I've just completed my new ebook, "The Plot Thickens: Why Case Studies Create New Customers." You can download it free at http://www.trafficwave.net/lcp/chbrown/case-studies.

Check it out, you will find out how to use story-telling techniques as a marketing tool to get reader attention like never before.

Also, you will learn why case books are THE way to eliminate objections and resistance when you are communicating your marketing message.

As I mentioned recently in an article called How to Use Case Studies to Promote Your Business, case studies can be one of the most effective methods of promoting your business.

A good case study is the story of how your firm solved a serious problem for one of your customers or clients. The customer, of course is the star, but you or your firm is the agent of change that turned the situation around.

In a real way, a case study is better than a referral because it is a compelling story. When other business people read how you solved someone else's problem, they will likely realize that you are the best person or business to solve their problem as well.

How can you market your business with case studies?

1. Include it in a press release. The media is always looking for new stories that contain a practical problem solving element to them. Your press release may be no more than an abridged version of the case study with a mention that the full version is available upon request.
   
   
2. Send it to prospects or existing customers. Sending out case studies is a great way to keep in touch and to let people know what you do. The story "feel" of a case study makes it seem much less like a marketing piece, and therefore softens the sales message while at the same time making it more effective.
   
   
3. Give it to your sales people. Sales people love case studies because they are "proof" of your effectiveness in solving problems. They can use them in their presentations to demonstrate key points andas testimonials. They also make convincing sales brochures.
   
   
4. Post it on your website. Providing quality, useful content on your site is a powerful way to increase traffic.
   
   
5. Use case studies as articles in your newsletter. These success stories show real world examples of how you solve problems in your market place. Even if your newsletter is an internal piece for employees, it still helps to educate your own people.
   
   
6. Use case studies as a speaking topic. If your executives occasionally give speaches or talks, a case study makes an excellent presentation. It can be adapted as a powerpoint or a handout.
   
   
7. Include case studies in proposals for new business. When you are competing for new business, a proposal that contains one or more case studies demonstrates very effectively your firm's competancies.
   
   
8. Adapt case studies as lead generation materials. Not only is it a great free giveaway, it can also be a tremendous enticement for prospects to request the full version if your piece only gives them the first part of the case study. Think of it as a cliff hanger that they must request the rest of the story to find out how a problem was resolved.
   
   
9. Use as testimonials. As a general rule, client testimonials are nice to have but lack the power of a story. By asking clients who send in positive feedback to be interviewed for a case study, you convert their comments into a compelling success story.
   
   
10. Use as a trade show handout. Case studies are much better than free golf balls as a way to interest prospects and turn them into clients. You might even enlarge the case study to print on your exhibit wall for all passersby to see.
    

COPYRIGHT © 2008, Charles Brown

This article originally appeared in http://dynamic-copywriting.net

What do you find more credible, someone who brags about how their company is "the best," or a third party endorsement by a very satisfied customer of that same company?

It goes without saying, doesn't it, that a third party can give your message far more believability than you could ever give it by "tooting your own horn"?

Third Party Testimonials
Third party endorsements are the ultimate marketing tool, if you can get them.

This is why companies spend so much time and money on public relations. One mention in the media is worth millions in advertising. Not because the exposure reaches more people, but because the impact of being touted by a newspaper, television program or radio show is so much more credible.

Depending on which research study you read, the average American is exposed to over 10,000 advertisements or marketing messages a day. Which begs the question, why in the world should they tune into your message amidst all that clutter?

A third party, who has experienced how good your product or service is, and how helpful your customer service staff is, will be listened to. The hearer knows this is a different message than the typical self-serving promotional material most marketers proclaim.

As a result, this simple message by another party will always cut through more of the clutter than your own message which is always viewed as suspect if it is heard at all.

The Power of a Compelling Story
Now, in addition to the power of a third party singing your praises, what if you communicated your message in the form of a compelling story?

A story with a plot and drama. A story in which one of your customers faced a major problem and your company helped them resolve that problem and achieve a successful outcome?

