Case studies are a powerful form of social proof. 88% of marketers consider case studies to be the most effective type of B2B content marketing. This type of content engages your audience through storytelling, making it an integral part of demand gen and a buyer’s sales cycle.
As highly-effective marketing tools, case studies bring additional value to your message. Building a well-thought out and informative case study is worth any company’s time and effort. Here’s a look into how case studies work and a breakdown of the benefits they bring so you can see why you should consider leveraging them into your marketing strategies.
What is a case study and where do they fit in the buyer’s journey?
A case study is a piece of content that highlights an individual or company through an in-depth explanation about how your product or service helped them. When done right, a case study allows a potential customer to envision how you might be able to help them too.
Case studies typically include:
A description of your customer: Helps your audience identify with the subject of the case study.
The customer’s problem: Shows the common pain points and challenges you can solve.
The solution: Describes and outlines the details of your product or service, and allows prospects to get an idea of what implementing one looks like.
The benefits: Highlight the overall positive impact that your solution has on the customer’s problem by detailing how each pain point is resolved.
The results: Is usually a quantitative-based summary that shows improved metrics and their overall effect on some form of ROI (saved money, saved time, or increased revenue).
Customer quotes: Quotes from satisfied customers provide a qualitative perspective, prompting prospects to relate to the customer on an emotional level.
Although case studies are generally thought of as Middle-of-the-Funnel and/or consideration stage marketing tools, they could actually also be leveraged much earlier in the buyer’s journey. A prospect in the early sales stages who reads your case study may not pay much attention to the details, but they will learn upfront that what you offer has already helped others like them. This can help your audience begin to trust in your brand up-front.
The Benefits of Case Studies
Case studies have several benefits. Some of the main ways they can make a positive impact on your company include:
Showcasing Products and Services
Case studies help engage your audience by creating a story around your brand. Showcasing your products through the lens of storytelling is a great way to get the audience to realize the value of what you offer. When prospects can picture themselves too as a happy recipient of your product or service, convincing them to trust you becomes much easier.
Establishing Credibility
97% of buyers place a heavy emphasis on trust when deciding on whether they should do business with a company or not. This shows how trust is an essential part of the foundation of a successful sales cycle. When you share a strong case study with your audience, you’re providing real results from real companies and real people — all of which help build your professional reputation and trustworthiness. In turn, that can lead to more sales.
Increasing Leads
Case studies are helpful to your sales team because they help move leads through the funnel. 47% of consumers say they find case studies extremely valuable as they make purchasing decisions; reading promising results from your actual customers who are just like them helps prospects confidently and quickly narrow down their choices.
Boost Your Sales with Case Studies and Extu
Incorporating a well-planned, highly-engaging case study into your marketing stack will not only help sway the buying-stage prospects in your favor, but they can also help generate opportunities for you by showing early-stage prospects that you’re capable of providing solutions for companies like theirs. Consider the significant role that trust plays as a prospect explores their options and how a case study helps boost your credibility and image.
Extu can expertly integrate case studies into your monthly campaigns to help boost your company’s sales and develop a strong online presence. To learn more about how we can incorporate case studies into your marketing campaigns, reach out to our team via our IT partners or brokers program page.
