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Kipling’s Man ‘Why’ – you need to build credibility

Kiplings - Why

Kipling’s Man ‘Why’ – you need to build credibility

Kipling had six honest serving men – What, and Where and When; and Why and How and who – how well do your words serve you? In this blog we look at Kipling’s man ‘why’ to establish the need to build credibility at various places in the sales process.

Let me tell you a story…

Kipling’s Man ‘Why’ – have you asked the question why should they listen? All too often it’s easy to tell them what you think is good about your product, service, solution and company. Better still give them a list of all the ways that you can help them, but does this fall on deaf ears? So, what do you need to do differently?

Building credibility through stories

When reaching out to prospects you need to build credibility fast and this can be achieved by demonstrating your capability. And what you can you do differently or better? Who better to tell your story than existing satisfied clients?

Everybody likes to hear success stories. Also, most people don’t want to be first, particularly when it comes to installing the latest critical software to hundreds of users or delivering a multi-million-pound high profile project.

Clients want to know that you have delivered successfully before and you not only have the credibility, but also the capability. Case studies either written or videoed are a great way for you to build this credibility, whilst demonstrating your capability. They are regularly sought after and at the top of sales and marketing collateral requirements for marketers, sales teams, and clients alike.

Planning is critical

Yet, before creating a case study you need to consider how is a written version or video case study better? Who are your target audience? Today with more millennials in the decision-making seat video is far better received. You should also take time to consider how it will fit with and support the overall marketing strategy and content editorial plan. Why do you need a case study? Is it to help you to expand into a new industry sector? Do you have a message to a certain job title or does your product service or solution offer something that is truly unique?

Focused message

Sometimes there is a danger that case studies are all the same and therefore the why choose us also becomes a bit too generic. Focussing on a key message that you want to get across in the case study is therefore important. Again, this maybe that you can solve a specific issue in an industry sector, for a particular role or improve a company’s operations saving time or money. The key thing is having a key message in each case study and know when and how this would be used in a sales and marketing context.

Making it interesting

As I mentioned earlier the danger with case studies is that they can be much the same. So, why are people going to read yours? What can you do to make it more interesting? Again, this comes down to focus. Can you tell the story through a specific user’s eyes or follow a problem back to its root cause and explain how this was solved? Adding in interesting statistics, facts and links to other information can add more value and also make your case study more interesting.

Drive an action

Identifying and verbalising the benefits is critical when delivering the ‘why’ through case studies.  This is the so what. In other words what is the benefit, the point, the win? How is this product, service or solution going to help me or my company? Why do I need you?

A case study is also an opportunity for promoting other products, services, and solutions. I frequently see case studies on one side of A4 or delivering the story, but no call to action. What should the reader do if they are interested in hearing more? What is the call to action, the next step? You will have got a ‘reaction’ now you need to drive the action.

At Incognate we specialise in producing content that packs a punch. We have a team of journalists, expert copy writers, videographers, designers and a team of marketing specialists that can help to produce purposeful content for your marketing campaigns.

We can provide you with support to produce both written, videoed, or animated case studies.  Contact us now to discover how we can help you to create a content that drives the results you need.