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Why You Should Chart your Writing Like a Doctor

Casey Hibbard — Mon, 14 May 2012 16:00:50 +0000

A guest post by Daphne Gray-Grant

Eighteen years ago, I spent much of my life feeding babies. Heck, in those days, I spent all of my life feeding babies.

My 7-week premature triplets were tiny, fragile and lousy eaters. It would take an hour to feed one of them -- and they ate every two hours. Do the math: it wasn't pretty. What scared me the most was horror stories of parents forgetting to feed one of their three kids. Understandable, really. In the melee of aunts, uncles, grandparents and friends all anxious to lend a hand -- it would be frighteningly easy to feed one baby twice and another not at all.

There was no way that was going to happen in my household! To prevent this, I became the doctor of mothers and drew up a feeding chart. It listed each child's name on one axis and the times of day on the other. Anyone who was feeding a child was instructed to mark it on the schedule.

We kept this daily record for the first year. Today, when I see my 6-ft 2-inch tall son (born at 4 lbs., 10 oz.) emptying the fridge for his bedtime snack, I smile. He's so easy to feed! But 18 years ago, the record was a lifesaver.

And so it is with records. They let you know what you've accomplished and what you still need to do. They inspire and motivate you. They keep life clear and on track. And all of these traits make charts extraordinarily useful for writers, too.

For example, such a record kept me from losing my sanity when I wrote my book, 8½ Steps to Writing Faster, Better. I'd never written a book before -- my strength was the short form -- stories and articles for newspapers and newsletters. I could usually write the first draft in one sitting at the keyboard.

But a book? No way! It took me about six months to produce a first draft. I generally wrote first thing in the morning -- around 6 am. And what kept me grounded was the chart I had myself complete after every writing session.

My chart let me record: i) how many words I wrote that day, ii) my cumulative word total to date and ii) how many words remaining I had to write. The chart also had a fourth slot for a sentence on how I felt about that day's writing -- whether it was fun or tiresome and what I thought of the quality.

I'm not exaggerating when I say that chart made me finish my book.

On days when I felt "blocked" or too overwhelmed, my previous record of success was enough to persuade me to eek out a few more words so my daily total would never be shameful. As well, I also could easily calculate when I'd be finished -- a glorious thought. The sentences about how I felt -- which ranged from the giddy to the depressed -- taught me that writing is not a straight course, but a zig-zagging one, like a trail meandering through the mountains.

Want to give your writing a boost? Make a chart about it. Just use the “Table” menu in Word, select “insert table” and choose the number of columns and rows you want. If you’re writing a book, you can follow the four slots I used. Maybe you’re writing copy for your own web site, blog, a promotional article, or a big client project. Just tweak the chart to fit your needs. Regardless, record what you do.

Over time, you will discover that how you “feel” about writing is wonderfully unimportant. All that matters is that you do it, day after day.

Daphne Gray-Grant is a writing and editing coach and the author of the popular book, "8½ Steps to Writing Faster, Better." She offers a brief and free weekly newsletter on her website. Subscribe by going to the Publication Coach.

Happy Customers Tell Their Stories – Live and In Person

Casey Hibbard — Wed, 02 May 2012 16:44:01 +0000

As you've heard here before, a customer's story can be used for much more than just collateral or for website content. Live presentations are one of the hottest ways to showcase customer stories - and all the more powerful when the happy customer does the presenting.

Picture a customer contact speaking before a room full of peers at an industry conference, talking about his/her successes, and how, by the way, the customer uses solutions from certain vendors to help make it happen. What better way for a company to get an endorsement from a reliable source, in front of a roomful of potential customers?

In just the past two months, I've helped clients capture customer stories four times to be presented at industry events.

How does it work and what do you need to take into consideration?

First, the presentation development (PowerPoint or other) can happen before the vendor creates a case study, or after...

From speaking presentation to a written/video case study

Often, a speaking opportunity comes before a written or video case study. Here’s how this might play out.

The vendor company might take the lead, providing details to the customer about the speaking opportunity, getting the customer’s commitment, helping create an abstract for the event for the customer to consider and helping manage timelines.

The vendor often does a lot of the heavy lifting in creating the presentation, in hopes that that legwork will help earn (and keep) a mention of the vendor’s solution in the presentation.

The process is then similar to creating a case study: you would need to gather background from internal vendor contacts first, and then collect information from the customer. In discussion with customer contacts, talk about themes and angles that the customer might want to highlight and what to avoid.

