It has long been believed that the most powerful way to convince prospects that your company is qualified and legitimate is to have testimonials on your marketing materials and website. And while there is little doubt that testimonials can have an impact, they often fall short of the desired effect. Why?
- A growingly-skeptical public knows testimonials can be complete fabrication, even if attributions are present (and they are most often not included).
- An increasingly-aware public knows testimonials (if real) are hand-selected from among all customer feedback to paint the best picture of the company.
- A technology-savvy public knows they can often find “real” feedback and intelligence on companies via review websites (including Yelp and Google), thus canned testimonials offer little value.
Even though simple, business-provided testimonials by themselves often miss the mark, according to a Bazaarvoice survey, more than 8 out of 10 respondents say that opinions and recommendations made by people they don’t know help indicate brand quality, and influence what they buy.
Case studies, on the other hand, cause prospects to envision how your product or service might fit into their lives. “If this person had these results, imagine what kind of results I could see!”A case study, then, can often act as the catalyst that moves them to buy.
While each of your case studies should tell a unique and true story, all will have the same core components that vividly portray the new scenario your product or service will provide:
- Executive Summary
- About the Client
- Challenge(s)
- Solution(s)
- Results
- Call-to-Action
Interestingly, when used in a case study, the same testimonial that may have been disregarded when it stood alone is now more believable and compelling because it has been given substance and context. Storytelling, still the most persuasive form of communication, is an ideal medium for sharing opinions.
So which works best, testimonial or case study? Answer: BOTH… when used together.
