The Top Benefits Of Case Studies In B2B Marketing
73% of B2B buyers say that case studies are a key factor in their purchasing decision, according to a survey by the Content Marketing Institute.
It’s a sad but true state of affairs in sales & marketing today: the large amount of unhelpful, irrelevant content being pushed on prospects has made them naturally sceptical of any kind of content – even if it actually could help them.
It’s relatively easy for any kind of marketer to use exaggerated claims in social media posts and website content. These days, many B2B consumers are so used to being pitched with hyperbolic claims like “ultimate one stop shop solution” that they automatically tune out any content created and published solely by the brand itself.
On the other hand, a case study simply takes a look at real-world results from business clients that have actually purchased the product or service. The best case studies will include quotes from the client being profiled so they can illustrate what the purchase was like in their own words.
In July, I shared how B2B firms can finally crack consistent case study production, with a bulletproof case study structure (feel free to copy!) and top tips from the Attract & Engage – THE Growth Marketing Agency case study writers.
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Here’s a excerpt …
73% of B2B buyers say that case studies are a key factor in their purchasing decision, according to a survey by the Content Marketing Institute.
Hearing about innovation and real positive results from an actual person or organisation that has used your products or services increases a prospect’s confidence that they can achieve those results as well.
This helps a prospect feel more informed about your company’s offerings, which in turn makes them feel like they can trust what you’re selling. Even an incremental increase in this trust can help your company stand out among competitors with a similar offer.
Provides Natural Movement Down The Sales Funnel
There are some forms of marketing where it’s unclear what the next step should be. For example, after reading a brochure for a particular product or set of services, a potential customer may feel like they are more informed.
But what are they supposed to do next? It’s not always clear.
Because a case study offers an example of a specific outcome achieved by using your products or services, there’s a straightforward next step for the person reading it. Ideally, your case study should come with a simple way to get in touch with your team to schedule a meeting or complete the next step in your sales funnel.
Even if your case study doesn’t have a direct call to action, there’s an easy way for you or your sales team to follow up once the prospect has read the case study: ask them if they are looking for similar results in their own company.
This naturally gets them thinking about their own situation and why they need your product or service. It helps the buyer start to visualize what it would be like if you were able to offer a result similar to the one illustrated by your case study.
With the right marketing tools set up, you could even automate this part of the process and make it so that a prospect automatically receives an email from a sales rep or a company email address a few days after they download the case study. This helps maintain a seamless flow of prospects through various stages in your sales funnel with minimal manual effort on the part of your team.
Provides Efficient, Scalable Marketing Assets
Case studies are certainly valuable for customers and prospects, who get to evaluate a more objective form of information about a product or service they are considering. But case studies are also valuable internally as part of a company’s marketing effort.
That’s because they are a relatively cost-efficient, scalable way to market a company. While there are some upfront costs involved with creating a case study – especially if you’re working with an experienced marketing partner to help you create these kinds of assets – you only have to invest in creating the case study once.
After that, you’re free to use it as many times as you want for as long as you’d like. It’s not a finite resource, like a meeting or presentation with someone on your team – there is no limit on the number of times you can send out a case study to help convince a potential buyer to go with your offering.
Conclusion: Case Studies Move The Needle In B2B Sales
Overall, case studies are a very effective marketing tool for B2B companies, helping to generate quality leads, increase conversion rates, and improve customer retention. But, understanding the benefits of case studies is only half the battle: you need to realise these benefits by starting the process of developing, designing and distributing case studies to your sales prospects. If you’re new to the case study process, or have let things slide of late, the best place to start is with a basic format and add more depth to case studies as you create more over time.
Or…leave it up to the experts…
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