Many consumers are turned off by traditional advertising, according to a recent survey. They want the truth, plain and simple. Building marketplace credibility – without the hype – is a strategy that builds valuable trust. Because case studies help achieve that ideal on multiple fronts, they rate among the most powerful marketing collateral you can develop.
While a recent (September 2007) survey delivered a sobering assessment of the advertising industry, the results served to reinforce a powerful truism: the credibility factor, as it relates to marketing, is more important than ever.
A J. Walter Thompson study entitled "Ad Industry Perception Survey" revealed that 84 percent of American adults feel advertising of products and services is "over-hyped," while 72 percent intoned they are "tired of people trying to grab my attention and sell me stuff."
So what’s a marketer to do? How do we scale these walls of resistance? What’s a more effective way to overcome the barriers our potential customers erect in defense?
In both B2B and B2C sales, the answers come back to believability and trust. And few other marketing materials supply those attributes to your business than case studies.
Case studies – customer success stories – bring a high level of authenticity, because the claims are not being made through slick advertisements. Rather, these extended testimonials are provided by a genuine person.
Chances are, many of the potential customers you are marketing to have the same or similar dilemma as the business or individual you’ve profiled in a case study. When they’re able to see the real-time solution your product or service provided, that’s powerful evidence.
Customers will often ask "Where’s the proof?" Case studies go a long way toward substantiating your claims, a valuable consideration when looking to convert a cold prospect into a hot lead.
The advertising fatigue that’s affecting most of today’s consumers – brought on by a 24/7 bombardment of all things commercial – strengthens the case for case studies. Research has shown case studies have a 75 percent effectiveness rate when used as part of a marketing and copywriting campaign.
So, next time you divvy up the advertising budget, ask yourself: Can you afford not to have case studies in your marketing arsenal?
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