Before the event, the presentation will likely need be approved by the customer's organization. If so, you’ve got content from a satisfied customer that can likely be turned into other forms of customer story collateral, if the customer agrees.

From written/video case study to presentation

Or the speaking opportunity may come AFTER the vendor has documented the customer’s story in a case study – making the presentation development easier.

Here, start with a touch-base meeting with the customer to determine the angle or theme for the presentation, and again, what can be included or left out. The actual case study may just be one part – even one slide – of the greater presentation. But it’s still high-profile, contextual exposure.

Regardless of which direction you approach this, here are 4 things to keep in mind:

1. Keep the focus on the customer's success, not your product/service – Know that a presentation is not intended to be a stand-alone customer case study just about the vendor’s solutions. It’s an opportunity for the customer contact to showcase and educate about success in some area, with the vendor benefitting from additional exposure.

2. Collaborate closely with the customer on themes – For one recent client project, the customer contact offered some creative ideas for ways to package the presentation, as did the vendor. It was a productive collaboration that resulted in a presentation that pleased – and provided positive exposure for – both sides.

3. Think ahead about other uses – Live presentations can pave the way for documented vendor case studies on some of the biggest organizations, which are typically shy about being named in public stories.

The live presentation can open the door to these other opportunities. For that reason, try to get details into the presentation slides or notes that you want to use for other purposes, if possible.

For example, for one recent project, my client wanted to get certain key messages about the company/solution into either the slides or presentation notes because the entire presentation would be run past the customer's legal and corporate communications teams. If it was all approved, the vendor could then more easily use that information in the future in other materials.

4. Decide who's doing what - Who will create the abstract? The outline? And then the actual presentation slides?

It can be done in a variety of ways. Sometimes the customer contact and his/her team want to take ownership of the slide creation or maybe they want the vendor to draft a first pass and then they take it from there.

Either way, a collaboration is best. If the vendor company is active in the process, it can get a few of its desired messages into the presentation more easily. But above all, stay focused first on showcasing the customer and his/her success, with vendor key messages coming second.

When you help your customers use success story information in a variety of formats, you provide multiple opportunities for both of you to shine.

Enter to Win – One Free Ticket to an Online Storytelling Conference

Casey Hibbard — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 03:02:09 +0000

Stories are everywhere these days.

And while businesses have always used stories to connect with their audiences, we seem to be in the midst of a story resurgence. New books, blogs and articles regale the power of story to win friends and influence people, and are filled with examples of organizations doing just that.

An upcoming online conference celebrates story and brings together some of the top names in storytelling today - Reinvention Summit 2: An Online Conference for Storytelling in the Digital Age (April 16-20). It's not just about customer storytelling but about the power and practice of story in general, with much of that translating to customer stories.

I'm excited to attend. And I just happen to have one extra ticket to GIVE AWAY.

How can you score my free ticket?

1- Go to the Stories that Sell Facebook fan page

2- Post on the wall or on my recent Reinvention Summit entry a link to one of your favorite examples of a great customer success story/case study. I'd love examples of how organizations are communicating their customer success stories/case studies in clear, powerful and engaging ways.

Anyone who shares a link to a customer story will be entered into a drawing for the ticket, with one winner. You have until midnight EST on April 10 to enter.

Looking forward to seeing your favorite case studies!

5 Trends in Customer Case Studies – An Interview with Projectline

Casey Hibbard — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 17:15:44 +0000

What's new with customer stories and where are we headed?

That's the question I recently asked Erica Hansen, director of customer engagement at Projectline. The fast-growing marketing services firm has built a solid reputation by assisting companies like Microsoft with customer references and evidence.

I've followed the firm and gotten to know a few folks via social media the past few years. With five offices in the U.S. and London, they see a lot, and I wanted to hear their view on what's happening with customer stories.

Hansen shared five trends she's seeing in customer storytelling:

1. Audiences want "snackable" content

Increasingly, companies and their customers want customer evidence (stories) in a variety of formats. Where once it was just the typical written story or video, now companies and their audiences also want shorter, summarized versions for an at-a-glance understanding of the solution and results.

2. But longer stories are still valuable too

I asked about story length in light of Eccolo Media's survey indiciating IT buyers want longer stories. Hansen answered that buyers want both - the short overview AND the ability to drill down deeper into a longer story when desired.

"People working more in the IT department of an organization want to know how it's working, the ins and outs. That type of audience prefers the longer format. Then the business decision-makers want to know the benefits they'll get out of it," Hansen said.

3. Stories are getting more visual

How do you quickly convey business results with impact? Infographics are a hot new way to get your point across quickly.

