Everyone wants to jump into the word-of-mouth (WOM) marketing, communications den. The rewards seem huge. The problem is when the audience starts scratching, chewing divine intervention doesn’t answer the call. Source – Artist Peter Paul Rubens

In traditional terms, marketing meant advertising – radio/TV, print, direct mail, shows, etc.—and publicity. But in 2009, Gallup reported that only 10% of folks really believed these folks. Bummer, dude! Fortunately, the iNet, Web and now mobile have rushed in to fill the gap. Suddenly there are fast, cheap ways of reaching people – search, keywords, converting traffic, online video, banners, email targeting, podcasts, webcasts and the nebulous but cool social media. The sheer volume of information available has dramatically altered the balance of power between companies (marketing/communications) and consumers. As folks have become overloaded, they have become increasingly skeptical about traditional company-driven advertising, marketing, communications. The targets have taken control. Oh sure, they prefer to make purchasing decisions independently; but there’s no reason they shouldn’t have a little assistance. And the most efficient, most effective assistance is Word-of-Mouth (WOM).

Most Trusted Source
Trusted Sources – To hear marketing people talk, there’s a world of ways to reach today’s consumer. The problem is, the information source they believe is one outside the company’s control. Source – Forrester

What’s the goal:
- Increase awareness, interaction with the brand
- Sales
- Create customer, fan community
- Increase website traffic
- Sales
- Identify customer wants/needs
- Identify customers, business opportunities
- Sales

That’s so cool!

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In the last decade the media world has changed in ways few of us could have imagined. Warhol would be proud. Not long ago traditional media and marketing was the only avenue to get your message out there. When it came to the media, a handful of editors and producers decided what was covered. Now all of that has changed, the floodgates have opened. The internet has not only changed what the media covers, it makes news. The media terrain has morphed. Although there are more avenues and outlets, the market has become so diffused that it’s more and more challenging to find venues that:

1) Give real information

2) Reach a specific audience or market

3) Have a strong audience base

4) Meet your media goals

TV shows and print publications used to be the public’s main sources for news, politics, entertainment and information. Although they are still incredibly important, they no longer have the reach or the impact they once did. Those outlets once served as the primary venues for exposure and media coverage. They are still tremendously important and need to be a part of your promotional or marketing campaign, but they are now only one part of the media mix.

The traditional media outlets are morphing, and online, social media avenues are growing on a daily basis. Whereas many newspapers are folding and more information is going online, simply promoting yourself or your company on the internet is not the end-all marketing-wise. Internet marketing and social media are important, but those avenues do not offer the validation and legitimacy of appearing in the traditional media. The net is democratic, anyone can post information online. The downside is that there is very little vetting and fact checking. Overall, the internet is the Wild West of information. Marketing online may get your message out there, but simply being on the net is not enough.

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Launching a public relations campaign can be confronting. Many people are uncomfortable and resist the mere thought of launching a PR campaign. As one client explained to me, he didn’t want to do interviews, he didn’t want to be a star; he simply wanted his business to be successful. I understood exactly what he meant. His focus was on his business, on the bottom line, and being featured in a newspaper or on a TV segment didn’t mean much to him, unless it affected the bottom line. But there was also something else going on. He was shy and embarrassed and being interviewed, or sitting in front of a TV camera, scared the heck out of him. If you feel that way, ask yourself what you’re willing to do to be successful. Are you willing to utilize the most powerful marketing tool available? Are you willing to take risks, utilize the magic of the media, and give your business a real chance for success?

If your response is yes, remember very few people are naturals when it comes to the media. It’s a skill and one that can be learned. I generally suggest that people take at least a couple of hours of media training before launching a campaign. It helps you focus, helps you relax and shows you how to tell your story in the most comfortable, organic way possible. It also teaches you how to meet the media’s needs as well as your own. Our trainer is Ann Convery, she has prepared clients for interviews in a wide range of media outlets from Oprah and 60 Minutes to the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. Her specialty is helping you refine and condense your story. She teaches people how to present themselves as experts in their field in a relaxed effective manner. Her focus is on showing you how to present yourself not as a celebrity, but as an authority.

Effective media placement isn’t about wanting to be a star or wanting to appear on the media – it’s about success. It truly is about the bottom line.