Stories are powerful. They engage people and draw them in. They allow people to see themselves and their own circumstances in this other person's or other company's struggle to overcome a problem.

So now we have considered the possibility of communicating your message by means of a third party endorsement and a compelling story. What if your message also contained useful and valuable information?

Helpful Information and Expertise
This information could simply be in the form of a few tips on how to solve problems or avoid costly mistakes. It should also contain your company's expertise on solving or preventing such problems for your clients.

In other words, the useful information you convey should demonstrate that your company is very good at what you do without bragging or "tooting your own horn."

So how can you package your message in such a way that it contains a third party endorsement, a compelling story and helpful information?
Case Studies: A Very Powerful Marketing Tool
We are talking here about case studies, also known as client success stories.

I'm sure you have some satisfied customers who are pleased with your product or service. Why not ask them if you can have someone interview them for a case study? As mentioned earlier, the case study will have a plot which consists of the client's problem and how you helped them solve it.

But it should also contain quotes from your customer's key managers who say good things about you. And it should conclude with valuable, practical information from you.

The finished case study should read like a short magazine article, and can then be included in an ad, sent to the media as a press release, or posted on your website. (Read a previous article on this site, Ten Ways to Boost Your Sales With Case Studies, for more ways to promote your business with case studies).

Regardless of the form, you can bet that your case study will cut through a lot of the clutter that bombards your prospective customers each day. The same people who ignore your costly ad campaign will pay attention to a well-written success story.

You will probably find that most of your business clients will be very willing to be featured in a case study. All you really have to do is ask.

COPYRIGHT © 2008, Charles Brown

It's hard to think of a commercial website that could not be enhanced with client testimonials or case histories, which are real-world stories about how your company or product solved a problem for a client. When effectively written, these factual accounts read like a story, with a main character, a plot and a resolution.

But what about fictionalized stories? Do stories about people who aren't real or events that didn't actually happen have a place on your website or advertisement?

The answer is a resounding, "maybe." The first consideration is an ethical matter. Will the reader or visitor know that the story is fictional?

Think about all the ads you watch on television or see in magazines. Most ads use fictional characters who encounter a real life problem. In other words, you the viewer, know you are watching an actor playing a part and know you are watching an advertiser dramatize the benefits of its product in a story-like format.

We are a commercially savvy culture now, and we intuitively know we are watching a fictional story that depicts a person with a problem being solved by the advertiser's product.

In the same way, a story may be very effective way to communicate the benefits of your product or service on your ad or website. Here's what I mean. There are probably a couple of hundred books like the One Minute Manager series, that convey a non-fiction message, but use fictionalized characters and events to communicate these lessons.

If you read these books, you understand the story is fiction. But the message being delivered is real. These books are very effective teaching tools simply because we tend to pay closer attention to a story that we do to a dry book of non fiction.

Your fictionalized case history would do the same. Sometimes people have difficulty grasping benefits, so you solve this problem by dramatizing both the problem and the solution using fictional characters and situations.

Your fictionalized case history shows a person with a problem that your company solves. This person is seen grappling with a real headache until your company comes to the rescue, the problem is solved and the headache goes away.

Do your readers or visitors think this story is real? No, but they do believe that the story is realistic. It is realistic because your company does solve real problems just like this one.

(This article originally appeared on Dynamic-Copywriting.net)

Why are stories so effective as marketing tools? I think the answer lies in they way our brains are coded to understand the world around us.

We understand things better when we perceive them in the form of stories. We also get excited about learning when those same ideas come to us in the form of stories.

Try this: Tell someone you have a story to tell them. Then watch their body language change. They will fix their eyes upon you, probably lean forward, their face takes on an open expression and become ready to hear your story.

When we are listening to a story, we shut down our critical, filtering mind and create within ourselves a state of "suspended disbelief." This suspended disbelief is why we can get into stories about the improbable adventures of Indiana Jones, Luke Skywalker or Peter Parker (aka Spiderman).

This is why few people can ignore a compelling story.