"Even the customers that participate in the case studies use the infographics as well," Hansen said.

Here's a sample graphic that Projectline created for Microsoft:

4. Video - Keep it short and to the point!

"In the past we found that clients asked for five to seven-minute videos but we find that viewership drops off dramatically after 30 seconds," Hansen said.

In response, Projectline creates short animated videos that take viewers through the need, solution and results. Hansen describes them as similar to "infographics in video form."

Avanade Forest Oil Promo from Stepframe Interactive on Vimeo.

5. Links within case studies

Projectline encourages clients to include helpful links in written customer case studies, helping readers click to more information about the solutions and companies featured. Then, the firm can track those links to know whether a case study encouraged a customer to research further.

The biggest challenge today?

Hansen notes that the channels where buyers get information are continuously changing and expanding, and they vary from company to company and industry to industry. A company may want to share customer evidence on social media sites, but their customers may not be there, or might be on one platform and not another.

As always, it's about knowing where customers are and meeting them there.

How about you? What trends are you seeing the market?

Chasebuzz Site Features 2000+ ICT Success Stories

Casey Hibbard — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:00:10 +0000

What if buyers had just one place where they could find customer success stories across multiple vendors? No more visiting 5-10 different vendor sites, some of which might require they fill out a form first.

For ICT (information and communications technology) buyers, it's now possible. I recently discovered Chasebuzz.com, a new business venture by software developer Serengeti.

Launched last September, Chasebuzz aggregates case studies from multiple vendors, giving buyers a single place to compare current customers' experiences for the solutions they're considering.

"Working in sales for IT solutions for more than 10 years, companies asked, 'What kind of references do you have?'" said Goran Kalanj, managing director at Serengeti. "Looking on the web, I couldn't find a service that put references in one place."

Though relatively new, Chasebuzz has already built an impressive base of more than 2,000 ICT customer stories, including stories from IBM, NetApp, Unisys and Nokia Siemens Networks.

Decision-makers can search by keyword, vendor company, ICT solution, industry, customer size and deployment country, allowing them to truly drill down to find organizations like theirs.

While the site itself is in English, it supports stories in any language - in written, audio and video formats.

Currently, the site is free for vendors to submit their success stories, as well as free for decision-makers. Vendors just need to create an account to upload their stories.

However, Chasebuzz does charge for related services such as case study development and "customer project reviews." For the latter, Chasebuzz accepts detailed (positive or negative) reviews written and submitted by customers, not vendors, and charges site users fees to access them (based on project size) - with the customer and Chasebuzz splitting the fee 70/30.

Or, vendors can pay to submit positive project reviews that customers complete, with customers and Chasebuzz getting the same cut when users pay to view them.

So far, the site has focused on building content to be as attractive as possible to users. As Chasebuzz gets the word out, site traffic has been growing steadily.

Looking ahead, Kalanj says he will add new features such as the ability for users to comment on success stories and for vendors to respond. He also sees the site as a social networking opportunity for ICT professionals to connect and compare notes about solutions.

"We'll continue developing the site based on how people are using it and the ideas we get," Kalanj said.

Customer Case Studies: Above All, It’s a Conversation

Casey Hibbard — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:00:28 +0000

By Martha Maroney, Principal, Trimar Communications

Of the various projects I’ve tackled in my 25-year career as a marketing-communications writer for technology clients, case studies are among my very favorite.

It’s fun talking with customers – hearing about how they struggled with a solution that didn’t work and delighted in finding one that did, how they put the new solution together, persuaded users to adopt it, and wound up boosting sales or market share or employee morale or all of the above.

The stories are rarely told in that order, of course. I sometimes must ask a question two or three times before it’s fully answered, and on the other extreme I’m often treated to long anecdotes that may or may not pertain.

It’s not because the customer is evasive or would rather tell a different story than the one we need. It's because the customer and I are having a conversation, and that’s how conversations go.

The challenge for me is to maintain the rapport of a conversation while gathering a lot of information in very little time. Some case studies are commissioned by a team of people, and everyone wants the story to include details on his or her part of a product.

Some years back I saw a questionnaire that ran to 11 pages. Eleven pages! (Is this an interview or an interrogation?) Filled with questions for an executive who was purported to be “very busy” (and what executive isn't?), who wouldn’t be able to spare a moment longer than the allotted hour, and so forth and so on.

So I set the questionnaire aside. I touched on the very few questions that seemed most important, while explaining that I might be asking for more details during the call.

