Smart marketers
understand that buyers do not trust what you say. Even if they want and need your product, they need all the ammunition you can give them to combat their skepticism.
Why Case Studies?
Our early ancestors adapted and followed a set of patterns. Those who
deviated from these patterns died—not passing their genes on to future generations. I wouldn’t be writing these words—nor would you be reading them—had our ancestors not been with the program.
No blueprint existed for them to follow; it was all trial and error, and error meant death. They learned from the mistakes of others—which plants to eat, which animals to avoid, and how to know if a source is trustworthy.
Today we know that lettuce and cucumbers contain vitamins our bodies need. We also know rattlesnakes and grizzly bears make poor pets.
Trusting the wrong person or product probably won’t kill you as quickly as poison hemlock (although it certainly might), but it can harm you in many other ways. Who hasn’t experienced buyer’s remorse or been betrayed by a “friend?” Fortunately, our ancestors passed on to us, through our genes, an effective way to determine the trustworthiness of a source.
Studies show
that as long as we believe a stranger’s experience is genuine, we tend to trust their experience as well, and act accordingly. Who among us has not decided to buy a product based on a customer review that we believed to be real?
Information put out
by companies ranks almost at the bottom of the list of trusted sources…just above telemarketers.
Conform or Die
We revere the non-conformist. These strong, independent trailblazers making their own way inspire us. We want to be like them. Confidence radiates through their pores.
What we don’t see, however, is that for every Steve Jobs, there are hundreds, if not thousands—tens of thousands even—of others who struck out on their own and failed. For most of us, the risk is just too great—we have employees to pay, businesses to run, and families to feed.
The wolf lies in wait for the sheep that strays from the herd. Our ancestors formed tribes and alliances, which greatly improved their survival rates. Expulsion from your tribe meant almost certain death.
Our tribes today consist of friends, family, business associates, coworkers, and others of like mind and interests. We learn to trust and rely on our tribes—valuing their opinions on important matters, and even matters that aren’t so important.
Did you ever watch a movie because a friend told you it was awesome, or changed your mind about eating at the new restaurant in town because another friend told you their experience was terrible?
Friends and family members consistently rank number one as the most trusted sources of information for us…but they are not the only ones.
Studies show that as long as we believe a stranger’s experience is genuine, we tend to trust their experience as well, and act accordingly. Who among us has not decided to buy a product based on a customer review that we believed to be real?
Getting the Word Out
As a person who makes business decisions day in and day out, you understand the importance of advertising. It provides your business the essential visibility it needs to keep running. When writing ad copy, however, it might surprise you to know that the information put out by companies ranks almost at the bottom of the list of trusted sources…just above telemarketers.
Ask yourself this question:
Why would a potential customer trust that my product or service is the solution she’s looking for?
Having a well-written, informative website is vitally important. Customers need to know your products’ specs, how they work, and pricing information. You also want to stress the features and benefits of your products, but these aren’t enough.
You need back-up.
Until now, the features and benefits you list on your website are just words on a computer screen, written by somebody looking to sell products. Your trust factor is still in the basement.
Time to call in the big guns…
You’re Just Like Me
I wanted to be Paul Stanley of the band KISS when I was in high school. Something about the way he walked, talked, carried himself, and dressed struck a chord with me.
He wore a bandana tied just above his knee in one video. I wanted that look. My parents freaked when they saw me wearing one. That’s okay—that’s what parents are supposed to do.
I was cool.
Fear of ridicule prevented me from displaying my coolness at school. What would the other kids think and say? What if they laughed at me? The risk was far too great.
Then I saw them…
They passed me in the hall on the way to history class. Two of them—both proudly displaying their knee bandanas!
I started hanging with them. Soon, other bandana-wielding headbangers joined in. We skipped class, drank beer, and listened to Van Halen, Motley Crue, and yes, KISS.
I found my tribe.
Meeting the hallway rock stars gave me the green light to express myself—it caused my fear of being mocked and shunned to vanish. My new friends thought and behaved just like me. The lyrics of Led Zeppelin, Boston, and Foghat rang true to us.
Stairway to Case Studies
Sara, an overworked managing director of a major tech company fought a battle on two fronts. Mundane tasks such as invoicing took far too long, while payroll needed to be slashed if the company was going to stay on target.
For months, she scoured the internet for a solution. This had become her nightly ritual, just after putting the kids to bed.
One evening Sara landed on the website of a software company that claimed to cut both operating costs and man hours significantly. As she read through the features and benefits, she thought to herself:
- This solution seems viable—it does offer some benefits that the others don’t, but I still have doubts it would work in my situation.
- What if I buy it and it doesn’t work? How will that make me look?
- Sure, it sounds good—ideal, in fact—but this is the product website. Of course they’re going to make it sound like the best thing ever.
- It’s expensive. Surely there must be a less costly solution.
- We’ve tried this kind of software before and it was a nightmare—riddled with bugs and a steep learning curve.
Still skeptical, she saw a tab most other sites didn’t have.
It was labeled, “Case Studies.”
Sara found herself immersed in a story about a managing director of a large firm struggling with time management and staying on budget. No clear solution presented itself until she found XYZ software solutions. It saved her X number of hours per week and cut the budget by 35%.
Sara’s ears perked up…
Her bandana moment had arrived.
Here was someone just like her with a very similar set of problems finding a solution in this product. If it works for them, why would it not work for us?
The actions of others—especially those who are like us—help us decide how we should act.
Risky Business
Advertisers use words and phrases like—
- Proven
- Money-back Guarantee
- Third-party tested
- Backed by science
- Evidence-backed research
- Pure
—in so many headlines for a reason. Smart marketers understand that buyers do not trust what you say. Even if they want and need your product, they need all the ammunition you can give them to combat their skepticism.
And nobody wants to be the first…
“If there’s no visible tribe, your customer might see herself as the lone sheep stepping away from the herd—the only kid at school wearing a bandana around her knee.”
Historically, we make fewer mistakes when we act similar to others in our tribe, rather than going against the grain. For most of us, this is intuitive—it’s programmed into our DNA.
Case Studies – Meet Your Tribe
Case studies leverage the power of this programming with real-life stories of people encountering challenges, finding solutions, and ultimately conquering those challenges by interacting with your products and/or services.
These stories provide a model of behavior for the reader—even more so if the subject of the case study experiences problems similar to those of your prospect, and overcomes those problems using your solution.
Show—Don’t Tell
Telling your reader a story rather than only giving him facts and figures helps him understand complex features and technologies on a more relatable level. Stories bring emotion and allow him to visualize your solution in action. This makes an impression—do it right, and he will remember you.
Stories also give you the opportunity to provide a lot more detail, in a much more engaging way than simply stating the facts. Specificity creates credibility in the mind of your reader, and the more specific you are, the greater the likelihood your prospect will believe you.
Why Use Case Studies in Your Marketing?
Short answer: trust.
These days, companies of all sizes understand the power of leveraging the experiences of satisfied customers. Ads, brochures, and web copy cannot match their credibility.
Because of our inherited patterns, we trust the words of people who are “just like us.” They are our tribe.
Case studies delve deep into your customer’s experience. They showcase the challenges your customer faced, how your product addressed those challenges, and the results your customer achieved by putting your solution to work.
No other tool in your marketing bag builds trust to this degree.
Editor’s Note: Case studies leverage the power of “a person just like me,” connecting your prospects with your previous customers, allowing them to see your solution in action from many angles. Contact us to learn how case studies can help grow your business.
