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A Thumbnail Dipped In Tar

The title of this page of the website, "A Thumbnail Dipped in Tar", is stolen from A.B. (Banjo) Patterson's iconic poem, Clancy of the Overflow and features an occasional opinion piece on issues of relevance to people with marketing and communications responsibilities.

Don't abuse or misuse a valuable marketing weapon

Few B2B marketers would dispute the value of customer case studies. But all too often the case study is written as simply a chronological history of why and when a customer became a customer. In that sense it can fail because to be effective, case studies must be carefully targeted and reflect a strong understanding of where the vendor (and/or vendor’s product) sits in its chosen market space.

The most important question to be answered in planning a case study is ‘what does the vendor want the case study to achieve’ i.e. what aspect of the vendor’s product or service should the case study illustrate? Should the case study illustrate the advantage of a product or service over the vendor’s competitors, show that the customer is happy to embrace what may be seen as emerging technology or prove that big blue chip names are happy to do business with the vendor? Or, perhaps all of these?

Without a specific objective as the focal point for a suite of interview questions, case studies run the risk of rambling vaguely across generalities, timeframes and Motherhood statements. Hardly the stuff of carefully focused and professional marketing.

In the planning for a case study it is critical to obtain as much information as possible about the client organisation and the account so the interviewer can get straight to the heart or purpose of the interview.

It is worth noting that a customer’s approval to produce a case study may not come from the potential interviewee but from senior management and/or the customer’s own public affairs department. It pays to ensure you have gone to the right party to obtain approval.

The vendor’s objectives in undertaking a case study and the uses to which it will be put should be summarised for the customer. Uses may include: as pre-sales marketing collateral, to have on the vendor’s web site and/or to offer as editorial to trade or business publications in suitable features.

While interviews can be undertaken over the phone in some instances a visit to the customer site can dramatically enhance an interviewer’s appreciation of the importance/benefits of the product/service.

Likewise, quality and appropriate photographs can enhance the readability of the case study –whatever the use to which it is put. Photography might comprise ‘stock’ photos from a customer’s own marketing department or a photos especially commissioned by the vendor.

And finally, it goes without saying that the customer has the right to review and change the case study before approving it for publication.