There are various types of stories you can tell in your marketing. Personal stories, third party stories, anecdotal stories, case studies…
My least favourite type of story is the one big companies like to tell the most… a type of case study called the success story.
The bigger the company, the more success stories you’re likely to find, all carefully segmented by industry sector. Don’t get me wrong: the success story is a perfectly valid type of story, but it needs to be balanced. It needs to have struggle and angst, as well as success.
Filing all your ‘case studies’ into a carefully designated section of your website is not a great idea, nor is making them all happy-clappy, sickly sweet. A real, balanced case study is best used unannounced, inserted selectively into just the right places in your marketing.
When you’re gathering material for your case studies, try asking the following questions:
- What were you worried about going into this?
- Did anything nearly stop you from buying?
- Where there specific points you struggled along the way?
You’ll end up with a real, balanced case study. A true story that potential customers can actually relate to.
