Stories That Sell: Add the Case Study to Your Outreach Efforts
April 4, 2009 by Mary Ellen
Case study expert Casey Hibbard teaches her craft in Stories That Sell. The book, published early in 2009, offers readers a content-rich, seven-step ‘how-to’ spiced with examples, diagrams and advice.
Casey’s expertise shines through. From industry experts who endorse her to the clients she features, one thing is clear: she’s all about helping you turn satisfied customers into your most powerful sales and marketing asset.
Here are Casey’s seven steps:
- Strategic story planning
- Uncovering customer candidates
- Securing customer permission
- Intelligence gathering
- Creating compelling stories
- Story signoff
- Leveraging customer stories
Of the seven, step #7, leveraging customer stories, is my favorite not only because it’s most familiar to me, but it’s completely and masterfully presented.
Casey touches on blogs and social media, addresses other aspects of the web including search engine optimization and the part case studies can play in it and then turns her attention to more traditional media.
“Seven Ways to Slice a Customer Story” is a mini case study in the middle of a sub-chapter, “Leveraging Stories to the Media.” In this section she takes her own advice, letting her customer Tech Image, a Chicago-area PR firm, showcase seven ways of using success story and case study content:
Complete story
Quotes
Story highlights
Prep clients for it
Help reporters craft questions and stories
Contribute articles
Awards submissions
“It’s usually a three to one ratio, with one case generating at least three pieces of media coverage,” says Bob Dirkes, account manager at Tech Image.
Sub-chapter take-aways reinforce important points here and throughout the book. Quotes inspire and tease the reader to go on.
I’ve recommended Stories That Sell to clients and fellow consultants and used my copy as a personal textbook: highlights flags and comments across margins mark the copy. Stories That Sell is an asset for any bookshelf and I recommend adding it to your business books. In addition, bookmark Casey’s Stories That Sell blog or join her LinkedIn Group, Success Story Marketing.
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