Whose Agenda Matters?
08 Oct 2009 Leave a Comment
in Collateral Tags: white papers
Why is it that companies have such a hard time keeping their audience in mind? Case in point: I recently read a white paper produced by a company that clearly employs smart marketers and executives. Yet, it didn’t take much more than a first glance to realize the white paper was nothing more than a thinly veiled promotion. I believe customers and prospects see through this immediately. As a result, the company loses credibility because readers view the approach as being motivated by self-interest.
Certainly there’s a time and place for promotional pieces, but a white paper is supposed to be somewhat objective and educational in tone. The focus should be on your reader and their pain or problem—not your agenda.
White Papers Prove to be a Good Investment
25 Jun 2009 Leave a Comment
in Collateral Tags: white papers
A recent podcast (http://tinyurl.com/lnyzmh) shared intriguing survey results about how technology decision makers “consume” their marketing collateral. The survey, conducted by San Francisco-based Eccolo Media, asked respondents which pieces of marketing collateral they turned to prior to making a technology purchase and which pieces were the most influential. At the top of the list: white papers, which were considered highly influential. Eccolo Media believes that, based on the results, companies will get a lot of bang for their buck if they create objective white papers that present a customer’s pain and an approach to solving the problem. For the complete survey results, go to survey results.
Case Studies Part II
28 Apr 2009 Leave a Comment
in Collateral Tags: case study
A case study should tell a compelling story—one that moves its reader to take action. Once written, it’s invaluable and can be “recycled” in numerous ways. Most typically, case studies are put on the company web site and used by sales staff. But unfortunately, that’s often where case study promotion ends.
A lot of hard work goes into producing case studies and they carry a lot of weight, so you should take full advantage. You should definitely pitch your case study to editors, either directly or via a press release. Editors are always looking for companies that have successfully implemented a new solution or have taken a unique approach. Further, your clients’ peers are very interested in reading about whom among them is seeing success with a project they have undertaken.
So, what other ways should a case study be leveraged? One idea is to include the case study in a proposal for a speaking engagement. Similar to editors wanting real success stories for their readers, the organizations hosting industry events very much want to share actual successes – their attendees eat it up!
In addition, you can use a subset of the case study as an example in a white paper or a direct mail campaign. Or, you could include a brief summary within a sales proposal. You could even use a quote from the case study in your trade show booth.
Last, don’t forget about sharing your success story internally. Employee morale can almost always use a boost, and it can’t hurt to share the successes you’re experiencing.
The Components of a Good Case Study
19 Mar 2009 Leave a Comment
in Collateral Tags: case study
We’re surprised when some of our (smart) clients neglect to leverage one of their most important assets: happy customers. One easy way to do this is with case studies. Often viewed as one of the most powerful marketing pieces, case studies are meant to share insight into how a client solved a difficult problem using your product. In essence, a strong case study addresses a real problem that was identified and then solved, ideally with quantifiable results to prove that your product delivered on its promise.
Case studies are very typically written in a problem-solution-result format. In addition, we suggest the following outline:
o Introduce the customer and the challenge
o Create a context for the problem
o Lay out the options for their journey: status quo, significant change and investment or middle-of-the-road; establish that it was a significant decision for the company
o Explain the discovery process: how did the company learn about the product? What criteria did they use in making their purchasing decision? This piece is the one most often missing from case studies.
o Reveal the solution and why it was chosen
o Explain the implementation and reveal any problems with the implementation schedule, support, etc. and how they were overcome
o Use quantifiable results (ROI, streamlined processes, etc.) to show how the chosen solution worked.
In a future blog, we’ll address the many ways to leverage case studies once they’re completed.
