Here’s an informative article by Martin Middlewood, president of Frontline Strategies, 10 Big Mistakes Marketers Make in Case Studies, (free registration required):
Customer case stories are a powerful way to communicate the value of a company, product, or service. Nobody speaks more loudly for you than your customers. But if that’s the case, why do so many customer success stories and case studies fall short?
Here are 10 reasons that blunt case study effectiveness and what you can do to avoid each.
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1. Lacking Objectivity – Sometimes a company is just too close to its customer story. Readers can usually tell that because the case study falls back on corporate ego statements.
2. Choosing the Wrong Customer – Just because a customer is willing to do a case study doesn’t make for a good candidate.
3. Making One Size Fit All – Pretending one generic story fits all markets won’t work.
4. Providing Too Much Detail – Ever have a friend who told you a story but somehow dragged it out with superfluous details or tangential asides until you just felt like screaming “get to the point?”
5. Targeting Your CEO, Not Your Prospects – This isn’t just a problem with case studies: Many marketing materials tend to be written for the CEO or the marketing director. Write for your potential customers. This means stressing the customer perspective and down playing corporate ego.
6. Failing to Show ROI – Return on investment can be the hardest benefit to pull out of even a cooperative customer. Still, prospects reading your customer story want to know what to expect from your product or service.
7. Using Sweeping Generalizations – All good stories rely on “show me, don’t tell me.” Showing versus telling is not a subtle difference.
8. Stopping Short of Benefits – Weak benefits statements dilute a great customer story.
9. Tolerating Poor Writing - Write like a journalist, not a marketer or engineer. Avoid marketing-speak, buzzwords, and hyperbole.
10. Intimidating Readers – Don’t make your case studies too long.
For much more on this topic, including the right way to approach writing a case study, check out the complete source article.
