As the economy worsens, marketers are having a harder time getting buyers to take action. Conventional advertising and PR don't seem to be yielding the same results they used to.
But there is one marketing idea that gets through to buyers in any economy, case studies.
A case study is simply a story. A success story about one of your customers who faced a big challenge and overcame long odds because of your company's product or service.
If you have been in business for any length of time and have done a decent job for your customers, or if you have received testimonials or positive replies to a survey, you have the makings of a case study.
The formula for a case study is simple. In fact if you've ever used one of many popular resume books to help you write a resume, you've already encountered this formula. It is Problem - Action - Result (PAR).
Start the case study with the Problem.
Make the problem come alive, show how much pain this problem was causing your customer. Show how much money the company was losing to competitors, how much sleep key executives were losing at night. Really pour salt into the wound at this stage.You want your reader to experience the pain of this problem stage and be able to relate to it and sympathize with your customer.
Next you describe the action stage. Before you introduce your product or service, show how the customer went through some trial and error loops. Show setbacks and disappointment even as they kept trying.
When you introduce how they came upon your product or service, describe it as a process. Show how doing business with your company turned the tide, but draw this turning out and make it story-like.
It is even a good idea to show the doubts and reservations your customers had when they started doing business with you. Not only does this enhance the story, it also negates the same doubts and concerns your reader will have.
Finally, talk about the results your customer experienced. This is the "After" stage to the earlier "Before" stage you wrote about in the "Problem" phase.
Show tangible results. Give numbers if applicable. Show those same executives who were losing sleep, now experiencing a great reduction in stress.
Case studies accomplish several things that most companies need during a tough economy: They get noticed amidst all the competing ads and marketing messages your readers are exposed to on a daily basis.
They also attract interest. Your customer's success story will be interesting because the reader will be asking, "How will they get out of this?" or "What did they do?"
Finally, case studies remove doubts, objections and concerns because they see the customer had all of those too, but they were all resolved satisfactorily and a successful outcome was reached in the end.
Are Case Studies the Perfect Marketing Tool For a Tough Economy?