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The clients are out there, you just need to reach them. And the best way to get them to take notice is to sell your value not your product or service. But, before you can present your value, you have to understand exactly what it is. Your product or service is what is most apparent, that’s what people see, but your value is generally a bit more hidden. If you own a beauty salon, your service is pretty straightforward, you cut, style and color hair. But what is the value you’re offering? You help people feel younger, more attractive, happier, or more successful. Your value depends on your client, but your value is more the emotion than the actual hair you cut or style.

What is it you’re selling? And I don’t mean what product or service. Are you selling health, wealth, beauty, success, fun? What is the value or effect that your product or service offers your customer? Focus on that. Sell your value not your product. This can be trickier than it seems. I’ve worked with several companies that understood the product they were selling, but not the value. Take some time and figure out who your target market is and what your product or service truly offers. What is the core value? When you’ve figured that out, the next step is to find the best avenue(s) to reach them. Once you know exactly what value you’re offering your clients, find the unique marketing mix specific to your needs. Then you’re set to reach and land more clients – now!

Most businesses are looking for clients or customers. The trick is to reach them and then to effectively communicate with them. Even in a shifting economy, people still spend money, buy products, and use services. The economy may take a downturn but it will eventually start to go up again. You not only want to be prepared for the upswing, you want to use strategic marketing and promotional tools now to find your clients and build your business, even during the most challenging times.

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The best way to launch a successful media campaign is to give the press options. You have a story that you want to tell through the media. Chances are you have one or two main angles or story ideas that you want covered. Those are where your focus lies, they are your primary objectives. But what if you were to broaden your scope a bit? Let’s say you own a cosmetic company. Your primary pitches to the media have to do with your products, your latest line of color cosmetics. Great. But what if you also pitched a story on how inner beauty can enhance outer beauty? You could come up with a pitch on the top four ways to boost your inner beauty. Not exactly the angle you want? Maybe. But what if that leads to more media coverage which gives you more opportunities to mention your new beauty line?

We all have different expressions, different moods, and different topics we enjoy discussing. None of us have one-note personalities, but so many people try to launch one-note media campaigns. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t pitch your main ideas, but that you expand them, come up with new angles, think beyond the obvious. Remember, your job is to meet the media’s needs. Broaden your scope. Come up with other ways to pitch your story. You’ll be able to talk about your story, but not until you interest the media. And to do that, sometimes you have to use the indirect or back door approach.

If you are a landscaper, you may have to pitch a story that has you critique the pros and cons of the White House grounds. That’s not the story you probably particularly want to address. You want to tell people that you are a wonderful landscaper and that they should hire you, but there’s no story there. By talking about the White House grounds, you have added another dimension. You have raised the stakes. You’re not just discussing how to landscape Joe Blow’s home, you’re outlining how to best landscape the First Family’s home.

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Generally those who have the most trouble trying to utilize the media are those that have no real idea how it works. Simply because someone is a celebrity, or head of state, and has been continually highlighted in the media, doesn’t mean he or she truly understands the inner workings of the press. Appearing in front of the camera day after day does not make one an expert in the process. Those who have had the most media coverage are often the ones that have the most naive or delusional take on how the media actually works.

Often when celebrities run into a damage control situation (such as the Charlie Sheen fiasco) they believe they are the story, where generally it’s the train wreck that’s the real story. They simply happen to be the ones driving that train. They eventually end up trying to put out fire with gasoline and their media and image problems only continue to grow.

It used to be that newspapers, magazines, along with network and cable TV, defined and shaped the stories we read or watched. We’re now in the world of citizen journalists and social media. Twitter or Facebook not only distribute information, now they become stories in and of themselves. For example, when Sarah Palin or Charlie Sheen posts a Tweet and you suddenly have a news story. But, as we’ve all seen, they don’t necessarily control that story. Tweets and posts take on a life of their own and can often backfire.

Whereas many have tried to utilize the media for their own ends and have failed, there are cases where individuals have been able to achieve their ends. Howard Stern was certainly a master of utilizing the media. Those that are most successful, like Stern, generally have a media outlet where they can actively control the message if it starts to run amok. Glen Beck comes to mind. He has a nightly forum where he can shape his message. It’s much more difficult to control if you are outside of the media.

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Tip 1: Make a list of objectives that you want to achieve before starting the process. You don’t want to limit your idea and thought process, but you do want to define objectives to accomplish. When it comes to PR brainstorming, your goal is to come up with a list of the most important story ideas including new business concepts, the unique value you offer, important information you can give, and anecdotal stories. Also spend some time focusing on how and why you can be presented as an expert regarding your company, your business, and your overall field.