And this “very busy” executive was gracious and generous with his time and information. He shared some compelling anecdotes. Went on at length about how much he liked the solution. Wouldn’t let me close the call when an hour was up because there was plenty more he wanted to say. And so forth and so on.

That customer was busy, but he was also excited about the story, and by treating our interview as a conversation, I was able to nurture that excitement.

It doesn’t always work out that way, but in my experience of having written nearly 400 customer case studies, it does often enough. And for me, that’s what makes case studies so much fun.

Martha Maroney has been enjoying conversations with case-study customers for 20 years now, most recently on calls in which the conversation is in Spanish. It’s a bit more work, but it’s still fun.

Customer Case Studies: Are We Just Being Lazy?

Casey Hibbard — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 18:51:19 +0000

I'm bored.

I've read one too many customer case studies that just don't try hard enough.

The latest offender: a feature on a frequent flyer in an airline inflight magazine that will remain nameless.

The back story

This past weekend I traveled to Phoenix to cheer family on in a half marathon. While perusing the inflight magazine, I was pleased to see a customer story. But just one sentence into it I was ready to move on.

Most of the other articles in this award-winning publication were very well-written and interesting. This one seemed out of place for its lack of panache.

Sadly, this lackluster story isn't an isolated case.

When did the rules of good journalism and marketing stop applying to our case study writing?

- "The most important part of a story is the lead"

- "Each sentence should serve to keep the reader moving on to the next sentence"

- "Choose the most compelling angle for your audience"

Those are just a few tenants. While I certainly am guilty of not being perfect at these objectives and others, I like to think that I try to remember and apply them as much as possible.

So what were this story's particular offenses?

The story began with just some dull facts about the business traveler's company, NOT the person whose photo was prominently displayed.

The opening sentence read (leaving out names to protect the innocent), "___________ is one of the country's largest ________________ companies."

Wow, not good.

Sure it's worthwhile to mention what his employer does but it shouldn't kick off the story.

It's easy to be lazy. I certainly know. I've had a newborn at home the past few months and lazy feels more comfortable.

But our craft deserves more than that. How do we keep from being lackadaisical?

Let's try to aspire to a few goals on every story:

- Plan first. Before writing a word, spend time reviewing your notes and pull out the most interesting tidbits. How might you organize them for the optimal effect on the reader?

- Spend more time on the lead than the rest of the story. How can you begin with something so interesting that the reader must hear more?

Writing for video and print are different but it's a helpful exercise to imagine a nightly news anchor reading the story aloud. Never would it begin with dull PR description about a company.

So begin with something truly interesting and then weave in the must-have description of what the company does later.

- Choose the most compelling angle. In customer case studies, that means choosing an angle that's interesting to readers (and the media) and that puts the vendor company in a positive light.

- Include quotes that stick with readers, not just PR quotes. The customer quotes in this magazine feature? Very forgettable.

Sequence matters

The interesting thing is, this story didn't have to be this way. All the information was there to make a compelling story. It just wasn't organized in the most compelling way.

Perhaps cooking is a good analogy. Most of the time you can't just throw the ingredients together in any order. A certain sequence and melding of ingredients often makes all the difference. Add flour at just the right time to thicken the sauce, etc.

Writing is, in essence, completely about sequence. The words in this sentence, just thrown in any order, mean nothing to readers.

An entire story is the smart structuring of a bunch of sentences. While poor ordering might still make sense, it doesn't communicate well.

I'm tempted to rewrite the story with just the information there, as a fun challenge. It's painful to see a missed opportunity.

Who's doing it well?

Here are just a few great examples of true case study effort, where the writer resisted the urge to just get the information down:

deCODEme's story on the First Lady of Iceland

An HP story on a restaurant chain

The Humane Society's feature on Sean Moore

What are your favorite examples? And what are your own steps to write your best case study possible?

“Stories That Sell” B-Day – 2-Day Sale

Casey Hibbard — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 13:00:13 +0000

Happy 2012!

The holidays are over but there are still great deals to be had – including one free audio class on case studies and half off anything in the “Stories That Sell” store - today and tomorrow only!

If you're a writer, marketer or business owner interested in the marketing power of customer success stories and case studies, here's a great chance to learn more and refine your skills.

What's the Deal?

This week, Thursday and Friday ONLY, we’re celebrating the birthday of the book, “Stories That Sell: Turn Satisfied Customers into Your Most Powerful Sales & Marketing Asset.”

These two days - January 5-6 - download a free class and get half off everything in the "Stories That Sell" store.

