI has helped his donut business reduce cooking costs. I’ll take video and photos of the kiln running, the fresh donuts, and the happy customers. Then, we’ll come back and create a compelling case study, complete with photos, graphics, and video content!”
Two weeks later, Marka had finished a wonderful case study on Dione’s Donuts. Everyone at FEI - not to mention Dione himself - loved it.
“Now we’ve got our compelling proof point,” Zoot said one morning in Marka’s office. “How do we tell the world?”
“Great question, Zoot ol’ pal. Here are some uses for case studies,” Marka scribbled on the whiteboard.
Print Version
- Hand out on sales calls
- Enclose in targeted envelope mailing to restaurant companies
- Hand out at FEI’s FIRE ’13 booth
- Keep in the office or lobby to give to customers who come in
E-version
- Include in monthly “helpful fire tips” e-newsletter to customers
- Offer as free download in print ad, direct mail, and e-mail campaigns. Prospects have to fill out an online registration form to receive the case study. This allows us to track how many people are responding to our campaigns—and who they are. It’ll also provide some great lead-generation info for Zoot.
- Post on O-website—create “Case Studies” section
- E-mail to prospects in advance of upcoming sales visit
- Have telesales employee e-mail to prospects after a conversation
- Post on O-cial media: O-Book, O-Twitter, etc.
Over the next few months, the FEI team used their case study in all of these ways. By the end of that fiscal quarter, sales had grown by 14 percent!
Next week: Marka and Zoot discuss tips for writing a compelling case study.
Today’s FIRE! Point
Case studies are proof points that help you demonstrate how your business has delivered on its marketplace promise. Case studies can be easily incorporated into sales activities and a wide variety of print and Web marketing campaigns.
FIRE! In Action: Hubspot Uses Customer Case Studies to Bolster Web Presence
The internet marketing software company posts dozens of case studies on its Website. Every case study is relatively short, includes graphics or video content, and, most importantly, emphasizes the measurable results the client has seen.
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- Business Management - Marketing/Sales
Very much alive and now officially an industry curmudgeon, strategic growth expert T. J. Tedesco can be reached at tj@tjtedesco.com or 301-404-2244.