Tip 2: This is a group process. Don’t simply brainstorm on your own, set up a brainstorming session with your PR consultant, or, if you’re doing this in-house, meet with members of your staff that understand your business. If you’re a one man, or one woman show, bring together some friends or associates who understand your business. You want people you can bounce ideas off. You want feedback, plus you want energy. Make it fun; make it a game, but one with a purpose.

Tip 3: Allow everyone involved to speak freely. Set up an agenda but let the information flow. Start with a list of the obvious stories, then drill down to more unique stories; also review different ways to present stories. You don’t want to spend the bulk of your time on concepts or stories that are too left (or right) of center, but do let it get a bit crazy. Think out of the box. Be creative. Remember you don’t have to use all of these stories or ideas, but the deeper you drill, the better the chances of finding a great story, so let the ideas fly. Let yourself bandy about story ideas that chances are you’ll never use. You never know, those might actually turn out to lead you to some golden PR nuggets.

Tip 4: Once you’ve created a list of possible ideas, now start thinking like the media.

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Perhaps the strangest aspect of the whole Charlie Sheen media storm, at least from my perspective, is that the furor has been about his drug use and his tirades against his producer. Don’t get me wrong, those aren’t good things, but physically and verbally abusing women seem like activities that should be a bit higher on the outrage meter. Yet Sheen always appears to get a pass when it comes to those behaviors.

One would think that such actions against women would cause overwhelming media furor, some national outrage, maybe a few raised eyebrows on the part of CBS. And Sheen didn’t simply accost one woman, there were a number and he did it repeatedly over the years. Why was this behavior so forgivable, whereas drug abuse and name calling caused production to come to a halt? Much of this behavior started before his current TV show, but it has continued throughout the years. To give credit where credit is due, CNN did report on these issues with a report called: “Scandals Don’t Faze Charlie Sheen’s Career”. The segment echoed the fact that no one seemed to care.

Just to cover some of his history on this front, Sheen served two years’ probation for a 1996 assault on then-girlfriend Brittany Ashland. A year earlier he settled a case out of court with a woman who claimed he’d hit her when she refused to have sex with him. In 1990, in an incident deemed an accident; he shot his then fiancée Kelly Preston in the arm; not to mention the accounts by ex-wives Denise Richards and Brooke Mueller. Other accusations coming from hookers and porn stars have followed. His choosing to take drugs, or going off on a tirade against his employers just doesn’t seem to fall in the same category as physical abuse; yet it was his most recent actions that caused CBS and Warner Bros. to (at least temporarily) pull the plug.

Granted Sheen was not overly polite to his producer.

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Even in a down economy beauty sells. The cosmetic industry was born in the Great Depression. This is one industry where it pays to promote when things are good, but pays even more to market aggressively when times are tough. As in the fields of entertainment and fashion, a strong public relations campaign is critical when it comes to establishing a beauty product or cosmetic brand. It’s important to develop a basic game plan and work it on a weekly basis.

Initially, your most important job is to come up with compelling, interesting stories. How is your product different? Do any celebrities use your product? How does it make your customers feel? Is there an interesting story around how you developed and launched the company that you can use? Come up with as many angles and pitches as you can. Make sure to have good visuals both of the product and of people using your products. Strong before and after photos are always a plus. Once you have your stories ready to go, come up with a target media list.

When we launch a beauty-oriented PR campaign, we generally start with local print media, we then branch out to the national beauty and style-oriented publications followed by print publications in Los Angeles and New York. From there we drill down to other regions.

As the brand builds and you are able to develop compelling, visual stories, you want to start focusing on TV coverage, from local NBC, CBS and ABC coverage to the cable networks such as CNN, MSNBC and Fox, to the national outlets such as the Today Show, Good Morning America and the View.

As you start to land print coverage in magazines and newspapers, utilize that media online via social media and blogging to magnify that coverage and generate media interest and start establishing the brand. Do some brainstorming and develop a social media strategy, to capitalize on your TV and print media coverage.

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Physicians, more than most professionals, need to be aware of how they are perceived by the public.  A person’s health is his or her most valuable asset, and to most there is nothing more important than picking the right healthcare practitioner.  No one wants to put their health in the hands of someone they don’t trust.   This is one reason why (in the health and medical world) although advertising and direct mail promotions can be successful, they can also backfire.  A prospective patient does not chose a physician,  healthcare provider, or a hospital, the same way he or she chooses a new Smartphone or a new set of tires.

