Ain’t nobody gonna share that case study

The title/subject line of this edition refers to the problem with customer case studies.

We're all familiar with customer case studies (sometimes called customer success stories) genre. Like all genres, they have specific genre conventions and tropes that define them. They typically go something like this:

• The customer, using a competing product or service (or a crude workaround), realizes they need a better solution to address the challenges standing in their way.

• The customer searches for better solutions and comes across a product or service that appears to be their savior.

• The customer's decision to choose a product or service is vindicated and validated — hopefully with quantifiable result but often with anecdotal evidence.

Look, there's nothing inherently wrong with the traditional customer case study narrative. They're vital for nudging interested buyers to make up their mind and take action.

However, customer case studies have two major weaknesses:

1. They're laser-focused on the buyer journey and gloss over the details related to how the customer uses the product or service in their day-to-day.

2. The customer has zero incentive to share a story recounting why they purchased a product or service, especially when they're portrayed as damsel in distress.

In other words, case studies lack depth and don't incentivize the customers featured to distribute them.

Let’s give ‘em something to talk about

Over the years, I've learned to overcome those limitations with two complementary pieces of content:

1. Customer use cases — aka How [CUSTOMER] uses [PRODUCT/SERVICE]

2. Customer profile stories — aka Why [CUSTOMER] is a bona fide badass

A customer use case is similar to a case study, in that the product or service is the main character. But instead of focusing on the decision-making that led to a customer becoming a customer, a customer use case dives deeper into their day-to-day usage of a product or service.

The idea for customer use cases came from talking to customer success teams and listening to their calls with customers (aka Gong-stalking).

Over and over, I kept hearing the same question coming from customers: “how are other people doing this?” They were asking how others used our product or services — to feel validated knowing they were doing everything they could and ensure there weren't missing out on valuable use cases.

A customer profile story is nothing like customer case studies or use cases.

In a customer profile story, the customer is the protagonist and the story focuses on their hero's journey. Ideally, the product or service doesn’t play a role. But if it does, it should essentially be treated as a prop.

The idea for customer profile stories came from the extremely talented folks at the award-winning content marketing agency, Message Lab, who I worked with at Eventbrite, where I led the global content team.

The customer profile stories Message Lab produced read like a Rolling Stone cover story, telling the gripping tales of the people behind events (I’d link them if they were online 😫).

Eventbrite was never mentioned in these profile stories, not even once. But strategically placed interstitials invited readers to clickthrough to case studies and learn why customers trusted Eventbrite for their ticketing and registration needs.

What the fine folks at Message Lab demonstrated was that professionals want to hear and learn from other professionals. More importantly, they proved a professional audience is smart enough to extract the hard-earn lessons from the story and didn't need a faceless brand to spell it out for them.

This was all serendipitous because, shortly after getting laid off at Eventbrite during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, I advised a startup called Dovetail on their first content strategy. And while doing my research, I quickly learned that Dovetail customers were researchers with PhDs and other highly technical credentials from academia.

"An SEO-focused content strategy won't work for you," I told them. "Your customers will laugh if you try to tell them how to do their job."

With the powerful lessons learned from Message Lab still in my rearview mirror and their approach to customer profile stories top of mind, I advised Dovetail to think of their content hub as the proverbial water cooler researchers shared stories around. This approach launched their innovative product — and the Dovetail brand — into awareness throughout the research community.

Today, I like to combine these three pieces of content (customer profile stories, use cases, and case studies) together. In "marketing speak," they create a funnel that guides potential customers through their product awareness journey.

A customer profile story that portrays the customer as the master of their domain gives them a reason to share it across social media and perhaps print it out for a scrapbook to share with their grandkids one day.

Customers — both future and present — who read the customer profile and accept the invitation to read a customer use case get to experience the benefits of a product or service vicariously.

And future customers who read both will want to learn why someone like them chose the product or service.

Also, if you’ve ever tried to produce case studies, you’ll know they’re a pain in the ass. That’s because there’s nothing in it for the customer. Imagine you pulled off the lot with a brand new car and the dealer asks you to do a case study. It’s too late to get them to shave a few zeros off the price.

Now imagine they want to publish a story about how much of a badass driver you and that other drivers will look up to you after reading the article. You’d be interested in something like that, right? Maybe not. Maybe the analogy doesn’t apply for you but you should see the point I’m trying to make here.

Traditional case studies don’t do anything for the customer. Approaching customers to do profile stories is easier. They’re flattered. And when customers ask “how are others doing this” it’s an opportunity to get them to share how they do things.

If this sounds a lot like the traditional content marketing playbook…

This strategy and the story behind it may seem like it’s from within the marketing echo chamber — therefore making this edition go against the premise of Marketing Under The Influence — but there are several broadcasting theories and techniques at play here.

• Seriality: In television and radio programming, shows are designed in a series to keep an audience coming back for more. The idea is to create a narrative thread that runs through each piece of content, compelling the audience to follow the breadcrumb trail from one to the other.

• Flow theory: Introduced by Raymond Williams, flow theory is a broadcasting strategy where one program leads into the next with little to no interruption. The strategy behind this three-part series seamlessly guides the audience from a profile story to a use case and ultimately the case study.

• Narrative transportation theory: This theory posits that when people are engaged with a story, they're "transported" into it. The result of this transportation is that they're more likely influenced to follow the breadcrumb trail through to the case study.

So there you have it. Something practical with a dash of theoretical, as I promised in last week’s post script. If you end up applying (or have already applied) this strategy, let me know.

Until next time…

♥️ Ronnie