Build credibility and drive action with case studies
Here’s why you should be using this powerful form of social proof
New customers: how do you win them?
Once you’ve acquired leads and pushed potential customers into your sales funnel, how do you convert them into new users? It’s the age-old marketing question with many prescribed tactics and a never-ending search for a definitive answer.
As it stands, purchasing is a journey that can’t have one set answer – its longitudinal nuances instead require the strategic interplay of multiple approaches.
One such approach in purchase psychology that propels people to act is social proof. (Need social proof of this? According to Power Reviews, 97% of consumers look at reviews before buying a product. Research also found that when reviews were displayed for lower-priced products, the conversion rates increased 190%. For higher-priced products, the conversion rate increased 380%.)
While reviews, testimonials, and celebrity endorsements are effective ways to tell potential customers about your value and credibility, there’s an even more powerful way to show them. If we drill through the layers of social proof methods to find one that delivers more depth of detail and outcome, we arrive at the case study.
The power of merging story and metrics
In marketing, case studies are a persuasive form of social proof that deliver a positive real-life customer experience coupled with a powerful brand story that’s backed by quantitative (and qualitative) outcomes.
With some marketing tactics, the hype overshadows the real-world traction. But the case study wields a mighty power because it combines evidence with the human experience. So much so that 79% of consumers read case study content as part of the purchasing process, outranking their use of podcasts (64%), infographics (76%), webinars (66%), and videos (49%). Not surprisingly, 52% of B2B buyers rank case studies as an important part of their evaluation process.
Why is this blend of content so persuasive?
When you establish how your product or service has successfully solved the same (or similar problem) in the past, it appeases the logic-seeking part of our brain. Simultaneously, using a customer-centered story that focuses on overcoming an obstacle creates a mental picture of what success looks like, pleasing the emotional (and often deciding) part of our brain.
Providing buyers with the specific details and context surrounding the path from pain point to resolution is also important in establishing relatability – a key driver in consumer behavior – and consequently, for creating memorability and impact.
Case studies get the product in the right hands
Empowered by a vivid picture of your solution at work, consumers can better determine if yours is the right choice to solve their problem, turning quality leads into conversions. Ultimately, that’s what most companies want: their product in the right people’s hands. This helps ensure customer satisfaction after purchase and implementation and avoids the negative experiences of consumers for whom the solution was not well suited.
Here are a few tips for creating your own compelling case study:
Identify the target audience you intend to help. This will shape the content moving forward to ensure relatability.
Make the customer the hero of the story, not your product or service.
Consider highlighting a customer who switched from one product or service to another when the competitor failed to solve the problem.
Conduct interviews if needed and compile data to support claims and increase validity of the case study.
With all of the positive experiences from satisfied customers, your case study will help generate, you’ll not only encourage brand loyalty, but you’ll also feed your growing collection of social proof.