Marketing a medical practice via a print ad or TV commercial has inherent risks.  A physician does not want to be viewed as though he or she is actively selling; no prospective patient wants to be sold.  Patients want to see someone they trust, someone they feel is the best in the field, and that’s why a well planned public relations campaign is so very important to building a medical practice.

The healthcare field is learning how to utilize public relations and social media as ways to connect with and communicate to the public.  In over two decades working in the healthcare PR field, I’ve seen firsthand how important media coverage is to physicians and hospitals.  We’ve placed physicians and healthcare practitioners in a wide range of media outlets including Time, Newsweek, Oprah, the Today Show, the Wall Street journal, the New York Times, the BBC, and hundreds of other local and national media outlets.  Those placements have helped build practices and establish medical experts.

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You might have a great story, but if you don’t know how to present it, you’re not going to grab the media’s attention. Remember what seems like a great story for you might not seem that way to the media. Building a great pitch for a TV segment or magazine article takes some time, thought and creativity. Have fun with this process. Give it some time and you just might uncover some hidden gems that will launch your PR campaign.

Before you approach the media, study and review the press release or pitch you’re going to be using. Again, simply because it looks good to you doesn’t mean it will resonate with the media. Keep working on and refining your pitch with the focus on how it will meet the media’s needs.

1. Debunking a myth:

If there are certain preconceived ideas in your industry, or surrounding the topic you’ll be pitching, focus on those and pitch a story around how those myths or preconceived ideas are wrong. For example, if you’re in the fitness industry, come up with some points that debunk some commonly held misconceptions about working out or losing weight. Present yourself as the expert who can set the record straight and educate the public.

2. Comment on a national issue:

If there is a story being covered in the media, or if there is a particular topic that is being discussed that you can comment on, do so. For example, if you are an attorney and there is a particular legal case that is in the news, or if there is an issue or topic that is being discussed that you can address, pitch yourself as an expert in the field who can clarify and explain the topic. Perhaps take a side and explain why the other side is wrong. Make sure to explain why you are the expert to address this topic.

3. Seasonal Stories:

The media always covers season stories. It has to.

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An effective public relations campaign takes planning, time, and work. You need to mine your stories and use the media you garner to land more media. A truly effective PR campaign cannot be launched or realistically measured in two, four, or even six months. Once you do decide to move forward, begin with some clear, specific objectives.

Study your business plan. How can media placement help you meet your objectives? Do you want to increase your business by a third in one year? Do you want to open another store or branch? Do you want to take a product national? What are your long term goals? Without such goals, you have no way to measure the success of the campaign.

Keep your eye on the future. Remember, media placement is a long-term, cumulative process. If you are only looking five weeks or even six months down the line, broaden your scope. Write down your short-term and long-term objectives. Where does media placement fit in? How can an effective media relations campaign help you achieve your objectives?

A plan that has you appearing on Oprah, The Tonight Show, or in Time Magazine and The Wall Street Journal within the first two months of your campaign is not a plan, that’s fantasy. One particular client we’ve worked with for several years has been featured in Time, Newsweek, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, NPR, and countless other media outlets, but those placements did not come about overnight. They were part of a long term commitment to achieving her PR objectives.  If the client had stopped her campaign in two or three month’s time, she would never have been in Time or the Wall Street Journal and would never have known that her campaign was on the road to success. That indeed would have been a waste of time and money.

Approach your marketing as a part of your overall business strategy.

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Reporters Aren’t Your Friend, They Aren’t Your Enemy…They’re Reporters

Most journalists – online, on air, print – don’t ask tricky, tough questions.

They simply ask a question and let the interviewee fill in the awkward silence.

Or as Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) said in All the President’s Men, “I never asked about Watergate. I simply asked what were Hunt’s duties at the White House.”

Bad coverage – or fear of it – reinforces why many executives avoid media interviews.

Open the door too wide, they appear to be grandstanding.

Being over reactive/defensive, can expose too much company private information.  The results can damage the company’s, executive’s image/value.

It isn’t a journalist’s job – regardless of the medium – isn’t to be your friend and help you advance your agendas.

Journalists have two responsibilities – to be professional and to fairly, accurately present the information to their audience.

All of the rest is your job.