The FREE Course

First, we’re giving away the audio course (normally sells for $18), “9 Insider Tips from 10 Years Crafting Customer Stories – How to Create Customer Stories that Earn Their Keep.”

In the 30-minute MP3 course, author Casey Hibbard shares her top tips from more than a decade of creating customer success stories.

Get more information on the free audio course here:
http://www.storiesthatsellguide.com/store/compelling-courses/9-insider-tips-from-10-years-crafting-customer-stories/

Or USE THIS LINK to access the free course now:

http://www.compelling-cases.com/download/Audio_9wayscompelsell.mp3.zip

The Big Sale

Second, use the code 50OFF in your shopping cart (bottom left at checkout) to get anything half off. That includes the “Stories That Sell” ebook and printed book, as well as all previously recorded courses you see on the site. It's a great chance to get your copy of "Stories That Sell" if you haven't yet, or get a copy for a colleague, client or friend.

Browse the “Book” and “Courses” links here:

Book - http://www.storiesthatsellguide.com/store/order-book/

Courses - http://www.storiesthatsellguide.com/store/compelling-courses/

Remember, the coupon expires on January 7, so make sure to at least get your free download now!

Can You Doctor Customers’ Quotes?

Casey Hibbard — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 18:04:18 +0000

In journalism, a person's direct quote is sacred. What's said is said, and any journalist with integrity doesn't change a word.

While customer case studies have many similarities to journalism, they're not. It's marketing.

And customers have the chance to review and approve their stories and direct quotes. That single fact alone is why it's OK to change quotes, but not TOO much.

There's what the customer said...

And there's what the vendor company wants to say...

If they don't exactly match, then there's a bit of doctoring and negotiation that goes on.

So, How Much Can We Change?

In short, a little.

At this point, I've written more than 600 case studies, and interviewed even more customers. Through trial and error, I've found what seems to be the generally accepted amount of editing that customers will accept. However, some customers are pickier than others.

First off, most customers appreciate a little help. Usually they're dumping a lot of information on you and don't expect their direct quotes to be perfect.

In fact, many customers say, "You'll make me sound smart, right?"

Of course you'll ensure they sound good, but they get a little put off if you veer too far off course from what they said. They are pleased to indicate that the featured solution works well for them, and they're happy, but don't change their words to make it sound like it's the best thing that ever happened to them.

What You Can Change

You can change a few words here and there to clarify or shorten quotes. Remove the "ums" and "ahs." You might add a detail or two to be more specific, or a product or company name if the customer just said "they" or "it."

I also merge non-consecutive sentences, something said earlier in the interview and something said later. Usually customers don't even notice or care that these statements weren't said right together.

What You Can't Change

But what does stay sacred in customer quotes is the meaning. Don't change what the customer meant. That means don't rewrite the whole thing.

Of course there are exceptions, but most customers I've encountered - even those that offer glowing praise - push back on too much quote doctoring.

Ultimately, customer success stories aren't fiction. They're true accounts of a customer's experience, and as producers of case studies, we need to maintain integrity by presenting true stories. Just keep that in mind when tempted to change any customer's quote too much.

What's your experience with editing customer quotes?

Customer Quotes That Compel and Sell in Case Studies

Casey Hibbard — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 18:03:04 +0000

In a customer story, quotes are the very voice of the customer, your sound bites. Without them, a story can feel flat.

Studies have even shown that people who skim tend to read text that's called out in quotes more than the rest of a story.

How do you use quotes for maximum impact? Here are a few tips:

Get in Three 'Marquee' Quotes

In every case study, if there’s space, try to include at least three key quotes that cover these topical areas:

Challenge/Pain - Show the pain or challenge the customer faced before the solution came along. Here's your chance to get in some emotion related to the customer's challenge.
Decision – Feature a quote that speaks to why the customer chose the solution - a great opportunity to call out your competitive differentiators.
Benefit – Choose a comment that speaks to the main benefit or benefits the customer experienced. This could then be the quote that you pull out to highlight in other marketing collateral.

Add More for Emphasis

Of course you can include more quotes, but first try to hit those three key areas to add power to your story. Other quotes can reinforce more benefits and customer experiences. Additional ones might touch on other benefits the customer experienced.

Don't Over- or Under-Quote

Direct quotes add interest to stories and enhance their credibility. But it’s important to use them in the right way, as points of emphasis or insight within the rest of the text.

I’ve seen customer stories that are almost entirely customer quotes, with just a little bit of surrounding text for context. There, quotes lose their impact because they don’t really stand out.