One Degree: Increase Sales with Case Studies

By Jesse Hopps

Case studies are an excellent way to profile your target customers while demonstrating how you solved their specific business challenge. They are often used by Sales to illustrate how an organization has helped clients in a similar industry, size, or other relevant demographic. Use our downloadable Case Study Template to save time & effort with building an effective case study that can help you win more new business.
What is a Case Study?

A case study is a communication tool that outlines how an organization solved a particular business challenge. Typically, case studies include: the problem, analysis of alternatives, recommended solution, implementation, and measurable results.
Case Study Best Practices:

* Always base your case study on an issue that has a significant impact on your target audience. What are the problems that your solution solves?
* Support your case study with hard numbers. Use charts, tables, figures or statistics where applicable to enhance your credibility, but don’t overload.
* Avoid using proprietary terms or technical jargon.
* Insert names, titles, and quotes from customers or partners involved.
* Communicate both the expected and achieved Return on Investment.

Action Plan:

1. Profile your Target Customer – every organization finds a sweet spot in the market that is particularly suited for their products/services. This demographic may be based on Annual Sales, or industry, or any other relevant characteristic. Identify a prototypical customer who had a very strong need for your solution.
2. Contact & Gain Permission – contact your target customer and ask them if they would be willing to work with you to complete a brief case study. They will need to provide you with a quote or testimonial and/or act as a reference.
3. Develop a Case Study Template - you may wish to build more than one case study, so keep them consistent. Use Demand Metric’s downloadable Case Study Template to quickly format your case study.
4. Complete & Sign Off – complete your case study and send a proof to the profiled customer for sign off. Never post or distribute a case study that has not been approved, as many companies restrict marketing collateral rights.
5. Launch your Case Study - ensure your case study is easily accessible to your Sales, Management, or Services staff. Consider sending your case study out in a company newsletter (internal or external) or to potential prospects. Be sure to post your case study on your corporate website under ‘Customers’.

Bottom-Line:

Case Studies can be a very effective method for strengthening your relationship with key accounts, and increase new sales. As these don’t need to take a long time to complete, consider developing a different Case Study for each business problem your solution can solve...One Degree