For many small businesses, they understand that prospects need more than a list of product and service benefits to close a sale, and utilizing B2B case studies is a great way to get those prospects through the sales funnel, and close the deal.

We’ve previously discussed the value of marketing collateral, and B2B case studies are a great example of marketing collateral that can be used to convert prospects to loyal customers. As more and more buyers are looking for credibility to drive their B2B decisions, it is evident that case studies need to be a part of the marketing strategy for any B2B business. 

Here is how case studies can impact your marketing strategy. 

Show What You Can Do 

Case studies are a great way to show your customers the value of your product or service, versus telling them the value of it. Oftentimes, case studies are also referred to as customer success stories in the B2B space, and framing it in such a way can help you draw prospects in. Case studies allow you to share how a similar company to their own has benefited from your product or service, and how you have solved a problem and delivered results. Through case studies, prospects can better understand how they too can experience a similar result, therefore seeing the value in your product or service, and giving them extra motivation to explore your business, pushing them further into the sales funnel. 

What are the Benefits of a Case Study? 

As previously mentioned, a case study can show a potential customer how your product or service can help solve a particular problem that another customer has experienced, but a case study can also help you 

• Position your business as an industry expert 
• Build trust with your customers and prospects 
• Share the results of your solution 
• Further explain your value proposition 

Where to start? 

As with all marketing collateral, writing a case study can take time, but with these easy tips you can create customer centric content that will draw prospective customers. 

• Make it About the Customer: When writing your case study or customer success story, consider writing it from the voice of the customer, and framing it from their point of view. Writing from the customer’s point of view will allow potential customers to better understand how they could benefit from your product or service, and experience the same results. 
• Be Specific: Give potential customers the detail that they need to truly understand how your product or service can help them. Use quantifiable data to help explain how you have solved a problem for another customer, and describe how you were able to drive these results. 
• Storytelling: At VA Partners, we are great advocates of storytelling when it comes to marketing and sales, and storytelling is vital to a strong case study. It is important to keep your reader engaged, and although statistics are an important part of any case study, you still want to tell a story that is engaging and guides the reader through the customer journey. An easy place to start is by explaining the company, the problem that they were experiencing and how your product or service helped resolve that issue. 
• Repurpose Your Case Study: Leverage your case study by repurposing it for various formats that can help you get more eyes on your case study. Pull out specific examples or statistics, create new assets for social media, for your website or newsletter to help drive views to the long form content. Using infographics and images is an easy way to accomplish this. 
• Call to Action: As with all content you create, it is important to ensure that a call to action is included in your case study. Ensure that readers have the opportunity to connect with you. By adding a line such as “If your business is experiencing similar challenges, connect with us.” This again makes the case study about the customer, by also offering a solution. 

As you continue to build your business, it is important to remember how case studies can impact your marketing strategy, and should be a piece of content that is included on a regular basis. If you are looking for more ways to grow your business, connect with us.