Case Studies

Tips on case study creation, writing and marketing.

Four Ways to Gain Press Coverage with Case Studies

October 23, 2019 by Leave a comment
Four Ways to Gain Press Coverage with Case Studies

A few years ago, when I posted a link to my article 8 Ways to Leverage Case Studies in Your Other Marketing Communications on LinkedIn, I received the following comment from a software marketing manager:

"One item I would add to your list: Industry-specific publications are always interested in customer stories."

I totally agree.

But because trade publications are not under the direct control of your marketing communications department, I wanted to talk about them separately. In fact, I admitted to that marketing manager, "I was saving that one for my next article!"

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Published in Collateral, Case Studies, Lead Generation

5 Techniques for Engaging Prospects’ Emotions with your Content

May 23, 2018 by Leave a comment

We’re used to treating B2B buyers as rational beings. We think of them making purchases for sound business reasons. In our marketing content, we appeal to their rational minds with logic.

But just like the rest of us, B2B buyers are human. They make purchases – including business purchases – ...

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Published in Case Studies, B2B Copywriting, Content Marketing

Preparing for the Customer Success Story Interview: 3 Steps to Getting all the Information You Need

March 19, 2018 by Leave a comment

As we all know, customer success stories – or cases studies – are among the most effective forms of marketing content because of their credibility. They provide third-party evidence that our products or services really do what we say they can do.

Research by Hawkeye [i] even called customer success stories ...

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Published in Collateral, Case Studies, Content Marketing

Three “Stealth Sections” You’ll Want in Every Customer Success Story

February 13, 2018 by Leave a comment

We're all familiar with the typical format of a customer success story (also known as a case study). We know the four basic sections: (1) customer background, (2) challenge, (3) solution, and (4) results. In many success stories, in fact, we see those four sections called out in subheads with ...

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Published in Case Studies, Collateral, B2B Copywriting, Content Marketing

A Simple Formula for Concise Lead Nurturing Messages

October 24, 2017 by Leave a comment

Last month, while writing several lead-nurturing emails for a client, I was reminded of a technique which is so easy and effective, I’m surprised I haven’t written about it before.

It’s a great technique for quickly generating effective lead-nurturing messages of many kinds. In fact, I used this same technique ...

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Published in Case Studies, Email Marketing, B2B Copywriting, Landing Pages, Email newsletters and e-zines, Content Marketing

Engage More Prospects in Less Time with the ‘Crisco’ of Content Marketing

September 19, 2017 by Leave a comment
Engage More Prospects in Less Time with the ‘Crisco’ of Content Marketing

A recent client project brought to my mind a scene from The Help, the film based on Kathryn Stockett’s novel about African American women working in white households in Jackson, Mississippi in the early 1960’s.

In that scene, Minnie the maid is giving her new employer, the formerly poor but ...

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Published in Online Video, Content Marketing, Newsletters, Collateral, Case Studies, SEO Copywriting

3 Major Case Study Approval Roadblocks… (and how to get past each)

July 14, 2017 by Leave a comment

When it comes to case studies, credibility is the name of the game.

And if you want the credibility that comes from naming a well-known customer in a case study, that customer must grant you permission to use their name. Period.

So, it’s important to have a plan for securing ...

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Published in Collateral, Case Studies, Content Marketing

6 Steps to Obtaining Final Customer Approval of a Case Study

June 13, 2017 by Leave a comment

While they consistently rate among the most effective forms of marketing content with technology buyers[i], case studies can be costly to produce. Getting even the happiest of customers to share their story often requires considerable time and effort. Then there are interviews, writing, editing, review cycles, layout, illustration, etc.

So ...

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Published in Collateral, Case Studies, Content Marketing

Popping the Case Study Question

May 8, 2017 by Leave a comment

In my last essay, I discussed how to secure customer permission for a case study project. One thing I didn’t cover in that article, however, due to its length, was WHEN to request that permission.

So that’s what I’d like to talk about today. If you want your case studies ...

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Published in Collateral, Case Studies, Content Marketing

5 Steps to Securing Customer Pre-approval of a Case Study

April 18, 2017 by Leave a comment

Case studies – or customer success stories – have long been one of the most influential forms of marketing content. In Eccolo Media’s most recent Technology Content Survey Report [i], for example, 33% of tech buyers surveyed ranked case studies among the content assets they found most influential, third only to ...

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Published in Collateral, Case Studies, Technology Marketing, Content Marketing