Of course there are times it’s best to take Abe Lincoln’s advice, “‘Tis better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt.”

Interview Timing
There are times when an interview just isn’t possible for any number of reasons.

Suggest an alternate date and/or time.

As long as the interview isn’t deadline critical this is why both parties like an email Q&A:
- answers can be researched, thought thru, accurate
- responses can be provided from anywhere in the world in a timely manner
- little chance of being misinterpreted, misquoted

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“It is not necessary to change.  Survival is not mandatory!”  “There is a penalty for ignorance.  We are paying through the nose.” – W. Edwards Deming

Extensive research/statistics doesn’t hold much excitement for us.  However, we’re a long-time admirer of Dr. Deming and his writings.  While Out of Crisis was written in 1986, his 14 Points of Management are still being widely practiced today.  We first met Dr. Deming at a conference in D.C. in 1990 where he was a keynote speaker on the changing face of the industry.  We met him again in mid-1992 at what was to be one of his final management seminars.  It was difficult to believe that at 92 he was still taking every opportunity to tell managers how they could carry out changes that would affect their personal growth and their organization’s.

Inside the Man
At the reception following the 1990 keynote we asked one of his assistants why he continued to maintain such a hectic schedule and how he possibly juggled all of the information requests.  Her answer was “He is 100% committed to what he does.  He never does anything halfway, doesn’t try to slide by.  He immediately responds to every inquiry – postal and email – even if it to say he is going to have someone else in the organization handle the issue, to say he doesn’t know but will get back with the right answer (and he does) or simply provides  the answer/information.” 

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Pre-show Marketing

• Allocate a percentage of your trade show budget for pre-show marketing to attendees. via @VectorDisplays
• Send a pre-show postal mailing and/or e-mail promising something exclusive to show attendees who visit your booth. via @VectorDisplays
• Include the show name and booth number as part of your phone voice mail message 60-90 days before a show. via @VectorDisplays
• Include the show name and booth number as part of your signature on e-mails 60-90 days before a show. via @VectorDisplays

Staff Training

• Provide your booth staff with proper training to represent your product/service. via @VectorDisplays
• Develop written talking points for booth staff to rehearse so they can deliver a uniform message to trade show attendees. via @VectorDisplays
• Share your trade show goals and objectives with your booth staff so they know your expectations and help you achieve them. via @VectorDisplays

During the Show

• Staff your booth with the employees who recognize the value of trade shows! via @EmilieBarta
• Make sure booth staff has a UNIFORM APPEARANCE so it’s obvious who can answer questions. via @EmilieBarta
• Entertain guests waiting in line to get into your booth or ensure there are no lines. via @FrancisFriedman
• Attendees go to tradeshows to find new & innovative products, ideas, solutions…talk about those in your booth via @EmilieBarta
• Educate exhibit attendees with LIVE demonstrations on how to use your products. via @3D_EXHIBITS
• Make friends with the people in surrounding booths. They will be next to you for 3+ days. via @TradeShowGirl
• Cover minor blemishes on hard surfaces with a matching felt-tip marker.

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Ah referrals from business contacts – the one thing most small business owners would like more of. Why then, doesn’t it happen as much as most people would like? I have a theory and it goes somewhere along the following lines: 

“Two business owners meet at a networking event. Their businesses compliment each other so they touch base after the event and they talk about how they could refer business to one another. But, after they put the phone down, they never talk again.” 

I’ve lost count of how many times the above scenario has happened to me. So, why is it that both businesses agree that referring customers to each other would be a good thing, but it doesn’t actually happen?  

Well, my theory is two-fold: 

Firstly, I believe that the reason small business owners don’t refer to one another is that it’s hard work getting a customer. And if a customer requests something that you can possibly do yourself, you’ll keep the work instead of farming it out to someone who might be better placed to help them. 

The second part of my theory is that even if you can’t do the work yourself, you’re only going to refer the customer to someone you know, like and trust and have built up a good relationship with. Let’s face it, why would you refer a customer to someone you’ve only met once or twice at a networking event? 

How do you get around this? 

Well, if you really want referrals, you need to be thinking about how to build a relationship up with that person and then you need to work at it so that they feel comfortable about working with you and referring their customers over to you. 

