If you are marketing for your own business or startup, or are marketing for a client, getting good content together for prospective customers is often hindered by lack of time and a struggle of what to say.
We specialize in Seed and early-stage B2B SaaS startups. We have found that case studies showcasing satisfied customer stories can be quickly put together with minimal participation required from your customer or your team.
If you are not familiar with case studies, you can view a few of our own here. Case studies make good marketing content as they tell a story and relay real problems and solutions that prospective customers can identify with. Case studies help you pique curiosity and develop a connection.
- First, start with obtaining an introduction from your client to the "happy customer." Once introduced, you can take over follow-ups, scheduling the interview call, and obtaining content approvals. In our case study download,you'll find an email template to provide your client for use in the introductions.
Plan to keep the interview of the happy customer short, around 15 minutes, and let them know. They are more likely to participate if it is quick and painless.
Also, let the potential participant know they can participate without having their company named. The use of company names in case studies can add credibility, however, some companies will not be comfortable with being on the record. You do not want fear to be a barrier in having a case study created.
If a company does not want to be named, or you feel it will take a long turnaround time to have the draft case study approved due to their internal red tape, use qualifiers such as "a leading car manufacturer" or "a national grocery chain" throughout the case study.
- Clearly track introductions, follow-ups, and approvals using our case study workflow spreadsheet. Remember, this task is not meant to take a lot of time and is subject to your happy customer's availability to do a favor for your client. It will not be a high priority for them, so keep track.
- Questions! Questions! Questions!
We have prepared a list of case study questions for you to use in gathering information on the happy customer before the interview call. These are questions the client will answer. Having background on their customer will help direct you during the interview and make you look informed in front of the interviewee.
We have also prepared a thorough list of case study questions for you to provide to the happy customer before the call. You will find on the day of the call that many of the questions will not be relevant. You will play by ear the exact questions you ask from the background you get on the customer and by what is said during the interview.
- In our case study download, you'll find a list of post-interview steps to take to help you get to the finalized case study downloadable. We also provide a link to HubSpot case study templates, a preferred look and feel from our experience.
If you have any questions, please reach out to us. You can download the case study guide below.
Additional Resources:
Marketing Checklists - Case Studies, Content Campaigns, & Blog Optimization
HubSpot Sequences Vs. Workflows, What's the Difference?
HubSpot Sales Enablement Tools - Creating Sequences Step-by-Step
11 Actionable Marketing Tactics We Learned from Inbound 2019