Case studies are often approached from a marketing and sales mindset. Companies that use them often want to showcase the amazing projects that they’ve completed in the interest of engaging with new clients. Of course, growth is always the goal, but there are several additional benefits to consider when considering creating a case study.
Case studies are also capable of producing additional opportunities in a less conventional manner: By strengthening the relationships you currently have!
We see this all the time at CaseLeap. When conducted correctly, testimonials can greatly improve existing client relationships. Ultimately, this leads to increased interest from returning customers, as you've proven yourself to be a thoughtful and proactive professional.
After all, most clients don’t want to go through the trouble of finding new brands to work with when they need to solve existing challenges.
The Pareto Principle states that “80% of your work comes from 20% of your clients.” This is especially true for businesses that take the time to ask for personal feedback. Taking that feedback and creating something useful from it - like a case study - shows your clients how much you care about their business.
This is a case study that CaseLeap recently created for UltraTarget showcasing the massive impact they have had with lead generation for Levitate Video.
Here are the four ways that testimonials, case studies, and referrals can help you to further strengthen great client relationships.
People that are responsible for drafting client reports know first-hand how monotonous it can feel. Reports are important, though. They show the tangible value of your work.Some businesses may not even have client reporting integrated into their service options. Without reports to document your successes, clients may quickly fall under the impression that you’ve had no successes.
That is where case studies, testimonials, and referrals shine.Providing positive feedback is a wholesome activity. Generally speaking, it makes people feel good, much like philanthropy.A request for a testimonial from someone you enjoy working with would make you feel good, wouldn't it? It would provide you with a chance to express your gratitude in a thoughtful way.
Case studies, testimonials, and referrals accomplish multiple things. For one, they ask the client to genuinely reflect on your business relationship.
Great clients will put real thought into your accomplishments and abilities when writing reviews.The best part? Those thoughtful reflections are then recorded, which essentially converts them into permanently published praise for your business.
This kind of recorded information is a digital goldmine.For example, did you know that:People are 400% more likely to purchase from you when they are referred by a friend.Case studies rank as the third most influential type of content marketing during the purchasing process.Customers spend 31% more on average with businesses that have strong client testimonials.
That last fact is particularly interesting. It shows how effective testimonials can be in increasing the long-term ROI of your client relationships. Clients will appraise your services with a higher value after they’ve reflected on the quality of your relationship.
Short testimonials serve as great lead magnets on a web page, linking to your larger case studies. Testimonial blurbs function as bite-sized recommendations of your services.Case studies, on the other hand, should always include more in-depth information for further analysis.
This means that a case study is a much longer type of content.Long-form content is vital for search engine optimization (SEO).
It can also provide an increased conversion rate.
Of course, the main purpose of a case study is to showcase the real-world applications of your services. However, the web traffic that long case studies can generate for you and your clients can be quite substantial.
Case studies perform extremely well as long-form content. A great case study is most effective when it provides tantalizing highlights before delving into the meat of specifics. You never want to bury the lead and place your ROI in an indiscernible paragraph, never to be seen. But when a case study is properly formatted, it can be perfect for SEO.
For instance, did you know that long-form content:
• Generates 700% more leads than short-form blog posts.
• Receives 77.2% more links on average than short content.
• Above 3,000 words receives 300% more traffic on average than content between 900-1,200 words.
Although they may require a lot more effort than a quick testimonial, case studies are valuable as digital assets for any business. Not only do case studies help you to close leads, but they also improve your rankings in search engine results.
At CaseLeap, we communicate this value into every interaction we have with your clients. When offered the prospect for additional traffic to their own sites, we find that clients greatly improve their willingness to provide reviews. After all, they also have a stake in the metrics used in your case study and would like for their businesses to appear successful.
Lastly, it’s worth mentioning that case studies provide great frameworks for spin-off content. This top-down approach to content strategy is incredibly efficient for you and your clients. In some cases, an entire month of content can be generated from the subtopics mentioned in a case study.Case studies are bursting with value!
Businesses with clear, articulated values consistently perform better than those without. Yet, more than 67% of employees say their company does not have a strong work culture. You might be thinking, “What do testimonials, case studies, or referrals have to do with work culture?”
Well, all of this collateral relies on strong, dependable client relationships. The ultimate goal is to provide such incredible services that you could receive positive feedback at any given moment. Keeping this in focus will force your business to develop better internal processes to meet that goal.
For example, when it comes time to create a case study, a business may realize that some numbers aren’t as impressive as they could be. Such a discrepancy wouldn’t be likely if testimonials were one of the success metrics set at the beginning of a business relationship.
It’s always a good idea to begin integrating testimonials, case studies, and referrals into your work culture as soon as possible. By doing so, you'll undoubtedly create additional opportunities for growth.
At CaseLeap, we help to create reliable, systematic conversations with your most valued clients. The most successful companies implement these processes throughout every client interaction. This means that you’ll need to meaningfully engage with anyone who comes into contact with the business.
Authentic conversations should begin the moment a lead enters your sales funnel. Of course, for some high-volume businesses, this may seem completely impractical.
Fortunately, there are many tools available to help businesses that would like to automate this process. However, many of these automation tools can also feel inauthentic. For example, you wouldn’t want to bombard first-time site visitors with review requests!
Having a well-written Case Study can make that first real conversation with a prospect that much easier to obtain. Once they’ve interacted with your brand, they'll feel much more comfortable speaking with a real representative.
There are plenty of ways for the review process to go wrong.
Case studies are rarely presented as plain blocks of text. Successful case studies include supporting graphics and even recorded videos as visual examples. This kind of marketing requires careful legal attention. Many businesses make the mistake of publishing their case studies without first guaranteeing legal immunity.
This can be an incredibly costly mistake.
Just because a client agreed to give you an interview does not mean you can simply publish it. Clients must be given the final say in every single aspect of their case studies. Brand reputation is crucial to the success of any business and must always be considered.
To be safe, it’s always best to provide the client with the proper release forms before beginning any interviews. Additionally, a brief snippet of legalese in every correspondence could help you to cover your bases.At CaseLeap, we handle all of the legal aspects for you so that you can rest easy without fear of legal challenges later on.
Testimonials, case studies, and referrals…we've been throwing around these terms a lot -- sometimes interchangeably. This is because, at CaseLeap, we seek to improve your client relationships by securing all three.
We begin by securing the information required to create a full case study. This is often conducted through live interviews or email correspondence. The information we receive becomes the basis for your case studies. It should go without saying, but your clients will always be treated like royalty during every CaseLeap interaction.
Next, we pull valuable quotes from the finished case study to create compelling testimonials. Ultimately, both components serve as a public referral for your services.
However, we recognize that some businesses may not be in a position to secure all three forms of this data. Some business models may not prioritize long-term relationships, as is often the case for businesses with high volumes and small margins.
In other cases, company stakeholders simply don’t have the spare time needed to conduct in-depth interviews. After all, it takes strategic coordination to produce a high-quality case study.
That's why we always recommend utilizing a third-party partner like CaseLeap. We handle the curation and creation of testimonials for you. We strive to keep our services affordable by systematizing the case study process into a proven formula that increases sales.
Whether you need assistance securing succinct testimonials or complex case studies, we can help. From logistics to legalities, CaseLeap manages the entire process for you. Don't just take our word for it, though -- check out our amazing testimonials!