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When you are trying to build your company brand online authenticity is important. We have seen many poor practices promoting businesses in the social sphere which actually have a negative effect on the brand. Social media is not social advertising. Yes, of course you can advertise on sites like Facebook and Linkedin, but as a web user its well identified. This usually happens when businesses are trying to drive web traffic to their corporate site using key word spamming. There are many reasons why you should promote your business on the web but the other edge of the sword is that folks are watching … and they will out you, if you don’t play by the social media rules. The key strategy when using social media to promote your business is to provide information that is relevant to your target audiences. At its core we recommend education based marketing, the principle of which is to teach and provide content. This builds credibility for your brand without being to overt with your goal of selling more stuff.

The success formula is to be visible on the social networks that are relevant, be credible by providing great content and information and be available to interact with your audiences. Once you do this, prospects may contact you to do business. After all, in marketing the key word is top of mind. Social Media keeps you top of mind and if you do a good job, people want to do business with people who are credible.

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 Twitter trends are changing all the time… some we love and some we hate.  I asked my tweeps (twitter followers) for ‘uncool’ twitter actions.  List below of mine + suggestions.

Uncool:
1. Auto-following.  Grow your tweeps organically! Just so much cooler.  Follow people through friends, by keywords & content.  Go for quality, not quantity.  Quantity will happen naturally.  This is a general theme in coolness…  (I know you agree @2ammarketing )

2. Auto-messaging.  There’s nothing more irritating than the “Thanks for the follow! I look forward to your tweets” msg… especially when they are tricky and make you think the message was personalized.. not cool.

3. Wearing your heart on your twitter sleeve.  This goes for Facebook too!  This is the internet.  Be smart.  Don’t diminish the credibility of social networking by crying through your keyboard…. uncool.

4. PDA twitter pics. Thanks @akroupa  for this one.  Get your own reality show instead. Tonsil hockey on twitter=  Not cool.

5. Extreme self promotion.  We all know twitter can help you make money, generate leads.  It’s OK to promote your product/service/personal brand as amazing as it is… but throw in some additional stuff.  Don’t spam your own content. Not cool.

6.  Telling the world you brushed your hair.  Again, it takes away from the credibility of social networking.  Use twitter to learn more and share.  Unless you are an A-lister and people actually care what cereal you had for breakfast, don’t tweet about it.  Uncool..

7. Taking credit for content that’s not yours.  This is why tweeps invented the RT.  Give credit where credit’s due…. otherwise, the post is uncool.  I credit the 13 Dont’s for this.

8.

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Social media is the fastest growing medium to market your product and communicate with your audience.  And when it comes to branding your product it just might be the simplest and cheapest way to create awareness to potential clients.  Marketing is changing and it’s not always about selling something, at the end of the day it’s about creating and working on relationships.  But if you’re new to trendy online media activities, the following is sure to help you get on the right track to take advantage of what is right at your fingertips and a click away to branding success!

Types of social media and what they can do for your company:
Blogs and forums
Used to gain new/returning business by participating in discussion forums and blogs. Become a source of information by sharing knowledge and answering questions.  Demonstrate your value for clients and potential clients.

Facebook
Creating Facebook groups attract interest and develop loyalty.

Online press releases
Make your website easy to find in search engines.

Online video
Posting videos on YouTube and on your company’s website can bring people onto the site and engage existing visitors.

Twitter
Using Twitter regularly to create and reinforce connections and to spread word of mouth about your business.

Common Concerns:
Lacking time to learn and use social media tools
The best strategy is to pick one or two types of social media and focus on doing those well.  Have several employees share the updating duties on the company blog or contract a company outside to help with updating.

Question the ROI?
Do you wonder if you will ever make any real business from using these social media tools?  Remember, it’s about making valuable connections and relationships with other credible business people and clients.

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If you search for information on Case Studies on the Internet you will find quite an array of different types, from academic proofs of concept to legal case studies. For the purposes of Media Relations we will define it this way: “A short (500 word) description of the application of your product or service with an actual client”.

Case studies can be used as you would any company collateral, except that it is infinitely more powerful than your other documents. Whereas other documents are in your “voice”, a good case study is in the customer’s “voice”, which always has more credibility with media and other customers.

In fact many times when you send out a Press Release or conduct a Media Pitch the media will want a case study to learn more about how the client is using your product or service. They will also want to know if the customer is willing to be interviewed, so when you are gathering information on the case study make sure you have the express permission of the customer.

Finally, ensure that your case study solves a general business problem (makes money or saves money, saves time, etc.) and use a consistent format for your case studies. It makes them easier to grasp -and also easier to write.

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