Your happy customers are your greatest advocates. When a prospect is choosing a new supplier, a customer success story could turn them from a browser to a buyer.
That’s because people buy from people. 92% of people trust a recommendation from a peer and 81% of people trust their friends and family’s advice more than advice from a business.
In the B2B world specifically, 94% of buyers check what their peers are saying about a product or service before making a decision, and just 37% of B2B buyers trust vendors.
What B2B buyers do trust, however, is case studies. 55% of B2B decision-makers say that case studies are the best way to move prospects through the sales process.
They’re also seen as the most influential type of content for 71% of B2B buyers in the awareness stage and 77% in the evaluation stage.
So, let’s look at some of the reasons why case studies should be an essential part of your B2B marketing strategy.
The benefits of case studies
Using your customers’ own words to extol your business’s strengths is a powerful B2B marketing tool for the following reasons.
Case studies tell a story
In the same way that people buy from people, people connect with stories. They engage us on a human and emotional level and add a real-life element to the mix.
It’s much easier to bond with a storyteller than a paragraph of facts and presenting your USPs as a story makes them more memorable – research has shown that we’re 20 times more likely to remember facts when they’re part of a story.
Case studies build trust
User-generated content is one of the most credible types of content for B2B buyers. That’s because social proof, such as case studies, aren’t sales claims generated by the company themselves but real-life reviews from real-life customers about real-life results.
As such, they are trusted by prospects and customers as unbiased, relevant, and helpful.
Case studies are versatile
Whether you want to promote your fantastic customer service, product quality, or highlight one of the other ways in which your business stands out from competitors, you can craft a case study to showcase your point.
Plus, you’re not restricted to written case studies such as web copy, blogs, and downloadable PDFs. You can also create audio case studies (in the form of podcasts and webinars) or video case studies (70% of B2B customers watch videos as part of the buying process).
What to include in your case studies
An effective case study should include the following elements in your client’s own words:
- Information about the client and their goals
- The challenges the client was facing en route to completing their goals
- How your products/services helped to provide the solution
Where possible, it’s also great to include the reasons why the client chose your business and the reasons why they would work with you again (e.g. statistics or data to highlight the positive outcomes, such as increased sales).
If you’re one of the 42% of B2B marketers planning to create more case studies in 2022, we’d love to help. Get in touch to discuss the ways in which we can support you in bringing your case studies to life.
